Assessing Flood Risk Before Purchase

hardCopy

Hi Folks,

First time buyer, have seen a house we like in our price range, have not yet made an offer.

The house is a one-off in Fingal.

I'm trying to get as much information as I can on the property as I have found newspaper reports of flooding on a nearby road. I haven't found anything relating to this particular property and the FEM FRAMS Flood Extent maps seem to indicate a 1 in 10 annual chance of flooding on the road outside the property with no indication of flooding on the land itself.

What I'm trying to understand is:
How much faith should in these maps?
Does the vendor have to disclose any past flooding when we ask?
Do engineers assess flood risk as part of a report?
Is there anywhere I can go for independent assessment of the property or advice?

The maps are surely a great resource but I'm not an engineer or a statistician so I want to be sure I understand them properly.

Thanks

Cuddlesworth

First thing I would do is ring some insurance companies and ask for a quote on the property. If it or the street has flooded before you will encounter a brick wall. I'm aware of people who have difficulty getting insurance when their houses are 60 feet higher than those that flooded because they share a street name.

TSQ

You can check every road for history of flooding on floodmaps.ie. Will give the dates, a report on the cause of the flood, and usually recommendations for remedial works (in which case you can check if the works have been completed)