Buying a Home in a Risky Location: What You Need to Know
Some properties come with increased risk of flooding, erosion and other structural challenges due to their location.
Buying a new home is a big investment and the location plays a major role in the long-term costs and risks associated with the property.
Some properties come with increased risk of flooding, erosion and other structural challenges due to their location. These risks can impact your safety, the integrity of your home, and what you will pay for home insurance. At Chill, we like to empower our customers with all the information you need to ensure a safe and happy future in your new home.
Read on for everything you need to know about potential risks with a property’s location, how it affects home insurance, and how we can help you secure non-standard home insurance to protect your home and its contents.
Common Risky Home Locations & Situations
1. Flood Plains & Coastal Areas
Do you dream of living beside the sea or waking up every morning to a beautiful river view? It might sound idyllic, but homes built in flood plains or coastal areas carry a lot of risk.
Flooding can quickly destroy your furniture, flooring, fittings and appliances, but also long-term issues such as structural damage, mildew and mould. This is why homes in high-risk flood zones are more costly to insure as the policy must cover this level of risk.
Before purchasing, try and find out as much information as you can about the location’s susceptibility to flooding. Start by checking flood risk maps, which you can find easily on the Flood Maps website from the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland.
2. Cliffside & Coastal Erosion Risks
A cliffside or coastal home might offer enviable views, but they do come with their own risks that could threaten the integrity of your property over time. These homes are at increased risk of coastal erosion, landslides, storm damage, foundation damage and restricted planning permissions. These risks make it more expensive to insure these homes.
If you are looking at a cliffside or coastal home, it’s always wise to get a survey done of the property by a professional who will flag any potential issues that could lead to subsidence or losing your home altogether.
If you decide to go ahead with the purchase, you can mitigate the risks by regular geological surveys, landscaping techniques and using weather-resistant materials.
3. Buying & Converting Old Ruins
Restoring an old or derelict building may be tempting to create your dream home. But there are huge costs and challenges involved in renovating older properties that might make you think twice of taking on a project like this.
Older properties or listed buildings can also be difficult to insure as they carry a lot of risk such as the structural integrity of the building, maintenance around older plumbing and wiring, as well as dampness and energy efficiency concerns.
If you have your heart set on buying and restoring an older property, you can prevent future headaches by ensuring that you get it surveyed by a professional for structural problems, dampness and other hazards associated with older buildings.
How Risky Homes Affect Your Home Insurance
When assessing risk, insurers consider factors such as your property’s location, the type of home, how it was built, and any recent or planned renovations. If your home is deemed to be in a risky location, you may be denied cover. Instead, you will need non-standard home insurance, which is for properties not covered by a standard home insurance policy. It’s usually more expensive due to the higher risk involved.
Remember when applying for home insurance, be honest and transparent about the risks so that the correct level of cover can be given. This means that should things go wrong, you will be able to get the money you need to recover from the setback as quickly as possible.
What You Can Do to Mitigate Risks
1. Carry Out Proper Surveys & Risk Assessments
Before buying, it’s a good idea to get a structural engineer or surveyor to check the property and highlight any potential issues that could make it high-risk. It’s wise to also check local planning restrictions and zoning laws to verify that a property has the necessary planning permissions and adheres to zoning regulations, building codes and environmental restrictions. This can be done online through MyPlan.ie and the relevant county council website.
2. Invest in Protective Measures
If your home is in a risky location, you can help to mitigate that risk by investing in protective measures such as flood barriers, reinforced foundations and other home reinforcements.
For properties in high-risk areas, it’s also important to maintain good drainage and weatherproof the property as best you can.
3. Work with the Right Insurance Provider
Not all insurers cover high-risk homes, but specialist providers like Chill do. We work with non-standard home insurance providers to get you the right cover for more peace of mind.
Conclusion
Buying a home in a risk-prone area doesn’t have to be a deal-breaker, but it does require extra care. Be fully informed of potential risks like erosion, flooding and challenges restoring older properties and how they will impact what you will pay for home insurance.
At Chill, we can help you find non-standard home insurance cover for more peace of mind now and into the future by comparing quotes from leading insurers to get you the best deal.
Use our online quote tool to compare and buy non-standard home insurance online.