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Buying first in a flood zone - advice please

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ledoof
ledoof Posts: 9 Forumite
in House buying, renting & selling
Hi,
I am hoping to buy my first home in a few months time - the town I have decided on is in a flood zone. I have looked online and can find a map of risk in the town but it is not very detailed. Is there anyway I can check in more detail which houses have flooded previously?
Does an estate agent/ seller have to tell you honestly about if the property has flooded?

My other concern is insurance - how can I find out what the cost of insurance on a particular property or street would be before buying?
Any sources of information or places that anyone can direct me to for more information would be really helpful. This is my first house purchase so I am quite anxious about the process.

Thanks in advance
Ledoof

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  • Semple
    Semple Posts: 392 Forumite
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    One site i always bookmarked for when i was searching for properties: https://flood-warning-information.service.gov.uk/long-term-flood-risk/

    There's quite a few other sites out there that give some information about flooding risk.

    As for insurance, you can only really run through some mock quotes - i presume you'll have the postcode and address of the potential property?

    As for relying on the EA/seller to tell you, yes they have to tell you if the property has flooded, if it was flooded before their ownership then it might be a bit of a grey area depending on the wording. You could ask them if it has ever flooded, but they're unlikely to know if it was prior to their ownership.
  • Smodlet
    Smodlet Posts: 6,976 Forumite
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    edited 19 July 2019 at 3:22PM
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    Hello and welcome to the forum, ledoof. The obvious solution is to buy somewhere not in a flood plain having said which, many people live in them. There is a development in the early stages of construction behind my house being built on, yes, a flood plain. Stupid or what?

    Presumably, you have found the Environment Agency's map of flood risk which, as you say, is anything but detailed. There is a search you can ask your solicitor to do regarding flood risk; we had one when we bought this place seven years ago and I believe it cost £21.00. I don't think it is much (if any) more detailed than the EA's map, though.

    Just googled "flood risk assessment" and found this; gotta love the name...

    As for insurance costs, surely you can either go online or call a couple of insurance companies and ask them how much they would charge to insure the property you are thinking of buying. Failing that, ask your vendor what they currently pay, assuming they even have insurance. If you need a mortgage, you will probably need buildings insurance; contents is up to you.

    Personally, I'd look elsewhere. Our house is just outside the floodplain with no history of flooding at the moment. Once the new houses are built, that could well change as the natural drainage will be gone. Perhaps we could get matching snorkels, huh?
  • Smodlet
    Smodlet Posts: 6,976 Forumite
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    Semple wrote: »
    One site i always bookmarked for when i was searching for properties: https://flood-warning-information.service.gov.uk/long-term-flood-risk/

    There's quite a few other sites out there that give some information about flooding risk.

    As for insurance, you can only really run through some mock quotes - i presume you'll have the postcode and address of the potential property?

    As for relying on the EA/seller to tell you, yes they have to tell you if the property has flooded, if it was flooded before their ownership then it might be a bit of a grey area depending on the wording. You could ask them if it has ever flooded, but they're unlikely to know if it was prior to their ownership.

    They are unlikey to tell you even if they know it has flooded; you can't prove they knew so the new legislation is a joke.
  • TBagpuss
    TBagpuss Posts: 11,203 Forumite
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    The search pack you get when you start the process will give some more detailed information about the specifc property you are buying.

    I am not sure whether the main search providers sell irect to the public or only to conveyancing professionals, but once you find a property and put an offer in you could ask your solicitor to get a flood risk searchdone first, before you incur further costs.

    In terms of insurance, most companies tend to look at the postcode so being close to propoerties which have flooded will put your premiums up, even if your own property is low risk due to being on a hill or anything similar.

    Sellers / estate agents have to answer questions truthfully but don't normally have to volunteer information (and the agent can only answer from what they know)

    In the priperty information forms which the seller has to complete and whic hyou will reciev once you have had an offer accepted, there is a question about whether the proprty has been flooded, soat that point the seller has to tell you (again, they have to telly you what they know. If the house got flooded 5 yesrs ago and they bought it 3 years ago, they may not have known, as that would depend on what *their* sellers told them)

    On a more practical note, you can also look at past news storys in local press, to get an ideafor which areas are most at risk
    All posts are my personal opinion, not formal advice Always get proper, professional advice (particularly about anything legal!)
  • sillyhilly
    sillyhilly Posts: 176 Forumite
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    You can contact the Environmental Agency and request a historical breakdown of any floods of the area. They usually respond within a week.

    When I purchased my house, the searches came back with a 'risk' of flood, but the EA responded and confirmed a very low (<0.1%) risk of flooding.
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