New Home buyer

BellsAndWhistles

Hi. I’m looking to buy my first home and have just recently had the survey completed. He has undervalued the house by £25k because he says it’s at high risk of flood (close to a lode) and close to the railway line(Soham to Eli) and Soham station and was wondering if anyone had thoughts or experience with something like this? Many thanks 

K_S

@BellsAndWhistles Assuming this is a mortgage down-valuation, your options are -
- to challenge it (rarely works, normally requires clear evidence of recent comparables/sales in the immediate vicinity)
- negotiate a price reduction with the vendor that you are happy with
- try with another lender that uses a different surveyor panel to see if they come back with a higher valuation
- decide whether you want to (or can) make up the difference in cash or keep looking for another property

BellsAndWhistles

@K_S many thanks. That had also had been my thought. 

Would the train line and Lode (small river) impact the resale value? And therefore in your opinion is the property worth the hassle?

Snookie12cat

I wouldn't buy a house next to a railway line but lots of people do.

jst1986

If you have a station it tends to offset some of the negatives of being next to a train line in terms of the connectivity it offers. I left next to a railway line for 6 years and it never disturbed me despite trains every five minutes all day everyday. 

Pow11890

Snookie12cat said:

I wouldn't buy a house next to a railway line but lots of people do.

I wouldn’t either. 

Sistergold

I also had a high flood risk flagged up, it said risk of surface flooding (am not close to a river). I still bought the house. Most of us seem to be in houses at risk of flooding. If you really like the property you might want to check if it has ever flooded? Look at its position yourself and make your own judgment call after you have established its has never flooded. If you are paying a high deposit the bank might still be happy to lend you the money even with the devaluation if you should be happy to proceed. I offered 640 the offer letter stated that they will lend the amount I required for the property with value as low as 600. 

Have they refused to offer you what you required? In which case you do @K_S above says. 
I am also close to a railway station/line but it’s not behind my back garden. I am noise sensitive so I will not buy a house close to a railway line, but have to live close enough to a railway station to go into central London when we need to plus children to travel etc.
Good luck OP.