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Original poster

Why do people buy houses that will flood?

29 replies

rodentforce · 05/08/2019 18:34

I'm buying a house in a town where flooding is a problem, and so I've taken care to avoid the areas that flood. During my search I looked at a gorgeous house and was about to make an offer, then checked and realised it floods - not just in extreme circumstances, but pretty much all the time. I looked up the planning documents and there was a flood risk assessment that basically said 'this will continue to flood badly and there's nothing you can do about it'. I didn't make an offer for this reason - but I've just seen that the house has been sold. At first I thought that maybe people don't bother to check, but then I realised that solicitors check for flooding as part of their routine investigations. I'm baffled as to why anyone would buy a house like that, regardless of how lovely it is! Well ... maybe a buy-to-let landlord might decide that the profit from the rent will outweigh the cost of fixing any flood damage, but who would choose it for their home? Anyone done this?

OP posts:
Original poster
rodentforce · 05/08/2019 18:34

Oh, and from what I can tell, the houses in the areas that flood are not cheaper than ones in the areas that don't flood, so it can't be a cost issue ...

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Knitclubchatter · 05/08/2019 18:38

contractors and those with the finances and means to remediate the problem. possibly tear down and rebuild if the site is special.
there is always a way to address flooding however it can be very expensive and require specialist equipment.

Thrupennybrit · 05/08/2019 18:40

I can't think even a buy to let landlord would buy because the costs involved would not make financial sense. Insurance alone is thousands rather than hundreds. Having to put up a dishomed tenant is eyewateringly expensive, even the pets might need extended hoteling.

The price of the property should reflect the risk and that is why the house sells. And some people need to learn things the hard way.

Original poster
rodentforce · 05/08/2019 18:54

@knitclubchatter That's the weird thing though - the fact that those houses are not cheaper means that it's hardly worth the bother!

The mind boggles ... I honestly can't think of an explanation other than: buyers don't check, doubt read the stuff from their solicitors, and their solicitors don't draw their attention to it 🤷

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Original poster
rodentforce · 05/08/2019 18:56

@Thrupennybrit I hadn't even thought of the insurance issue! 😱😱😱 And buyers have to insure the house from exchange of contracts, so presumably have to answer questions about flooding at a point when there's still an opportunity to pull out ...

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Threehoursfromhome · 05/08/2019 19:00

People are bad at assessing risk, I think. I used to work in flood risk management and the amount of times you'd say to a person, ' this property has an annual 1 in 50 change of flooding' (which is medium flood risk, and which I personally would not touch) and they'd reply, 'ah well, I'm not going to be around in 50 year's time, so that's okay,' was quite something. And no matter how hard you tried to explain one in fifty didn't mean that for the next 49 yrs they would be fine, it meant that in any given year there was a 2% chance of flooding, and the same again the next year, and the next, they just would not get it.

The other thing is most people underestimate how much devastation a flood can cause. They don't realise the water will probably be full of raw sewerage and they may be out of the property for months, possibly longer, while it's cleaned and dried out and then that the next year they have the same risk of it happening again.

nocoolnamesleft · 05/08/2019 19:02

When I was house hunting, I rejected 3 properties on the basis of my perception of potential flood risk. 2 of them have since flooded.

longearedbat · 05/08/2019 19:05

I know someone whose house flooded badly in 2007. Big isolated detached house with a 1 in 100 flood risk. It was all eventually put right, but their insurance excess was 25k after that. It hasn't flooded since fortunately.

HarrietSchulenberg · 05/08/2019 19:31

I think it's people who let their hearts rule their heads. I used to live in a very popular location, the lower reaches (the prettiest ones) of which flooded every spring. My house was higher up and the river flooded the bottom of the garden but would have to rise by 30ft to reach the house. I never understood why anyone bought the flood prone ones but they did and still do.

mumwon · 05/08/2019 19:34

People don't read al the details when buying their houses or understand them. However in some areas virtually all the housing maybe at risk from flooding. In the current case of the damaged reservoir technically these houses were probably not at risk of flooding

Passthecherrycoke · 05/08/2019 19:37

If you don’t have a mortgage you don’t actually have to do any conveyancing. It’s possible that there are people who just don’t bother investigating. It could be people who desperately want the location. Flood planes are now being built on and they’re being sold and seem insurable (Developers have started offering incentives here ie on site flood wardens though)

thatonesmine · 05/08/2019 19:46

We owned a house in Gloucestershire with a river running behind it. It flooded badly in 2007 and I mean BADLY. That didn't stop someone buying it from us in 2014 and I understand it's been sold again since then. Our buyer definitely knew about the flooding and that insurance would be either expensive or wouldn't cover for flood risk and it didn't put them off.

Rainbowknickers · 05/08/2019 20:10

When we bought our house that was the first thing we checked!
In fact I’ve never lived in a flood risk area
Saying that my mate was in a low flood area and got flooded
It caused so much havoc to her life in every way
Some people just don’t think longer term I guess

Original poster
rodentforce · 05/08/2019 20:17

Really interesting comments. I'm 😮😮😮 at the news that some people are told about the risk but still go ahead and buy.

The house that I mentioned in the OP not only floods regularly, it also overlooks the garden of the house next door, which is owned by the council, and which is earmarked to be knocked down to make way for a major new road. This info is publicly accessible in the planning documents (the house was only built in 2015). It is really going to be a shitty buy for whoever is getting it. But I can see why they love it ... very close to town but tucked away so it has a quiet, rural feel, overlooks green areas (ahem ... until the new road) with hills in the distance, nice layout. Will not be so nice when it's knee deep in sewage, but in the meantime ...

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ohsitdownnexttome · 05/08/2019 22:38

It's says sold, but surely it's just under offer and once their solicitor says about the road and the flood risk they won't go ahead? I remember my solicitor having a hissy about surface water flooding when I was buying a flat. It was in a moderate risk area, no rivers, canals so would of only been down to rain / drainage. I did think durrr it's a first floor flat, but I appreciate now that it would affect the sewage and the electrics and foundations of the building etc. So some of it is naivety like me being my first time buyer.

Unless it's a cash buyer, with not getting any checks, but that seems unlikely. My parents purchased cash when downsizing and still go every check under the sun.

Threehoursfromhome · 06/08/2019 08:07

Possibly the road building involves flood mitigation work which will also reduce the risk to the house. Otherwise, it sounds as though the road will flood too, given its proximity to the house and the frequency with which that floods. At the very least, it sounds as though there is a risk that surface water run off from the road could worsen the house's flooding problems and I would think that planners would want some mitigation work in place to address that.

Obviously, living next to a major road has its own downsides, but it might solve the flooding.

Walkmehome · 06/08/2019 08:12

Maybe they don’t have the searches done or a survey?

SouthernComforts · 06/08/2019 08:20

A street in my town floods in heavy rain as the river runs alongside it. Luckily there are steps up to the ground floor of the houses so they are protected.. except 90% of the street have converted their cellars into kitchen/living areas, which end up 5ft deep in water, every time Confused then they do sad faces on social media. Baffles me. The houses are 4 storey so plenty of space without converting the cellar (or the indoor swimming pool as my parents call it).

Songofsixpence · 06/08/2019 08:32

My postcode shows as a high risk for flooding.

I live half way up a hill. Whenever there is a spring tide, the 2 houses at the bottom of the hill get some minor flooding - for which they prepare for so there’s never any internal damage

I have the same postcode

In reality it would have to be some pretty biblical type flooding to get anywhere near me - the houses at the bottom of the hill would have to be completely underwater and then some

Original poster
rodentforce · 06/08/2019 09:54

It's says sold, but surely it's just under offer and once their solicitor says about the road and the flood risk they won't go ahead?

No, it was 'under offer' for a while but now removed from the market and marked 'recently sold'. I only still see the ad because i faved it on Rightmove.

The flood risk investigation included with the planning documents basically said, this site will continue to flood badly whatever you do. It's in the worst part of town for flooding. Why the council granted permission for the development (about 15 houses and flats built around 2015) is beyond me. There are many pretty, old buildings nearby that flood, but I'd expect that, since they are several hundred years old and presumably the flood areas were different then and/or there was less insight into flood risk and/or people were more lax about it. I think that people maybe assume that, if something is a new build, the site will be sound - that ought to be a reasonable expectation, but apparently not!

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Original poster
rodentforce · 06/08/2019 09:57

5ft deep in water, every time

OH MY GOD. Above head height for children (and some adults)!

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longearedbat · 06/08/2019 16:18

I live in Gloucestershire which was very badly hit in 2007. The EA then revised the flood maps, and from no risk we went to low risk (I think, it's the palest blue on the flood map anyway). Mind you, that was pretty biblical and extremely frightening at the time. I do sometimes think about moving, but we are in our 60's, have put a lot of love and money into our house, and have no dependents to worry about leaving it to. IF they are right about sea level rises this whole area will be uninhabitable in 100 years or so (along with many other places country and world wide). However, properties around here are still very popular, so perhaps it's just me that worries.
My parents lived 600ft up, and they had severe water ingress in 2007 when it poured down their hillside through the house, so height doesn't always help!

SlimGin · 06/08/2019 16:20

Hn.

CoolcoolcoolcoolcoolNoDoubt · 06/08/2019 17:04

People just don't think. Someone I know has ballsed up so much buying their new house.. all the issues could have been avoided so easily if they'd bothered to read their paperwork and act on it. Or look on the web etc for what they should be doing at each point. They're not even a first time buyer (which I was and I made sure I was informed) so don't even have that excuse. It's cost them thousands and they can't move in because of it!

Kazzyhoward · 07/08/2019 08:00

People just don't think. Someone I know has ballsed up so much buying their new house.. all the issues could have been avoided so easily if they'd bothered to read their paperwork and act on it.

That's not just true for house-buying, it's true for most things in life. I know someone who leased a car and was then aghast she had to hand it back or buy it after 3 years - she'd not read the lease paperwork at all. Some people need protecting from themselves.