To buy a house which has flooded in the past?

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We viewed a house yesterday in a village we would love to live in. It's a desirable area and stock is low. This is the 2nd house to come up in 6 months within our budget. Anyhow this house is great. Needs some work as it's had tenants in but the only reason we can afford it is because it has flooded in the past. Once in 1968 and once in 2012. Seemingly a flood plan has been put in place by the LA and EA since. It's right next to a ford. Are we mad to even consider it?

Google images of Carlisle floods. That's a city and most houses were affected. It's not a case of a few sandbags can stop the water, most of the floods show the water (in desirable areas) about a foot off the top of the garage doors. People I know are still not in their homes and were hit with looting. Awful.

we really liked a house which had flooded in the past, twice, during very heavy rain storms, when there was massive water run-off.
There was a ditch running along the back of the house and garden, which then went under a small bridge through a narrow culvert. When there was a lot of rain, the narrow pipe in the culvert couldn't drain the ditch fast enough and the water backed up, and flooded the house.

The council rebuilt the bridge and the culvert and made a big wide mouth to the drain. The day the work was finished the house went on the market. Below market price, fabulous house with loads of space and a big corner plot garden. My dh is a water engineer. He sat down and worked out the drainage on the new ditch/ tunnel. He was not convinced that the job they had down would actually be enough to let the ditch drain during heavy rainfall, so I remain unconvinced by flood defences.

We phoned up our insurance company, we talked through the insurance with them and the cost etc. They were very reluctant, even given the new changes and the work signed off by the council etc etc.

In the end we walked away. the house sold, but since then we have had a lot of episodes of very heavy rain, unlike anything that used to be considered 'normal.' We talked about that house this week, and dh said, even if it has never flooded, every time it rained hard you would be worried, you would panic about flooding and sandbags etc. I am so glad we didn't buy it, the stress would have been really high.

Insurance aside - could you deal with losing beloved possessions of sentimental value?

Think future proofing too - global warming will only increase extreme weather events - I would be buying on higher ground.

No i wouldn't. I find it stressful when my car breaks down or if we get a power cut. The thought of my house garage garden and car flooding and the worry of loosing my pet would bring me to the brink. Nope I couldn't do it.

You'd be mad to risk it. Unless you have a lot of money and don't have any sentimental valuables.

If there is water underground that causes the flooding very little can stop it. The last floods here started on Christmas Day. Water literally started bubbling up through floorboards half way through people having their Christmas dinner. Within an hour they were totally under water. Flooding is merciless and IMO pretty much unstoppable if you are in a risk area.

If it's flooded once it is very likely to flood gain. Only buy it if you are happy to accept you will be periodically flooded. Personally I couldn't live like that.

We live in a flood zone, although our street has never flooded, and our insurance is RIDICULOUS. We were able to push it down a bit by going with John Lewis, but we've had quotes for £1400+.

Streets that HAVE flooded are all but impossible to get mortgages on.

Even if you love the house and decide that you're okay with wet ankles once in a while, you might not be able to get the mortgage in the first place.

I viewed a house on a street that flooded last year actually, because the flood barriers are great now, and they should be safe to live on. The people had redecorated after the last flood and had basically flood-proofed their interior in that it was all lovely stone floors, and basically "wipe down" below 1 ft over ground level. You could see that they were planning ahead, just in case!

But yes - in lots of houses it comes up from underneath, even if the street outside isn't necessarily underwater yet. You also get rats when it floods (or at least around here).

No, I wouldn't risk it. My house is on the edge of a flood zone, and although it's never flooded, my neighbours on lower land have. The EA states it has a 1 in 1000 chance of flooding. Unfortunately, my whole area flooded over Christmas 2014. It was horrific for my neighbours and although we escaped with just a soggy garden, it was incredibly stressful. Insurance for us is fine as we've got the proof we have never been affected, although neighbours that were hit in 2014 are still uninsured and redecorating.

I would never buy a property near a flood zone, let alone in one ever again.

I had an acquaintance who told me that he'd had a contaminated ground floor because - although he wasn't actually flooded by external water - he'd had sewage and water bubbling up through his toilets and drains from backup. I don't know whether it's technically feasible but it sounds horribly possible and has made me very wary of flood areas in general. I wouldn't buy in them these days, if possible.

cozietoes - yes feasible. You can buy valves for the loo that have a one way action, so it can't back up and over flow into the room, but I am not sure how much it can withstand.

It's very common cozietoes - it happened to friends of ours (although their property did eventually flood as well) - sewage system went into reverse and toilets became shit fountains. Their house is lovely and floodproofed now but pretty much unsaleable, at least for anything close to what they paid for it.

No don't do it

It only flooded recently the damage can be ongoing and I would always avoid a place with a history of flooding. Its very very stressful when it happens (and dealing with insurance is stressful) and even a small amount of water can do a huge amount of damage to furniture and the structure of the house (from a burst water pipe that was running for about two hours I had to move out for six weeks, had industrial size dehumidifies on two weeks and that is nothing compared to water from drains and rivers that will be muddy) for plus your insurance will be high

That is some image to carry from this thread. Fountains, indeed.

Oh another thing, I lived in a flood area but up a hill so it never affected me. The back yard did flood and the old owners had the patio leaning towards a room - not away to the gate outside. The water would come through and one wall was full of penetrate damp. Lovely. And I'll second the rats, lots of them.

Houses in my area flooded for the first time ever recently (built 70 years ago) and we live no where near a river. Whatever the defense, they may not be good enough and I think the chances of flooding are increasing rather than decreasing.

Madness to buy it.
You'd be better off throwing your money in the fire than buying that house.
at least you would be certain when the money would be destroyed.
with this house, it will flood, but you'll always live under the dread of wondering exactly when.

I really struggled to get buildings insurance on a house that was in a flood risk area. It flooded in the 90s and the drains have been widened since. I would say don't do it.

Seriously don't do it.

Flood records only go back 100 years as that's all the data available well probably 150 now.

If a river wants to flood unless its diverted it will. The EA were struggling previously with funds for defenses but not up to date with reason figures.

It will be more stress than its worth. Floodplains are called floodplains for a reason.

Imagine if it flooded. Are you prepared to live somewhere else for weeks or even months, while your property dries out and is repaired?

You would have to check if you can get a mortgage and what the insurance would be. You also need to consider how you would feel and what you would do if it DID flood.

Don't do it.

I recently had part of my house flooded from a dodgy water tank in the loft. It was very stressful dealing with the mess and having to throw away ruined stuff. The insurance company were very helpful but it's still a hassle to replace flooring, furniture and other items. Only 3 rooms were affected (which included the kitchen and bathroom) so it must be terrible when the whole house is uninhabitable.

I would say that it doesn't matter how lovely the village is where the property is, because it won't be worth the upset once you have to deal with a flood.