Vendor lied on property form about flooding three months after buying my house has flooded

Cazzy1964

My son purchased a bungalow in July this year, local searches came back no flooding, the vendor filled in properly information form and ticked the property had never flooded. 

Two week after he moved in, the couple who sold it to the vendor called round with some replacement blind slats for the conservatory that they had found. Which he found a bit strange m. 

During conversation they told my son the property had flooded twice between 2019 and 2021! And they had told the vendor this and showed her how to use the flood defensers  He has since  found out the property was sold at auction. 

My son didn’t know so the couple offered to help in any way they could .. so my son asked if they had a copy of the property information form that they had filled in? They exchanged phone numbers and the couple left. 

After speaking to a solicitor, who said having this information was valuable and to ask the couple if they would help with prosecuting the vendor for misinterpretation. The couple immediately went quiet and said they didn’t want to get involved and my son was making a fuss over nothing. 

His solicitor gave some off the record advice to my son and said it would cost around £3000 to take the vendor to court, as my son was spending all his money doing up the bungalow at the time he didn’t have the funds to pursue it. 

Fast forward three months, my son’s bungalow has now flooded a foot of water all thru the bungalow and his garden ruined! 

He has three small children and he is absolutely gutted! 

Can anyone give me information as to how far he can pursue this before getting a solicitor involved To keep costs down. 

[Deleted User]

Hi,

is this because of storm Babel?

Were neighbours or other nearby houses affected?

Olinda99

the PIF is part of the purchase contract and thus your son can sue the seller for any losses he incurs as a result of the lie

housebuyer143

You can't blame the people for not wanting to get involved. Your son should try and find some proof of the flood from before, like photos. Go onto local Facebook groups, news articles etc and try and locate photos or evidence of the area and house flooding. 
When it floods near us you get it covered in the paper and other locals will tell you about it, so maybe he can ask others in the area about it also 

ThisIsWeird

What type of flood defenses, are they effective, and did your son use them? Did he know about them?!
I don't quite follow the time scales here, or the sequence of owners.
The couple that came round owned the place up until when, 2021 or '22? They are the ones that suffered the two floods?
And who was it who bought the place at auction - the last vendor? So that couple used an auction method to sell? Why? They were seemingly honest about the flooding issue, so why not by a normal sale method?
I, too, can't really blame the couple for not wishing to become personally involved, but would they at least provide a copy of the SIP they handed over? And ideally a statement of truth regarding the info they gave about the defenses? Without this, what does your son actually have? The vendor can deny knowing about a flooding issue - has the place actually flooded during their 1-2 year ownership?
Why did this person sell on the house so quickly? Did they do it up for a quick buck?
I fear your son will need some concrete evidence that the vendor knew about the flooding risk before he has a chance of a claim. 
Did he take out Legal Protection with his house insurance when he moved in? If so, they might cover 'contractual' issues, or at least advise what to do.

MultiFuelBurner

Some key facts for me that need clearing up

1) Did this flood occur during the recent storm Abbey?
2) The flood defenses shown to your son, were they in place for Storm Abbey and what were they? Door flood barriers etc?
3) Has your son got buildings and contents insurance for the loss and if so he should have legal cover as well to cover the cost of going after the vendors.

Cazzy1964

The couple owThisIsWeird said:

What type of flood defenses, are they effective, and did your son use them? Did he know about them?!
I don't quite follow the time scales here, or the sequence of owners.
The couple that came round owned the place up until when, 2021 or '22? They are the ones that suffered the two floods?
And who was it who bought the place at auction - the last vendor? So that couple used an auction method to sell? Why? They were seemingly honest about the flooding issue, so why not by a normal sale method?
I, too, can't really blame the couple for not wishing to become personally involved, but would they at least provide a copy of the SIP they handed over? And ideally a statement of truth regarding the info they gave about the defenses? Without this, what does your son actually have? The vendor can deny knowing about a flooding issue - has the place actually flooded during their 1-2 year ownership?
Why did this person sell on the house so quickly? Did they do it up for a quick buck?
I fear your son will need some concrete evidence that the vendor knew about the flooding risk before he has a chance of a claim. 
Did he take out Legal Protection with his house insurance when he moved in? If so, they might cover 'contractual' issues, or at least advise what to do.

ThisIsWeird said:

What type of flood defenses, are they effective, and did your son use them? Did he know about them?!
I don't quite follow the time scales here, or the sequence of owners.
The couple that came round owned the place up until when, 2021 or '22? They are the ones that suffered the two floods?
And who was it who bought the place at auction - the last vendor? So that couple used an auction method to sell? Why? They were seemingly honest about the flooding issue, so why not by a normal sale method?
I, too, can't really blame the couple for not wishing to become personally involved, but would they at least provide a copy of the SIP they handed over? And ideally a statement of truth regarding the info they gave about the defenses? Without this, what does your son actually have? The vendor can deny knowing about a flooding issue - has the place actually flooded during their 1-2 year ownership?
Why did this person sell on the house so quickly? Did they do it up for a quick buck?
I fear your son will need some concrete evidence that the vendor knew about the flooding risk before he has a chance of a claim. 
Did he take out Legal Protection with his house insurance when he moved in? If so, they might cover 'contractual' issues, or at least advise what to do.

Section62

Cazzy1964 said:

During conversation they told my son the property had flooded twice between 2019 and 2021! And they had told the vendor this and showed her how to use the flood defensers  He has since  found out the property was sold at auction. 

What did his survey say about flood protection?  There's normally signs a property has been fitted with flood protection even if the portable aspects aren't in place at the time.  I'd expect a surveyor to notice if work had been done to protect the property.

Cazzy1964

Hi do I answer individual comments please 

[Deleted User]

Hi,

just use the quote icon at bottom of message.

chrisw

Installed flood defences would be a bit of a giveaway. Is it shown as at risk of flooding in Environment Agency or water company maps? If so, the conveyancer may be at fault if they haven't picked it up.