Will my surveyor investigate the risk of flooding to my property?
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Harrison from Godalming
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Surveying Advice questions and answers
Question
I’m buying a property that is near a river and, after the recent flooding problems around the area, I’m a bit concerned that if I go ahead with the purchase I may be affected by flooding in the future. Will my surveyor be able to check if a house will be at risk of flooding, or has been in the past? And will they be able to inform me of any measures that can be taken to protect my house from flooding? Thank you.
Answer
All surveyors when instructed to prepare a HomeBuyer Report or Building Survey on a property such as you describe will also carry out what is referred to as a "desktop survey" looking into the history of the property and the surrounding area and this should highlight if the property is in an area that is considered to be susceptible to flooding.
You can make these checks yourself by referring to the environment agency's website and entering the postcode of the property that you are considering purchasing.
More comprehensive flood reports can be purchased online from various websites such as homecheck.
Your surveyor should be able to offer you advice with regards to any measures that may be taken to minimise the amount of damage that may occur during a flood event, and the sort of measures suggested will vary depending on the construction type and position of the property. Although generally this level of advice is not included in a building survey as standard and you should ensure that any surveyor instructed is aware that this advice is required.
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I would like to thank the survey for pointing out defects which would of cost me massive amounts of money, I did pull out of the property but the money paid for the surgery saved me thousands on repairs.
Ellie on 06/03/2024