To buy a flat in a block that has flooded

[Nellythephant]

Grateful for any advice !

I have put an offer on a ground floor flat in a converted Victorian house in west London, ticks all the boxes, 4 flats in building, basement, ground, first and second floor flats.

However, just found out that the building flooded in July 2021, main damage to basement flat, freeholder decided not to get flood insurance as too expensive.

Am I on ground floor going to be affected or is there anything I am not thinking of? Not sure how high water came up, but will find out.!

Thanks anyone who has any insight, seems safe enough but not completely sure.

AIBU - Yes buy it
No - consequences I am unaware of

EA seems very blase about it and says water never reach ground floor and I would be fine

I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. Have you checked if you can get insurance for it & how much it would cost

Terrible idea. It's not just about whether the water reaches you. As soon as the ground floor plug sockets get wet the electricity to the whole building will usually go. If the water in your pipes gets contaminated with flood water, you can't drink the water. If the water gets into the building's sewage system, you will have dirty water coming up your toilets and drains.

And beside all that, frequent flooding destabilizes a building, they're not made to cope with it. You can end up with sinkholes under your foundations, foundations being eroded through freeze/thaw of constantly changing water levels rather than a relatively stable ground water level, and if the water is coming up into the basement it can damage the retaining walls and precipitate a total collapse of the building.

Not a chance in hell I'd buy this when the last time it flooded was 2021.

With climate change, extreme weather events will only get more frequent and severe.

Definitely wouldn’t buy it

I wouldn’t.

Would you even be able to get a mortgage if the lender has access to that info too?

PIL works in flood insurance.

Absolutely way would I buy that.

Nope, don't do it! If there has been flooding, there will be flooding. That's why the insurance is unaffordable. The insurance companies know that there will be more flooding.

The problem with flooding is that everything has to be replaced. Walls, flooring, electrics, soft furnishing, wooden fittings, and on and on. And I'd bet it wasn't all replaced last time.

Of course the estate agent (if that's what "EA" is) is being blase. The EA wants to make the sale! Don't trust a word.

Also, it doesn't matter if the water didn't reach the ground floor last time, flooding is getting worse because of climate change, so who knows what will happen in future. More importantly, if the building below your residence has been flooded then there are likely to be all kinds of problems associated with that. There could be structural damage to the building supports, mould in the walls that'll spread to your residence and create an unhealthy breathing environment for you, etc.

I would not go near this and I don't own. If it looks like a good deal it's because whoever is selling it wants to be rid of it. Don't do it. I'll worry about you and hope you pull your offer.

Also, when you are interested in a place in future, do all you can to check the geologic history of the area. Whether there has been any flooding in the past, whether there's any erosion that might threaten the stability your building, whether there's a history of landsliding, etc. So many people are caught out and end up losing their houses.

If it is Jul21 check if it was the flooding as a result issues with the Thames Water pipes which happened in West London around then.

Obviously the rain was bad to make it happen but the main issue was serious infrastructure issues with respect to drainage if I recall correctly.

I'd be very wary.

Never trust an estate agent. They work for the seller. No way would I consider it. Walk away.

DO NOT BUY.
Freeholder who doesn't insure the common parts is breaking the terms of the lease. Supposing there is a fire - you'd lose your home. Does your mortgage co know there's no buildings insurance?

Freeholder who doesn't insure is also likely to be dodgy full stop.
Flooding can damage the building
Resale will be more difficult
It may indeed reach the ground floor depending on level.
Not worth it.

Yes, it was, flat in Ladbroke Grove, sewers couldn't cope with water from the rain

Not sure of Thames Water involvement though?

They have got buildings insurance just excluding flooding?

I'd wonder what else the freeholder decided not to do.

Big no from me

no, of course not.
did you think anyone would say yes ??

Absolutely do not buy it. If it's flooded that recently it's highly likely to flood again - probably worse next time. Easy for the estate agents to say that - they won't be the ones living with the consequences!

oh, ok - glad to hear they have buildings insurance

Thanks everyone, its a great flat and I was just thinking flood water wouldn't reach ground floor flat, but that sounds wishful thinking now!

Going to find out more tomorrow and see, its a good price, and a lovely flat, EA says damage to my flat wouldn't happen if I bought it, but he is on commission so can't trust what he says too much !

No way. If there's no flooding insurance, flood damage will have to be put right at the expense of the leaseholders, even if it doesn't reach your flat.

Seriously, don't trust a word the EA says. He is not an engineer or geologist or flood insurance worker. He just wants to make the sale. Don't do it.

Like I said, it doesn't matter if the water reaches the ground floor flat, if it reaches any part of the building, there will be expensive problems and/or health risks. Do. Not. Do. It. The price is good because the seller wants to get rid of it. You could lose everything.

They are the water provider for the area so responsible for the maintenance and management (or in this case lack of) for the water supply and sewer maintanance.

I have friends who had properties flooded in Jul'21 and it was awful. The flooding they experienced wasn't the sort of flooding which is cause rivers bursting banks or such, but sewage water flooding the property from the inside as it was coming up through the pipes.

And dealing with Thames Water was painful as hell too.

For reference I live in London on the Thames(though different area) and have risk accepted the flooding warning which come with buying a property close to the river. But I am not sure having seen what friends went through I could buy there and have confidence in TW it won't happen again. Particularly with the sate of the company as it is now.

Wouldn't touch it

Thanks everyone, alot to think about, sounds like the freeholder not very clued up and I could suffer also if the building flooded again

EA just keeps saying only basement flat at risk

As previous posters have already mentioned, it doesn't matter whether the flood water would directly affect your flat or not. Any damage to the structure of the building will be the responsibility of all leaseholders and you will end up paying for it.

The whole building is at risk if any part of it is flooded. There is no such thing as only the basement flat being at risk because if it is flooded, there could be structural damage to the building, mould, damage to the pipes and electrics, and other problems.

If it sounds like I'm nagging you, I am. I spent years working at an institution where we'd often be called on to provide advice in legal cases about this sort of situation. I never, ever encountered a home owner who came out of a case OK (and most of the people who could afford to hire us were very wealthy indeed. They could afford the best legal advice). Always, always avoid buying a home that has been flooded and always check the flood history. Your situation is particularly complicated because you wouldn't be the sole owner of the building. This may seem like a good deal but I would not go near it and it stresses me out that you might!

You are probably tempted because it's a good price, but that's why it's a good price, because they know they couldn't get what it should be worth