- This topic has 55 replies, 41 voices, and was last updated 4 years ago by ElShalimo.
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Would you buy a house in a flood zone? Have you?
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FunkyDuncFree Member
Personally I wouldn’t touch.
If it’s a very old house the structure will not cope with getting wet, which would means months of drying out and £££
I’ve also seen areas flooded that I never though would and streams turning in to raging torrents.
You will never sell the house for a profit.
Not for me!
ads678Full MemberI expect you mean flooding via run off from water going downhill to the river!
As Kelvin said up there river level and sea level are very different things. A river at any level can be overwhelmed and burst it banks.
Also people should not assume that a 1:100yr flood can only happen every 100 years, it’s just an order of magnitude (1% probability) that could happen everyday, however, the likelihood of that is very small….
Flood plain and Flood zone are also very different things. The EA definition of a flood zone 2 is: Flood Zone 2 – land assessed as having between a 1 in 100 and 1 in 1,000 annual probability of river flooding (1% – 0.1%), or between a 1 in 200 and 1 in 1,000 annual probability of sea flooding (0.5% – 0.1%) in any year.
So flooding from the river is probably unlikely but in those type of storm events there is always risk of flooding from overwhelmed infrastructure as well. If the property is raised above nearest highway levels a reasonable amount you should be ok, but if the ground slopes towards the property at all it could be at risk of surface runoff or if sewers blow.
I’d probably be ok with flood zone 2 if the property was not sitting in a hole!!
pictonroadFull MemberNope, never, not even close, not unless it was utterly beautiful and at half the market rate.
There was a huge amount spent on flood defences in my immediate area … HOWEVER for local political reasons* this hasn’t been updated so still affects insurance. (*I guess it’s worth explaining, local councils can essentially opt out of a land use map and most importantly section 19 consultation by agreement with the environment agency if the area is
just for reference ^ I don’t know what you’re referring to exactly but insurance companies use their own risk maps. They don’t have to publish them or share them with the Environment Agency, they’re completely independent of the public domain risk maps.
catfoodFree MemberMy ex is a wetland management expert, she used to write river sustainability plans for the NRA then for Environment Agency, her advice always was never buy or build on a floodplane as at some point it will flood.
Flood defenses don’t prevent rivers flooding, they prevent rivers flooding as often as they otherwise would but no flood defence can stop every incidence of flooding, you can sometimes shift where it will flood but the water has to go somewhere, sometimes you can push the problem downstream, sometimes not.
As she always says, it’s called a floodplane for a reason, it’s also why I bought a house at the top of a hill.
ads678Full MemberAs she always says, it’s called a floodplane for a reason, it’s also why I bought a house at the top of a hill.
A flood plain is not the same as a flood zone.
I used to work for Rotherham Council and in 2009 more than 100 houses in an estate at the top of a hill were flooded due to surface runoff in flash flooding. Primarily caused by houses being lower than the adjacent roads and people doing works in their gardens that blocked flood paths around their houses….
zilog6128Full Member^^^ as has been mentioned a few times above, maybe somewhere next to a river and lots of lovely empty fields for drainage is actually going to be safer in years to come than somewhere surrounded by concrete jungle 😃
poolmanFree MemberI would never, not even at a massive discount. Flooded houses are worse than fire damage for repair. I looked at a house backing onto a stream in the Lakes, no way, it’s even on the local flood plan where to evacuate to. Just not worth the stress. It did sell so clearly some people are not bothered.
DrJFull Membermost of aberdeen will be underwater it seems.
You say that like it’s a bad thing.
stevextcFree Memberjust for reference ^ I don’t know what you’re referring to exactly but insurance companies use their own risk maps. They don’t have to publish them or share them with the Environment Agency, they’re completely independent of the public domain risk maps.
I’m probably conflating 2 things…
Our insurance was high because the insurers chose to use the EA flood map….The local council have a specific arrangement with the EA about their land use map. (or claim to) whereby they do not need to designate “potential flood areas” within the core strategy and land use map.
They are currently wanting to build 8x 10 story tower blocks in a area designated as low density housing EXCEPT they are squeezing them into an area they say is an exempt cut-out because it is designated as high flood risk.Currently the independent inspector appointed by the secretary of state is calling them out on this… hearing due 1st week of December.
sharkbaitFree MemberBasically… No I wouldn’t.
These events are not going away and, irrespective of the insurance, I always look at resale when buying something ‘big’.
If you’re asking the question now….ElShalimoFull Memberinsurance companies use their own risk maps
Nowadays, they tend to use third party data from flood model vendors, such as flood maps by return period, rather than their “own” data. They don’t have the manpower, engineers, hydrologists to do it themselves and to maintain these models. They use 3rd party models and cross reference the data against their “loss experience” from claims data, to provide their perspective of the relative risk at a given location. This then determines their appetite for risk and whether or not they will underwrite the property. All of this is usually wrapped up inside their automated internal underwriting system so that it can give you a report within a few seconds. An underwriter will then decide if your property is attractive to their business, or not.
Another thing to consider is that today’s 100 year flood map will not be the same as the one in 5 years time, or 5 years after that.
pictonroadFull Member^ I know, I just meant it isn’t necessarily the same as the one you might be looking at on the net. 👍🏻
n0b0dy0ftheg0atFree MemberThat recent thread with predicted water levels in 2050 has made me wary of buying anything near the River Itchen or near the Millbrook dual carriageway just outside Southampton.
While it might be fine in the short term, could be fun and games around retirement time if we decide to sell up and move, or get the swimming gear ready if we stay!
midlifecrashesFull MemberLoss adjuster is coming in an hour, two houses inundated with poo soup higher than skirtings and kitchen units due to both road runoff drains and domestic drains not being able to flow due to the whole system being full as far as the sewage works, which couldn’t discharge into the Don as it’s outlet pipes were underwater and massive backpressure. No risk from the river, just an inability for the current infrastructure to cope.
I have insurance, this time, but might not be able to renew for flood. Tenants going to be out for months, she’s pregnant and they have an autistic son who doesn’t react well to change. A big nope from me to buying with any significant flood risk, and that rules out whole swathes of the country in the long term unless we get the Dutch back over to sort our water management. What they did was astounding, but it’s time we got them back.
ElShalimoFull MemberThe FloodRe scheme is designed for people who struggle to get adequate coverage.
We all contribute to the pool of cash to cover this.
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