Buying with surface water flood risk

[shortyshorty]

Hi all!

My partner and I are FTB and in the process of buying a ground floor flat in London. The searches have come back and flagged a high risk of surface water flooding. Off the back of that we asked our solicitors to request a flood risk report from Groundsure and it's come back verifying this: https://imgur.com/Lg28cjL

The report also shows our block (circled in red) as being right in the 'highly significant' zone: https://imgur.com/Xdf0MCN

Here's a photo of the flat - it's circled in red and on the ground floor: https://imgur.com/PDuNWDj

We've asked in a local Facebook group for people's knowledge of historical floods and it seems like there's been some a few roads away but nothing reported in this particular estate.

We've also requested a flood history from the Environment Agency but they've only been able to confirm there have been no historical floods from rivers - no info on floods from surface water.

Our main concerns are potential floods themselves, and also the fact that it may put off other buyers in the future when it comes time to sell. We love the flat, but do you think it's too risky to proceed?

Personally, I would be put off.

You say you have asked in a local Facebook group for people's knowledge of historical floods and it seems like there's been some a few roads away but nothing reported in this particular estate. But maybe there have been floods that were not reported. It would go against you if you wanted to sell a place with a definite history of surface water flooding, so people don't report it and deal with the flood damage themselves, so they can sell more easily.

Sorry but I wouldn't.

If you do want to go ahead, ask for evidence of how much housing and building insurance are per annum
Look for electrical sockets being situated high up the wall which indicates previous floods
Search in the local paper's websites for news of flooding
There seems to be a line along the 1st floor where the bricks are a different colour. Why is that? There isn't a line between the 1st floor and the 2nd. So looks like there was some work there?