Long shot- underground streams?

[Ponyofdoom]

Anyone know about these? I have seen a gorgeous property which I really like but it seems to have an underground water course running very near to it, there is a borehole/generator or something in the field a few hundred yards away, a well by the front door and other wells in a straightish line away from the property. The land seemed wetter in patches near this water course. Its ringing massive alarm bells. Walk away or get someone to investigate further? Thanks..

Have you asked the vendor about it? How long have they lived there? Have they ever been refused insurance because of it? Ask the EA to check all this out with the seller or ask for another viewing to talk about these specific concerns. They will have to declare all of this in the seller's questionnaire if they find a buyer for the property so they should have no problems in discussing it with you and they are all very relevant questions.

If you love the property and it has caused no problems in the past then it needn't be a deal breaker but it will need careful investigation by your solicitor if go ahead!

Yes, the vendor, who has lived there abut 12 years, said it was something called 'issues?' and is going to send me more information, so I will see what it says. I have emailed the EA expressing my concerns so will see what he comes back with. I really don't want wet/swampy land and it is where I would put outbuildings, so it is off putting. Also on aerial photos the garden where it runs looks really yellow as if it might be waterlogged. Hmm. Many thanks for your help.

Sounds like the water table is very close the surface around the house. It may well come up during wet weather.

We do have a well in our basement but it is very deep and we had wells around the farm as a child but none caused problems. My parents also bought a farm with huge cistern tank under the kitchen they didnt know about that was collecting water from a spring but not a problem.

It really depends on the 'issues'.

Hmm tricky one, not sure what to think. Thanks for sharing your thoughts MoreBeta. I also have a well on my land at the moment which doesn't cause any problems, it was more the wet land that was worrying me. I know its January but we have had a very dry Winter. Thanks.

Down in town there is a house with a stream running under the floor.
Southern water are responsible for the stream and pay for the pumps that manage the flow under the house.
The hum is a bit odd when you first go in but you get used to it.
Friends lived there for 2 years (rented house)
its been like it for over 100 years.

That is fascinating, Talkin! The house I am interested in is very old, 17th Century I think, so I guess it might have been living happily with its stream for centuries. Still twitchy about buying problems though!

Do you know if it is a stream under the house or just marshy land?

Thinking about this a bit more, I do know of a farmhouse, quite an old one, that is surrounded by exactly the kind of 'yellow' patches you describe. In wet weather in winter it is almost surrounded by a constant shallow puddle of water.

That is interesting! I would worry about the whole house being damp in that case, but 'my' house doesn't feel damp. I dont know where exactly the stream-if it is one-goes, it could go under the house or just in front. In a very old Summer photo of it you can see the same poor grass plus what looks like a puddle of water in the front garden. In other old photos, the garden is an immaculate vegetable patch. The fields seem reasonably OK in most places but a small ditch has been dug around the hedgeline presumably to improve drainage; it does not look like your typical very old ditch but a more recent one.. thanks.

www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-25706104.html
has the river Test running under it

old friends had a house with a stream in the cellar in wiltshire

the one in central southampton - you never see or hear the water, just the pumps.

Amazing thanks!

round here (between the sea and the South Downs) we have lots of surface and underground streams, springs and wells.

Mostly the water table is kept low enough by drainage. There are some areas that are low and not well-drained, you can see the difference in grass and scrub colour (and no trees as their roots drown) and these are also the areas that get waterlogged and, from time to time, standing water and flooding.

I would not want a waterlogged garden, and would be anxious about the availablity and cost of flood insurance. It might also make it difficult to get a mortgage or resell.

I was just musing about this while on my way into work. Is the house timber framed? If so, I bet the sole plate is shot to buggery unless it's already been replaced. As far as I can see, our house is being kept up due to habit and strategic dabs of concrete.

Thanks for the further thoughts. The vendor has been brilliant & sent further info including a map and an old report which states that a 'sub straight water flow' was found 'running....under the property'.....and also states that there are 'issues' (presumably where the water reaches the surface) at two points on the property. In old pictures, there was also a proper duck pond outside the back door. I was particularly trying to avoid wet land due to previous experience, so I think I may have to follow my head here rather than my heart here. The house is stone/brick rather than timber Grendels so hopefully OK..thanks again.

PS have you had anyone to look at your house Grendels? I bet there are a lot of old properties like that though and they will probably stay up a lot longer than the modern rubbish!!

Pony - I bet if you dug the duck pond out (its probably just had rubbish dumped in it) the land might well drain into it. The pond was there for a reason and filling it just displaced the water.

Depends if it is really cheap and if the land can be drained and if it might be your forever house.

Actually another pond was dug, but further away & I don't think the water drains into it as apparently it dries up in the Summer, so you are probably right that the displaced water is now in the front garden. I know (a little) about draining normal clay soils, but I would need to find out about whether/how one could drain clay soils with an under ground stream.

It's maybe a case of head v. heart, but it does sound like a lovely house. I do agree on the idea that the duck pond was there for a reason. That's the thing about these old houses - it's all been done for a reason, you just can't figure out what the reason is until you make the same mistake.

We've got the builders in at the moment - hence suddenly thinking about the sole plate in the house you described. It's all fixable - it just costs a lot!

SO... MoreBeta - I think you said you were going to go ahead and buy the house you've been renting? Is that still going ahead?