Future Climate Info (FCI) and JBA have teamed up to create a new and affordable range of flood risk solutions to enable owners or purchasers of residential or commercial properties to determine and properly address flood risk.
The new services are tailored to a range of different circumstances and have the potential to significantly lower or identify minimal flood risk in 40% of cases, providing peace of mind whilst assisting with buying decisions where flood risk is disclosed in an environmental search.
Starting from just £149 + VAT, the Report Review is the first of its kind in terms of an affordable and accessible flood risk service, available for properties up to 10 hectares in size. Combining desktop analysis and expert advice from JBA’s dedicated flood risk specialists, the Report Review will verify the property’s flood risk and confirm the next steps, helping clients to make informed decisions with confidence.
Depending on the requirements of the property purchaser or property owner, there are a range of more advanced options available, including;
- Desktop Review – providing a detailed analysis of readily available flood risk data, including JBA, Environment Agency, Local Authority and publicly available planning records.
- On-site Assessment – which identifies flood mechanisms, flow paths and local ground conditions that may impact flooding at the property to further validate the actual flood risk on site.
- Property Resilience Study – giving practical advice on appropriate measures for reducing the consequences of flooding or damage caused to a property in the event of flooding.
- Detailed Assessment – ideally suited to larger properties (>0.25 hectares), development sites for planning purposes or where an in-depth investigation is required.
JBA has long been a trusted partner for FCI, helping FCI to provide the best available desktop flood risk data via its suite of environmental reports. So, when FCI wanted to provide an affordable specialist flood risk analysis service, JBA were the natural choice, explains Geoff Offen, Managing Director of FCI;
“As the leading national consultants on flood risk, JBA were the first choice for us in developing this additional service to help conveyancers and homebuyers. In developing this new service with JBA we are not just providing the best available due diligence via our environmental searches, we can now provide a route to an affordable expert assessment of flood risk at an individual property.”
JBA’s specialist consultants deal day-to-day with flood risk problems providing services for consumers, the government, the Environment Agency, Lead Local Flood Authorities, infrastructure maintainers, the insurance industry and property developers for all aspects of flood risk identification and management. Having developed the UK’s flood hydrology, modelling and property level resilience protocols and standards in conjunction with the responsible agencies, JBA’s flood risk team are well-equipped to advise both owners and purchasers of residential and commercial properties.
Andrew Gubbin, Director at JBA commented;
“JBA, the leading supplier of flood maps to the insurance industry within the UK, is delighted to be working with FCI on this important development for the benefit of conveyancers and their clients alike. FCI is a leader in the market with creative and innovative products which focus on resolving uncertainties that otherwise lead to delays or complications in conveyancing transactions. Our Report Review is a significant step change in the market, providing more affordable specialist advice and confirmation on what next steps if any are required.”
The new FCI-JBA specialist flood risk service has already been trialled with a number of conveyancers and homebuyers, with very effective results.
“JBA have made something that could have been difficult and time-consuming much less so. I’m sure this new initiative will prove invaluable to many”. Phillipa Roberts (Conveyancer’s client)
In developing the new service, FCI found that in over 40% of cases where a flood risk was identified by the data, JBA was able to significantly lower or actually minimise the risk, satisfying purchaser and lender concerns, and enabling the transaction to proceed. In the remaining cases, the majority were able to proceed to the best logical next step as recommended by JBA’s consultants, such as carrying out recommended visual checks or advancing to a specialist on-site flood assessment.
From the conveyancer’s perspective, the new FCI-JBA flood analysis service fulfils the need for recommended next steps for the homebuyer or vendor for properties with a potential flood risk, effectively minimising the number of clients having to go to the considerable expense of the installation of property flood protection measures. That’s consistent with good practice as set out in the Law Society’s practice note on flood risks and assists the conveyancer with oversight compliance.
David Bridge, Managing Director – Solicitor at bpl solicitors comments:
“For the first time, we can offer clients clear recommendations as to how to obtain further useful information which is directly relevant to them. Having assessed and understood any risk involved, this allows clients far greater peace of mind to determine the best way to proceed with their purchase. At the same time this speeds up the process, so it seems like a win-win.”
For more information on the new Specialist Flood Risk Services, email info@futureclimateinfo.com, call +44 (0)1279 798111 or visit: http://www.futureclimateinfo.com/residential-specialist-flood-risk-services.html
This article was submitted to be published by Future Climate Info as part of their advertising agreement with Today’s Conveyancer. The views expressed in this article are those of the submitter and not those of Today’s Conveyancer.
