Buying a riverside house - Flood risk?

mjfusent

Hello,
I'm hoping to buy a house on a large plot of land by a shallow but quite wide streach of river. The house itself is about 30 meters from the waters edge and the lawn slopes down so there is not a huge height difference between the water and the house - about 5 meters.

The vendor tells us that they have lived there for 10+ years and although the water did once get about half way to the house they have never been flooded.

Naturally I'm a bit concerned about flood risk, I've looked at the Environment Agencies website but can anyone offer any advice or experience on properties such as this. It really is a fantastic place but I don't want to let my heart rule my head.

Thanks!

Mike

frugal_dougal_3

In your position I would find out how much the insurance will cost. Insurance companies assess properties by postcode, so even if the house has never flooded before it might not make any difference when they calculate their premiums.

Woby_Tide

there is a website I thought that showed how the insurers had been advised to rate the risk as per Environment agency studies by postcode(whether they actualy use it is another matter). I remember that despite being at one of the highest points in our town we were classed as higher risk due to it being a coastal town

John_M_Business

Yes. I would say that the flood risk is substantial... definitely check the Insurance. Even if the Insurance isn't that expensive, it's possible that it will go up in future.

mjfusent

Thanks for the replies, I'm not too bothered about paying higher insurance premiums (within reason) my real concern is if it does flood will I subsequently be able to get insurance at all? I'm sure I've heard that some properties have become uninsurable after flooding, this would have a major impact on resale values.

sarahatwheatroyd

Wright to the Environment Agencies External Relations team at your nearest office, they may have level information, you can compare to the level of your property. This information is free and you should get a response in 10 working days. I work for the EA in flood defence, on some rivers we have this kind of information.