Minimise your flood risk
Published: 15/01/2014
With many households left devastated by the recent severe weather, it is only natural that home buyers are eager to find out if their potential new property is a flood risk, particularly as up to 9,000 homes will not be covered by the government's new flood insurance agreement, Flood Re.
Initially it was estimated that only “a few hundred” homes would be left out of the new deal. However the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) has since admitted that figure is closer to 9,000.
Who’s ineligible?
- Approximately 5,000 homes built in flood plains since 2009
- An estimated 3,800 riverside properties in the council tax band H.
But help is at hand as your conveyancer can help minimise the risk of you buying a flood risk property. Lynne McCaffrey, Head of Property at Goldsmith Williams, explains how:
“A conveyancer can run what is called an environmental search on your new property which will then highlight if it is within the vicinity of a floodplain. Not every conveyancer will automatically do this though and they may charge additional fees so bear this in mind when you’re obtaining conveyancing quotes.
“Unlike other solicitors, we run an environmental search as standard on all our purchase cases. Should we discover the property is in the vicinity of a floodplain we will then order a flood risk report, a copy of which is supplied to you and the insurer.
“This is done at no extra charge to you as it is covered in our all-inclusive search fee. This means you can be confident it won’t cost the earth and that you can adequately insure the property before committing to buy.”
Content correct at time of publication