Should we walk away?

Poppyka

Hi all,
I know this decision ultimately needs to be made by me but I wondered if I could get your perspective on things. 

We’ve recently had an offer accepted on a property but have since found the following issues:

1. it’s in a high risk area for surface water flooding (we checked this on the government website and know it’s not always accurate)

2. the house is in an area made of clay subsoil our surveyor said this could lead to shrinkage and therefore cause movement of the house 

3. there’s no evidence of building approval / sign off from a kitchen extension that was there before the current owners 

4. The conifer tree next door has potentially caused the side pavement to lift and become uneven (we’re looking into this in more detail to 100% check the cause)

5. our surveyor couldn’t access the drains to check for any blockage so asked us to get a drain survey done because the extension runs parallel with it. 

The house itself is in a really good location and recently renovated so doesn’t need internal works as such. 

I know buying a house is stressful and never risk free. Our biggest concern is the clay ground and the conifer tree roots potentially impacting the pathway. 

What are your initial thoughts? Should we run away or investigate things more? 

Doozergirl

Sounds like a fairly average house.   Entire cities, like London, are vulnerable to surface water flooding and built in clay.  It doesn't stop people buying houses.  The search results give you some information to look further into - eg. has the property ever flooded or come close to it.  

The house probably doesn't have building control sign off itself.  The question is whether the extension is of a decent enough quality.  

A drain survey is a sensible thing and should always be on the list, by the way.  

Would I be walking away on the basis of that list? Not at all.  It's a list of things to look at, exactly what it is supposed to be.  

Poppyka

Thanks so much @Doozergirl

We will continue looking into the things mentioned. 

Crashy_Time

Just make sure not to overpay, imagine how you will feel then if it floods or whatever?

user1977

None of these things sounds particularly worrying or unusual.

TheJP

My house is high risk surface water, been build 22 years and my neighbours have been here the entire time. The surface gets as much surface water as any other place I've lived.

rexmedorum

Being flooded is no picnic! It would certainly concern me.

I'd want to do some work to try and establish what the risk is really like, is the data correct? Have there been floods in or nearby your location vefore etc.

If you have the luxury though I'd look at one which isn't identified as being at risk.

london21

The reports sometimes look worse than they really are.

When was the last flooding? insurance might be higher if recent.

My drain was blocked when I purchased my house, but was quickly fixed.

Tbh for a FTB some works seem so complicated but easily fixed. 

TheJP

rexmedorum said:

Being flooded is no picnic! It would certainly concern me.

I'd want to do some work to try and establish what the risk is really like, is the data correct? Have there been floods in or nearby your location vefore etc.

If you have the luxury though I'd look at one which isn't identified as being at risk.

There is a distinct difference between flooding and surface flooding. Surface flooding areas generally don't have many surface drainage areas or in my case end of a cul-de-sac. It would probably take 6 months of rainfall to even get close to entering my garden let alone house. My insurance premium is actually cheaper than my previous house.

Thrugelmir

TheJP said:

rexmedorum said:

Being flooded is no picnic! It would certainly concern me.

I'd want to do some work to try and establish what the risk is really like, is the data correct? Have there been floods in or nearby your location vefore etc.

If you have the luxury though I'd look at one which isn't identified as being at risk.

It would probably take 6 months of rainfall to even get close to entering my garden let alone house. 

Unless you are unfortunate enough to be caught in one of those one in a hundred year events. Drainage systems can only cope with so much and if the ground is already saturated. Then there's nowhere for the water to go. Paving/concreting over doesn't help either. 

MysteryMe

Large parts of the country have clay soil it's perfectly normal. There are always "coulds" in surveys. What you need to establish is what is actually happening or has happened. Are there signs of active movement/subsidence. Are there signs the property or those nearby having being flooded or is it really just a case of the council not clearing the drains as often as it should combined with more paved over areas meaning you get areas of water forming in the road after a particularly heavy down pour. I know from personal experience that the accuracy of government website is questionable to say the least so would never discount any property solely based on that.  Ask the vendor, ask the neighbours. Check local papers online. Conifer roots tend to be shallow. I m assuming the lifted paving slab is right next to it? Obviously check and seek advice if necessary but it's unlikely to be undermining your properties foundations unless it is right next door to "your" house. With the extension, if nothing untoward has come up in the survey that's the main thing, especially if it has been up for quite some time. The one area you would want to check is if it was built over drainage / sewerage pipes, happy to be corrected but I believe their location would be shown on the land registry plans.