Can I find out if a house we're looking at has been flooded?

[LizzieMint]

We're house-hunting in somerset, and have found a house we like. We know that the postcode is regarded as a flood risk, and the owners of the house have flood defences in place. Is there a way of finding out (apart from asking the current owners) if the house has been flooded recently?

you must certainly ask the owners, they aren't allowed to lie about this.

you also ask round the neighbourhood,look at news archives, and run some insurance quotes on the place to see what it would cost. And indeed if you can get cover at all!

We have asked the owner (unofficially, not through solicitors) but being a cynical type, I wondered if there was a cast-iron way of finding out! The house is on it's own, rather than in a village so haven't found any news reports on it. I have done an (eye-watering!) insurance quote, so I know we can get insurance, but just wanted to find out one way or another if the actual house had been flooded.

Meant to say, even if we don't get this house, we'll still be looking in somerset so it's something we're going to have to investigate whatever house we buy I should think.

Yes . Look on the environment agency flood map. It should tell you risk of flooding based on past actual data. We live just off a flood zone (literally). It is on their web site.

If it floods regularly, there will be tiled floors throughout the ground floor and (if it's an old house) the plug sockets will be halfway up the walls (as opposed to just above the skirting board). New houses are required to put sockets 450mm above the floor now anyway.

Make an offer and ask officially through solicitors. As specialsubject said, they aren't allowed to lie to you. We're selling and had to answer a detailed questionnaire which included the question "has the property ever flooded?" Don't know if this is mandatory for all properties being sold.

How extensive are the flood defences that are in place? That certainly suggests the property has flooded or is in danger of flooding. Did the flood defences work? All questions you can legitimately ask the owners or the agents.

You have probably discovered the environment agency flood risk map but be aware that it can't tell you about a specific house. On our road we are all considered high risk according to that map but the ground floor heights of the houses means that most are not actually in danger of flooding while some do fairly regularly.

It is difficult to hide all evidence of a recent flood. Look for evidence of a tidemark on the exterior, (sheds don't generally get repainted immediately), and yes if there is a lot of new decor/work on the floors and lower walls then this is suspicious. Most people imo don't bother with flood defences unless they've flooded or it has been a close call, or if insurance companies insist even though you've argued against there being a risk ie they believe you have covered up a flood.

Don't put too much reliance on the flood map. Our last house was on the map and it was further away and on the other side of the road from a group of houses that weren't on it - and I know they flooded because I helped clear up after one lot!

We told the EA that the map needed updating and they couldn't give a toss. Check with your solicitor for actual wording, but I think if you put a direct question along the lines of "has the property itself, or the gardens been flooded by rain run off or river water" then they have to answer.

I was looking at a house which had a high risk of flooding, near river with no defences. I asked the agent if the property had flooded and the owner stated it had not. For peace of mind I asked my solicitor if there was a search she could do to confirm this. She ran a report and found the property had indeed flooded. I ended up buying elsewhere.

Check you can get house insurance

Thanks for the info, seems like there's not much to do unless/until we get solicitors involved. There's no sign of damage at the house, carpets on ground floor (didn't notice sockets). The owners had a flood prevention survey done several years back and implemented the recommendations - there's a stream nearby which they built a retaining wall next to, the house also has a retaining wall around it. It's a very old house, 1830s or so.

We looked at a house that was in a flood risk area. Although the agent said the house had never flooded, she suggested that if we were considering putting an offer in (and before there were any formalities), we should go talk to the postman. It had been the same postman in the area for years and he had excellent local knowledge. As it happened, we didn't go see the postman because there were other things about the house that we didn't like.