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?

Dont do it. Being flooded is devastating

I wouldn't buy a house that had flooded twice in ten years. Regardless of what the estate agent said, your own solicitor or surveyor should have picked up on the flood risk. and explained it to you.

Get a quote for insurance. That should give you an idea of the issues involved in that location. High flood risk does not sound good for a forever home...

aside from the flood risk I would not push yourselves to top end of budget as mortgage rates are going to go up can you still afford mortgage if rates go up by 3, 5 or 7 %?

I'm also surprised this floodable house is "not a bargain".

You can look on the Environment Agency website and get flood risk information for properties. I'd look at that and try and get more information.

Have there been any flood defences or mitigations put in place other than the current owner improving drainage?

I've seen properties near me flooded - it's devastating for the people involved. Many move after they've been flooded and new owners move in firmly believing that the previous owners were unlucky and that the property won't be flooded again. The flooding reoccurs.

Unless something major is done to stop it flooding will reoccur and generally get worse with climate change.

The properties near me are now getting a multi million pound flood defence system built. Unless there's someone like that planned I wouldn't buy a flood risk property.

Seller info forms usually include insurance claim info

as she seems helpful could you ask the EA to ask for exact details of what happened? Presume you have seen copy of buildings insurance?

🚨 No chance. Not in a million years.

A flooded house causes untold damage that can take months to repair (not to mention the smell!) and will make it difficult to sell in future.

Not to mention a lifetime of worry.

Don’t…just…don’t. You will find another house. 🚨

I would pull out and sue the fucking estate agents for every penny of the money you've spent and for time you've wasted.

Climate change is real and advancing like the clippers. I would definitely investigate things properly before buying that house.

You have got to think about resale too … what if owing to some unforeseen life event you have to sell earlier than planned?

Pull out

I would pull out and demand financial compensation from the estate agents for monies spent as you were not aware of flood the risk.
Also may be hard to get a mortgage on it.

Twice in 10 years is far too much. I would pull out.
We’ve pulled out in a similar situation. It was a dream house as well and only part of the garden flooded recently. It’s tough decision but the right one.

It depends how much risk you are willing to live with. Also work out the cost in practical terms. Eg presuming this is being offered at a good market price, does that balance out the cost of increased insurance cover?

We bought a risky house (not floods) and asked for a reduction in price after the survey came through. We had to source a specialist insurer and paid very high insurance for a few years. After no claims and payment for an additional survey to show no change, the cost has reduced so for us it worked out.

If flooding was due to run off water has the LA done any recent maintenance in the area or is any planned for? Worth checking.

I would pull out in a heartbeat would t risk it

OP, we had a similar situation, except we found out after we bought. The previous owner had died, and we guess the kids just wanted the house gone and said nothing. We had also checked (pre-sale) the relevant flood websites for this area, and they indicated nothing. After we bought, we found out it flooded every decade, mainly on one side of the house. On the plus side, the house is 200 years old, and the place the water comes in is at the door, so we are removing the door, sealing it to make a wall.

We also cannot insure it for flood damage. This is not a big problem for us, as the house is not worth much (it requires renovation), and we have adapted our house plans to have the upper two stories house our white goods, and the lower stories the living spaces. We don't know how it will go, but we plan to just get on with it.

Twice in ten years is significant, OP. I don’t think I could continue - houses are expensive enough, without the high insurance and hassle or replacing and repairing everything.

I don't think I'd risk it, OP.

We had over 100 properties flooded in my town in 2000 (previously flooded in 1960). Several friends had to leave their homes, one was unable to move back in for 9 months, it took so long to have the damage repaired. They lost every single thing on the ground floor.

Their house used to be worth around the same as mine, but the value of property in all the flooded areas dropped quite a bit. Theirs has never fully recovered, and is still worth about 10-20% less than mine, despite extensive flood prevention work having been done.

Unless it's realistically priced to reflect the risk, and insurance isn't punitively expensive or have a massive excess, I wouldn't take the chance, personally. Improved road drainage requires requires maintenance, and they don't seem to do an awful lot of that these days.

I definitely wouldn't buy it. Even if it never flooded again (unlikely) it would cause me too much stress worrying about it.

Absolutely no way - even houses that haven't flooded yet may well become dangerous flood risks in the next 30 years in England (a google of recent articles on this will bring up loads), so a house that's already flooding... complete no go, IMO!!

(Also, an aside, but that first climate change denier poster just makes me want to bang my head against a wall. I wouldn't have expected that among the educated posters of mumsnet, ughhhhhh.)

Really sorry about your house, OP.

The estate agent isn’t obliged to tell you about any risk unfortunately. That’s what professional surveys are for and why you need one.

that's an interesting opinion. How did you form it?

I wouldn't proceed, and I would pull out of the purchase. Can't believe the agent "forgot" to tell you - that's awful. Did nothing come back on the searches etc?

I would pull out without a second thought.