Offered lovely house with a problem, to buy or not to buy, that is the question.

trailingspouse

I would be worried about re-selling it - or more precisely, not re-selling it. The reason it's being offered to you is likely because they know they won't be able to sell it to anyone else.

Think of it the other way round - if you were looking to buy a house, would you want this one?

Just say no.

goodwithsaving

I personally wouldn't. Whilst you may not look to move for the remainder of your life, do you want to leave your children with the burden of an unsaleable property?

buggy_boy

It would have to be one hell of a discount and only if I thought I could invest in measures to stop the flooding happening...

Are you sure it is not the BIL thinking the property wont sell very easy and trying to palm it off on you for a "discount"?

Cakeguts

I wouldn't. Apart from the flooding the garden will probably be very wet most of the winter. House may be very damp. Good position when built not so good now with the invention of electricity.

It needs someone with pots of money who can do a design to limit the damage if it floods. You don't sound as if you have pots of money.

Davesnave

It's possible to adapt a property to make it easier to resist and clear-up after minor flooding, but the measures don't make for a great cottage feel. I've seen this in an old local house near the river and it's all rather obvious, not to mention the expense of the adaptations.

As others have pointed-out, measures taken elsewhere can increase the flooding risk in a particular location, but the tendency towards more extreme weather events through climate change should also be a serious consideration when looking at frequency data. What's happened in the past is no accurate guide to the future.

Even houses with a flooding history will sell, but only at a discount price, so you'd have to know what that would be before deciding if this is any sort of bargain. This means having your own valuation, with the disadvantage fully accounted-for.

StumpyPumpy

I would check with a broker whether it is really uninsurable against flooding. A friend of mine was flooded twice in five years (sitting on garage roof waiting for a boat flooded not damp flower beds flooded) and he was still able to get flood insurance by ringing round. This was ten years ago though so your mileage may vary.

The costs if it does happen are horrendous as mentioned above, also you still have to pay to house yourself if it is uninhabitable (the smell is awful!) whilst still keeping up with the mortgage. I'd never risk it myself with out insurance, it is bad enough getting it sorted without having to worry about paying for it all too.

SP

AnotherJoe

Mgman1965 wrote: »

It's construction he says is of a "rubble infill" and a quire porous against standing water he tells me.

That means its even more horrendous to recover from flooding than a "normal" house. A friend of mine with an ordinary house took a year to get his properly dried out after a flood. Same for houses near my daughter (where incidentally developers are now proposing to build on land even more susceptible to flooding). A year seems pretty standard then.

If the walls of this one are giant sponge how much longer?

Mgman1965 wrote: »

According to BIL who grew up there he doesn't remember it flooding before the last two times so says it could just be two unlucky one offs.

And the third one would presumably be another unlucky one-off presumably?

Normally I'd say walk away, but in this case, I'd say "stay put"

moneyistooshorttomention

Making out they're doing you a favour "offering it to you at a cheap price".!!!!

The phrase "With friends (relatives) like that - who needs enemies?" comes to mind.

Sounds like they're trying to dump a problem on you basically.

AdrianC

paddyandstumpy wrote: »

I doubt you’d get a mortgage on an uninsurable property.

Insurability is just a symptom. I'd agree it's unlikely to be mortgageable, but for similar reasons as insurers won't cover it for flood risk, rather than as a result.

Basically, who's going to buy it if ever it needs repossessing?

[Deleted User]

op, I could not imagine the stress you would be under, each and every time you get torrential and/or constant rain. It isn`t just about replacing simple floorcoverings, it is about damp everywhere downstairs

Distant relatives are taking you for a mug