Offer accepted then advised of prior flooding - help!

[theGirlWithManyFaces]

Viewed a house we loved last week and was advised it was going to best and final offers this week.

Have been outbid on several properties over the last few months so went in with a strong offer as the market is moving so quickly.

Our offer was accepted today and we were then advised that the house had flooding last year due to a flash flood. Apparently the vendor wanted this info shared with all potential buyers at viewing, but we weren't made aware at the viewing (when expressed interest) or when enquiring about making our offer by the estate agent.

Looking online the house is in an area that is marked as potential for flooding - this is the only stated flooding in 40+ years by the vendor.

Would this put you off purchasing? What is the etiquette here in terms of our bid? There were over a dozen offers so doesn't appear to have put others off and we do love the house other than this issue.

We have no experience of this so just wondered if anyone had any info/experience/words of warning!

Look up the exact postcode on that online government flood risk thing.
Yes, it would put me off tbh.

Speaking from someone whose house has flooded. Don’t do it. It’s a complete nightmare and if it’s done it once, it can quite possibly happen again.

It would make me pause for sure. Check out if their house insurance excludes flooding and ask your insurance company of they would insure for flooding.
As for etiquette - you are not committed legally to buying this house so can pull out any time before exchange, but I'd do it as soon as possible so they can go to the next bidder.

I would leave it. It is very possible that the information was not shared with many of the other potential bidders.

Ring an insurance company for a quote.
If it's very high or they won't insure for flooding then you'll know how to proceed.
We had a stream in our garden at our last house and we never got flooded but our neighbours did because the culvert next to them had not been kept clear by the rivers authority. Although it was cleared after the flood their insurance was still sky high.

I would not buy a house that had flooded recently. Home insurance would be expensive (and some places might exclude you). I’d look for another house that I would feel comfortable and secure in, after all that is the purpose of a house.
Very gutting for you though.

I’d pull out- even with insurance water/ flood damage is devastating. I’d be on edge all winter

Um, yes. I would pull out. That really awful of the agent and stupid to boot.

It would put me off, flooding is devastating and insurance can be very difficult and costly. Needless to say the offers put in were under false pretences as I'm sure people would have considered that in their offer! I'd also say don't pay attention to the one in forty year thing as we often have one in one hundred floods yearly!

Thanks for all the replies really appreciate it.

Been looking online and it seems one of the main causes was to do with the culverts not being maintained correctly by the council and blocked with debris. There is an inquiry being conducted by the local council into this currently.

The flooding of the property was on basement level only - the previous owners insurance dried and cleaned the basement and there was no evidence of any flooding at all when we viewed.

Proper gutted - after so many rejected offers was on cloud nine for about half an hour before finding out!

I would echo what other posters have said in checking flood maps and insurance etc. I would also be wary of the story that others were told about the flooding but you missed out on this information. It's quite possible that if you weren't told, they weren't either.

I would pull out.

If it happened once, it could happen again and it would always be a niggle in the back of my mind. You will find the right one, good luck!

We had a similar issue. And we walked. Just wouldn’t want that stress every time it rained hard.

Also been involved in flood rescue and it’s horrible going into peoples houses during and after flooding.

Walk away - it's honestly going to cost you so much in insurance premiums alone

hmm, yes and no.

We viewed a house that had previously flooded, similar reason, a culvert close by was blocked.
There was extensive work by council, culvert rebuilt, pinch point widened under a bridge etc, so no further flooding likely. (it was high up, not near a river, very much a local drainage issue, run off from the rain).

The owners put it on the market the day the council work was finished.
I assume, because evidence of the work was proof for insurance companies etc.
My d is a water engineer and he actually went and measured the new culverts and said he was confident that the new work was sufficient, and it wouldn't flood again, even in very heavy rain, as there was now sufficient flow.

So, after we viewed it, we tried to find out if we could insure it.
The answer was - with difficulty, even with the evidence form the council.
We didn't buy it.

I would consider a house with flooding but first I would have to know the cause and also if anything has been done since to prevent reoccurrence and also what damage the flooding did, how bad it was. All of this will make a difference. Depending on this I'd then make a decision

I wouldn’t. We were looking to move house about 5 years ago. That winter there were lots of floods in the area. I would drive round villages to get an idea of flooding, not just for houses but school run route. Only last week I was driving through a beautiful village with an idyllic house for sale. You wouldn’t believe me on a sunny September day just how flooded that village was then and how that tiny stream becomes a raging torrent in winter after heavy rain. 5 years ago the house was flooded, since then the road is often impassable even if the house hasn’t flooded. A flooded house once in 40 years might still result in very damp, wet roads around every other year. I really wouldn’t.

Hi OP. If it’s in England, send me the postcode, and I can look up the history of river flooding here. I work in Flood Risk Management for the Environment Agency. It’s usually river flooding that insurance companies are concerned about.

We skipped back from viewing our house having had an offer accepted only to wonder what the weird pole in the village car park was. Turns out it was a flood siren!
Our house has never flooded in the few hundred years it's been standing but opposite neighbour garden can flood and next door neighbour has had water coming up through their floor. All very old cottages.
We looked into it extensively and went ahead with purchase - insurance not a problem as our house has never actually flooded but whole village 'at risk'. However because risk known there is so much proactive flood management. Sumps drained, streams and culverts cleared and maintained, all the residents take it seriously and keep their drainage clear. We've had some really wet winters here and have had swollen rivers and wet roads but nothing unmanageable or impassable and no properties flooded. Feel very safe in our house - we now know the route the water takes and it doesn't go through our cottage.
So it's tricky - if it ever had flooded I would be more worried and I only expect more extreme weather in the years to come and you need to know your house is safe.
On the other hand sometimes in known/previous flood risk places the history means the methods to prevent flooding are so good it's almost better that it has happened once as it allows measures to prevent it happening again.
I think it probably comes down to what you can get in terms or insurance and how much you like the house.
There are always other houses but we've been very happy and not at all inconvenienced by living in our village.

Thank you for all the replies - read them all and taken on board and decided that it is just too big a risk for us so have contacted the estate agent and withdrew the offer.

Back to rightmove I go!

Yes it would put me off. The estate agent has behaved badly in not revealing this information. I would let the vendor know tjis directly when pulling out (note through the door if you havent been given any further info on them yet).

Pulled out and looks like another potential bought the property as it has changed to STC this morning