Water table

[eidolon]

I'm in the process of purchasing a renovation project and a few days ago the current owner dropped a bit of a bombshell. She casually mentioned that if I lifted the floorboards I'd possibly notice that there's a trickle of water, apparently she spotted it a few years back and was worried so she got her insurance company out to investigate but they told her that it's nothing to worry about and it's just due to the water table which causes a trickle of water that flows down to the Ouseburn river.
The first building survey I've had didn't spot any damp but I haven't had the full structural survey yet (that's hopefully happening next week) but in the meantime I thought I'd ask if anyone has ever come across it before and is it something I should be concerned about?

 

[Maccapacca]

I'd check how much home insurance is and if you can get it.

 

[AHarvey]

Not directly from the water table generally but my mums old house was a semi detached at the bottom of a hill probably 50% taller than the house. Bad rain or snow would cause the water table to rise up and next door would flood time and time again while our house never did.

I suppose it comes down to how much you like the house. How long has she lived there and has there been any other issues than this trickle? If she's been there 30 years and had no issues I probably wouldn't mind but I may look at getting some basement specialist involved to see if they can fit anything to help, they deal with water issues all the time.

Personally, as Macca says above, insurance may be an issue, it may cause structural issues and if you need it underpinning at any point you can kiss goodbye to house insurance, i think i'd be tempted just to walk away.

 

[mickyflinn]

Check historical flooding or flood maps but generaly any sign of water is not good.

https://flood-warning-information.service.gov.uk/long-term-flood-risk

 

[BF-Bert]

A high water table isn't a huge deal, a water table that rises and falls is.

 

[Lumeycom]

I get some water visible under the floorboards in our house if its been super wet and its never caused us an issue. When we moved in there was a massive damp issue in the room where it happens but someone had blocked the vents up that caused some pretty nasty condensation down there, reinstated them and not a single issue since. I'm around 20m above sea level so you can imagine the ground is pretty wet here.

I was aware of it buying the house and it didn't stop me on the simple basis that the house was 110+ years old at the time of buying and is still in one piece Would far rather have a few things to deal with like that than live in a timber frame house that was thrown up using questionable materials and build methods.

 

[CaptainRAVE]

Not worth it. Move on.

 

[coupe69]

Might be perfectly fine, might be cause for concern. Would I risk it? Absolutely not! Any uncertainty in what's likely going to be the biggest purchase in your life has got to be a massive no.

 

[Quartz]

I'm in the process of purchasing a renovation project and a few days ago the current owner dropped a bit of a bombshell. She casually mentioned that if I lifted the floorboards I'd possibly notice that there's a trickle of water, apparently she spotted it a few years back and was worried so she got her insurance company out to investigate but they told her that it's nothing to worry about and it's just due to the water table which causes a trickle of water that flows down to the Ouseburn river.

Walk away.

 

[eidolon]

I'd check how much home insurance is and if you can get it.

The lady that lives there at the moment has insurance no problem at all, she even had them check the water as she was worried and they said it's fine, perfectly normal for the area. It's never flooded before and the environmental agency page says it's low risk of flooding. Apparently all of the houses in the area are the same, doesn't cause anyone any problems but she wanted to let me know so that I didn't freak out after I'd bought the place. If she was hiding something major I wouldn't have expected her to even mention it as it wouldn't have been picked up on a survey as they don't pull up any floorboards to check for water.

How many people on here lifted their floorboards before buying their houses to check? I certainly never have before.

 

[AHarvey]

If she was hiding something major I wouldn't have expected her to even mention it as it wouldn't have been picked up on a survey as they don't pull up any floorboards to check for water.

But I'm pretty sure you can sue someone for not disclosing information about a property. We were told our old neighbours got on with everyone, no issues etc. Then after buying it we were told about a massive issue with our driveway flooding onto next doors property. Quickly resolved mind.

 

[Lumeycom]

How many people on here lifted their floorboards before buying their houses to check? I certainly never have before.

Nor did I but given the damp situation and the obviously blocked vents I took a guess that there would be some puddles underneath and there was (and still is). No issues though.