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?

I wouldn't buy it either. Sorry OP I know how disappointed you must be, but just be grateful you found out now.

Pull out. I wouldn’t touch somewhere that’s flooded twice in 10 years.

I’m sorry for you and the seller. They tried to do the right thing and you’ve all been messed about by an unscrupulous estate agent. I don’t believe for a second that they ‘forgot’.

This exactly.

I grew up in an area that experienced severe flooding every few years and an element of "normal" flooding every year.

It can really devastate lives and destroy homes. To have it happen repeatedly is awful.

Added to that, I think its becoming increasingly difficult to ensure homes for flood damage.

If it floods at all, it is not the house of your dreams, I promise.

Don’t touch it, have a look at what has been happening here in Australia over the past couple of years. Absolutely heartbreaking that families who were just starting to rebuild their lives have now had to deal with the same thing again. There is no way I would buy a house with a history of flooding.

@waveyourpompoms of course climate change is more likely to make extreme weather more common, what planet are you on?

Sorry to say it but I would pull out now and be thankful you found out in time xx

You don’t mention anything about finding it a bargain which suggests you think it’s valued at what you’d expect for a house like that with no flood risk. Definitely don’t buy it. It’s a shame for the seller as they seem to have been trying to be fair and honest. It’s the estate agent that’s messed it up.

If they have just had the searches back they won't have had the sellers information form yet.

Pull out for sure. My parents’ house growing up was prone to flooding and even with extra drainage and flood defences on standby, they lost everything on the ground floor in 2006 and it was absolutely devastating.

@cormorant5 when the environment agency first produced the flood risk map, it was too broad-based and included houses that had never flooded and were unlikely to ever flood. My house was included and I had to pay higher insurance that year, even though any objective assessment would have said that if my house flooded, most of England would have flooded. The next year the environment agency refined their map and my house and many others disappeared from the flood risk map. But now the flood risk map is pretty accurate, so it will affect premiums.

I'd check how bad the floods were- garden only I might consider it if house was higher up - my DGP house had that it used to flood other side on council land but they build up their side so it flooded DGP side - but it was a drop to stream - then another huge drop to garden so only ever got half way up the huge garden.

I'd would have to look at the insurance situation. We had a mad situation with a rented flat- 4th floor we only wanted contents insurance but for some reason it was down as a flood risk - river didn't tend to flood and block was on a rise - so getting insurance was a pain and more expensive.

It can take months and months to dry properties out - or thousands to install proper flood defences.

I would be very inclined to pull out - but if you not then check how bad floods are, what further flood defences that could be added and the price and insurance situation.

We are really far along. We have a buyer for our house ready to go, survey done last week (which was my first clue something was up) solicitors instructed and payed for, already doing searches, mortgage arranged and ready to go. This was our final viewing to show our kids (7 and 2) thier new house and measure up to make sure furniture fit.

Climate change isn’t more likely to make it happen 🙄 Don’t buy into that.

^ what an odd comment. Climate change is making weather more unpredictable. That will increase flooding in the UK. Sources: The EA and the Met Office (amongst many other peer reviewed papers).

This.

I'd pull out so fast.

My father worked in insurance. The excess for an insurance policy on a house that has been flooded in the past five years can be over £10k.

Has it been valued by your mortgage company? Would they lend on it? If it's got a high flood risk it might not even be ''worth'' the amount it's up for.

Check the cost of insuring this place.

I know you say this is your ''forever'' home (ie not worried about re-sale? but you mustn't make decisions based on this.
a) you never know what's round the corner. You don't want to be saddled with a house you can't sell for what you paid for it.
b) you don't want your kids to be saddled with a house they can't get a decent price for.
c) the cost of future clean ups and flood prevention might run into thousands over the years on top of the above.

This is not your dream home. It's a time bomb.

Pull out.

One of the things I did before I brought is looked at the environmental agency flood map for every property I looked at.

It did help that I knew there was surface flooding in one area I was interested in and river flooding in another area I use to rent in. I actually knew 2 people who lived in the latter area that ended up getting flooded.

So sorry but you would be crazy to buy it. It’s a good thing you found out now and not on the day you moved in. I’m sure something else will eventually become available that will be perfect. You really don’t want to start having panic attacks every time it rains. Not worth it

I'd pull out too, sorry. And tell the owner to instruct a new estate agent who will be more honest! I'd be fuming if I were her.
Climate change means that sort of thing is only going to become more likely, and twice in 10 years is far too many times.

Pull out of the purchase, sell your house, and rent while you look for something else.

If the survey flood risk is high then the house needs to be significantly discounted for you to even think about buying it, and I wouldn't full stop. That's why you do a survey.

Why are you asking randoms on MN instead of getting FACTS from people in the know? Has your conveyancing solicitor considered (and discarded?) this risk. Ditto your mortgagor?
If they are not worried then why are you?

Thanks the stars you found out in time to save you years of stress, disruption, loss, misery and financial ruin. Pull out NOW.

Submit a compaint about the lying estate agent to their professional body.

If this was absolutely my dream home and I was expecting to live there forever, I would look into the extra drainage and properly investigate what it's supposed to do and how effective that kind of action has been elsewhere.

I wouldn't necessarily pull out immediately, but I'd be quite hesitant about going ahead.

Something else to think about might be if you're in a built up area, and if on the Local Plan there are areas not far away earmarked for future housing. Because if there is further development, run off problems have the potential to increase over time anyway however you try to mitigate them now.

Tell the owner to instruct a new estate agent who will be more honest!

They'd have to find one first

As so may have said before, that small print about the EA details forming no part of the actual contract are there for a reason ...