Buying house on flooding road

[SandyUK]

Looking at a house in a desirable semi rural area. Rarely come up for sale.

Opposite farmers field.

There has been a road flooding outside a few houses including this. Explanation has been that (new) farmer had changed to the way drainage channels were cut and water was diverted to the corner causing concentration rather than staggered along the length of field into a number of storm drains in the adjacent road.

Doesn’t look like historical flooding.

The water came up 2 thirds of drive.

Drains have apparantly been dredged.

I wonder what would have happened if an even bigger downfall of rain at the time.

A big concern is selling on the property and how this affects it. Would it put you off?

Whats your thoughts?

I am a flood risk manger. It would put me off. Flood risk management is only as good as the worst maintenance in the system.
Storms are getting heavier and more frequent.

don't

No way 🙅‍♀️ flooding is getting worse in the uk.

That would massively put me off - as @gotmychristmasmiracle says, flooding is only getting worse

Not a chance. Flooding is becoming more frequent and you may have problems getting insurance.

Thank you for the comments.

For what this is worth…
The flood risk map says low 0.1 to 1%

There are no nearby water courses.

The thing is, the flood risk map cannot account for the actions of the farmer, or the maintenance regime for the drains.

It's one of those things. It might be fine and not happen again, but storms are worsening, the risk of flash flooding is increasing, and the potential effects of having the house flooded by farm run off, and the knock on effect on resale value, would put me off

Do you know the correct way drainage channels on fields should run? Is this actually significant?

i suppose regardless of this, neighbouring houses fate is at the mercy of the farmers competency.

Yes, all of this was my gut reaction. I am trying to talk my self into it, but there’s just no way it’s going to happen!

Would need to be an absolute steal to take the risk.

Everyone’s input is very much appreciated!

I suspect you've been looking at the Environment Agency flood risk map is for flooding from rivers and the sea.

Flooded roads that are nowhere near a (visible) river/stream are usually to do with blocked drainage. Can be as simple as leaves stuck in the grates, can be as simple as 10 years build up of silt in the drains, but if surface water can't drain into the drain system, it will flood the roads, and beyond. This is down to the maintenance of the road drainage, usually responsibility of the local authority. It's not an EA responsibility, so it's not on the flood maps that we produce.

Highway flooding can also be a result of surcharged culverts (underground water pipes getting too full). These are again usually local authority responsibility and not on EA maps.

We live next to a flood plain and the water does come up the road. It’s manageable but if the house floods just once you’ll never get flood insurance again (for a sane amount). My house is raised so we’re ok, but next door just has to suck it up and everyone further down the road has waterproofed houses and impressive defences.

are you able and prepared to put those defences in place and pay to keep them up?

@SandyUK Field drainage ultimately runs into an interceptor drain/dike/clough, which is usually downhill, but in some likening areas where there nit enough gravity fall to move water under gravity, it's pumped, so you get the occasional cheeky uphill water flow!

One thing that our new PM promised a while ago, was to rationalise the land drainage roles and responsibilities of the Environment Agency, Highways England, Internal Drainage Boards, Local Authorities, water companies, coal authority and the 101 other organisations involved.

Nope, nothing would make me buy in a flood plain area. I've seen the devastation when my Aunties house flooded three times when I was a child. Each time she got it sorted and done up nicely again a few years later it flooded again. I can recall my Dad saying he warned her before she bought it but she wouldn't listen.

Absolutely not. A relatives house has flooded in storms because of this exact reason, water running off the fields. If ditches are dredged in time, and regularly, or someone fly tips into the ditch you're in serious trouble. Damage can be catastrophic.

Personally I wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole, but then we were seriously flooded in our previous house twice. People always say it’s just a one off etc, but I can tell you it’s no fun watching weather maps like a paranoid lunatic. Our house insurance was very expensive post floods (we had two within 4 months) and the previous history of the location had been 0.1-1% risk like you.

After the two serious floods (oct2019/feb2020) they then recategorised the whole village to at 1 in 10 chance of flooding. We had house insurance under flood RE cover, it’s so expensive.

Thank goodness it was a particularly beautiful period house, next to a medieval castle in a tourist village so the chap who bought it from us was super wealthy, bought it for cash just post pandemic when everyone wanted a house in the country, and didn’t care about the flooding as he was going to run it purely as an Airbnb.

I honestly thank the gods/planets/whatever and will feel eternally grateful we offloaded it. As the weather gets worse, houses with flood risks are going to become unsellable and lose value. The heartache and stress of moving furniture upstairs during heavy rain, watching weather forecasts and the stress of having to repair the house is horrendous. I wouldn’t wish it on my very worst enemy. Also from experience (our whole village flooded) flood prevention & protection generally helps a little, but it’s near on impossible to keep water out Many of our neighbours lower down were flooded a third time and even with flood defences, it just came up through their floors.

We now live on top of a hill in a town. So in my experience, its just not worth the risk, my mental health took a long time to recover from it

Yes. Very insightful, I appreciate this level of detail, really helps to understand.

@SkylarkDay

Really interesting story!

Good to hear from people who have been through it and the outcome.

I really feel for anyone who has faced serious flooding and unable to sell.

I realise low it’s just way too much of an unnecessary risk. Think I’ll be seeking up hill only from now on 😀

@SandyUK we still paid and had the extra flood report done for this house even though we are really high up and have no flood risk whatsoever and I think the estate agents and sellers thought we were mad until we explained!

Problem is they can recategorise your risk as they did to us, nobody upkeeps drainage/water courses anymore and they do try and shuffle blame onto each other. We had that with the environmental agency, highways and council. Also the 21 flooded houses in our village had all sorts of flood defences and none of them worked really. Luckily we sold before we ever had to test ours but I was always doubtful as nearly everyone had it come up through their floors first.

Problem is your house becomes unsellable overnight and Flood RE insurance is so expensive and the scheme is only set up for the next 20/25 years so what then? This is the first year we are going to have normal house insurance too as bizarrely the claim goes with you rather than the property. So because we’ve made a big claim in the last 5 years we’re still paying very high house insurance here, even though the risk was with the previous house’s location. It was explained to us this happens because they don’t differentiate between an environmental claim and an ordinary claim. Our flood was the only claim we ever made, but we’re still considered high risk for 5 years even though we moved. All this will put off future buyers even if you don’t flood. Definitely recommend living on a hill!! 😃

No, not with flooding that close. We lived in a low risk area, but 2007 meant very heavy rain one morning, all ok outside but within 30 mins water up to our doorstep and a running river down our road. There would have been very little time to prepare with frantic phone calls so DH didn't come home through water and ensuring my DM and friend were OK.

That wouldn't put me off at all!

As you said, the houses rarely come up for sale so nobody else finds it a problem..

It's not as though the house itself has been flooded.

Turns out neighbour 2 doors away was flooded inside.

Many strong points made on this thread.

It will always need declaring on the TA6 form that it’s been flooded even though it was just driveway.

If it floods once it will become unsellable unless a knock down price. It almost did. The fact it relies on maintenance when councils are skint, and people doing their job properly means next time the owner may not be so lucky, if it had rained just a bit more that day…

My minds made up…

Many thanks to all of the contributors 😀