Found out devastating news about house we are about to buy, Should we pull out?

[Welikethemoon]

We were all set to move, got everything in place, went for second viewing to show our daughters thier new house for the first time. Owner was there so I asked her about the flood risk which has come up as surprisingly high on the survey. She looked shocked and said she thought we knew it had been flooded twice in last 10 years but flash flood rain water run off and also before she moved in. She had instructed estate agent to tell everyone who viewed. We have had the offer accepted since April, estate agents just told me, sorry they "forgot" to tell us. Now don't know what to do. Thus was supposed to be our "forever" home, that had everything we needed. I have a very specific list of things I wanted and this ticks all the boxes, there us nothing else currently on the market that comes close. It's a significantly bigger mortgage than current place. I don't want to move again after this. Seller has said she has put in extra drainage since the last flood, but it hasn't been tested in similar conditions since so no guarantee it would work. Plus with climate change its more likely to happen.
Husband still wants to move, I'm not so sure. What would you do? AIBU to pull out now, risk losing our buyers and wait for a better house to come on the market?

Aww thankyou,didn't expect that acknowledgement lol.
Yes all the time.it makes you paranoid about the height of tables.putting things on the floor.leaving the house without checking washing machine and even taps ffks. Having a wash on overnight,this led from natural flooding.juat paranoid about anything that could causs the same thing.going away and expecting to come back to a flood is one of the worst.and I swear the smell is caught in my nostrils forever.
I'm sure people get over it better than me though😐

Well done on making the decision OP and good luck with it al going forward. No idea whether you can get any compensation from the EA but it's got to be worth a try.
Mostly I hope you find a fabulous house that you would never have known about if you'd gone ahead with this one!

Aw, how disappointed you must be.

So glad you've made your decision
Disappointing I know as your vision of your perfect house is so important, but so is your sanity
There will be another house
See if you can get compensation from EA
Business will suffer as word gets around they're liars
Good luck with your search for another property

Pull out now!!! You must have a case against the estate agents and the Solicitors as it appears they all knew! A complaint to a higher authority as well i think! Do not buy! you will be scared every time it rains. We've flooded once (only our garage) caused by a neighbour blocking our drain and in a deluge it overcame our drain grill. These rain events are happening all the time over wider areas. Do not buy on a flood plain.

I would not even think about it now, cancel it or you may come to regret it

Don’t go any further, the Estate Agent is lying to you. What else have they lied about ?

Pull out now

Perhaps this is one that the DM should highlight.

Untrustworthy Estate Agents

They could do a 'pull-out and save', hang-it-on-your-wall, souvenir, jubilee edition.

I recently pulled out of a purchase for the same reason - it was horrible but necessary to avoid a disaster . We found out so much that had been ‘forgotten’ by the EA .
We have another to buy and it didn’t take too long…. from a different Agent .
Run
No wonder Estate Agents get a bad press.

How much does the current owner pay in insurance? That’s a useful way to judge what insurers think of the risk. And how much did they spend on the new drainage? I’d be wary but since it ticks all the other boxes, I wouldn’t pull ot yet.

Check you can get flood insurance, if it’s a no , don’t buy !!!!

Well done Op on your research and posting your query here. Well done to the Mumsnet tribe for setting you on the right path.
Can you report this up the line to some Agency that watches over Estate Agents? Maybe you've a case to recoup your costs from the solicitor?
Best of luck in your future house search

don't move there, it will break your heart if it floods again, + as said above^

I'd pull out. You would regret it if there was a flood and everything was ruined.

I lived in a road which flooded. We had cellars. On one side of the road they’d need pumping out every couple of years due to flooding. Our side, never.

Personally, I’d pull out now.

Suggest speaking with your surveyor and potentially getting a more specialist survey done if necessary. It may be that there is an option to do more preventative work to prevent damage from flooding and to renegotiate the price accordingly

Definitely YANBU. You will find another home!

Personal lines insurers will insure for flooding now, they pay into a flood re scheme, it’s only commercial property owner policies that will exclude flood and they do this based on layering of normal flood risk (rivers, steams, sea etc) but also surface water. Personally I wouldn’t buy once in receipt of that knowledge as you will be constantly on tenterhooks every time it rains and the situation will get worse over time as more and more developments are built with less and less greenery to absorb the run off water

All you need to do is talk to your prospective house insurers regarding property and its history. l would be surprised if you got a mortgage through anyone other than a specialist. l think the seller has been more than fare but EA and Solicitor need reporting to their professional bodies. Should you go ahead and you are flooded they will just say they told you. Plus your surveyor must have picked up on it. If not this set of professionals are incompetent at best and colluding at worst. I do feel sorry for your disappointment but walk away and consider it a close shave.

💐🍷 to try and cheer you up + 🍰 if needed

Where I live there has been flodding in low lying properties. They have had 3 100 year floods in the last year. Global warming is reeking havoc and there’s been talk of govt swapping land on higher ground, the only problem is you have to pay for a new house on the new property. I wouldn’t buy the house and I would report the real estate agency to its professional body. There was the case where a very religious phillipino lady bought a home not knowing the fact a family was mascared there. She was a able to get full price plus removalist fees back, and a law was brought in making it criminal to hide a houses history

The insurability and price of insurance and exclusions in their policy would be the deciding point.

I would also add flood doors, bunds, sump pumps etc as part of the general moving in renovations and at any sensible juncture going forward. Remember to test them regularly.

Also consider how you furnish, particularly how you floor and finish the lower walls downstairs.

Perhaps this risk is reflected in the price? Hence why you can hit all of your checkpoints and stills afford it .

It sounds like your heading towards your limits. Remember the interest rate is only going one way... Can you afford it at 5% 8% or 12%. Dont forget to add in extra council tax, and cost of living rises.

If it's all affordable and you can live with the risk, go for it.

The mother in law lives in a property at risk of surface water flooding at peak rainfall. She's done all the above and loves with it. She did however call us from Switzerland at midnight to ask is to zip around and put the flood gates up.

Pull out. Besides which home insurance will be sky high. Funny how the estate agents conveniently “forgot” to mention something as important as flood risk!
Smell a rat

Run! You'll find you won't get insurance (or it will be very expensive) if the house has flooded. Estate agent "forgot" -- they are interested in selling the property and getting their commission. You won't be thinking how lovely the house is if it floods. Every time there is a rainstorm, you'll be worrying. It really isn't worth the risk. You don't want to find your new house gets damaged by flood.

Do not buy. All flooding will only get significantly worse in the next 10 years as climate issues really start to bite.
You should have been told.