About 2 weeks ago we made an offer on a house, less than the appraisal, and it was accepted. Last week the whole town the house was in flooded. This house is not on a flood plain, in Iowa everywhere got flooded, but ended up with about 4 feet of water in the half finished basement. The current owners are in the process of gutting the whole basement, ceiling included even though it wasn't touched by water. Replacing furnace and water heater as well. I've done research on clean up and we will be involved in supervising that so I'm not as concerned about that. I am concerned with property value however. We are having another appraisal done when the repairs are made, how big of a difference will we see?

If the house is not in a flood plain now (doubtful) it will be shortly and you will get a notice from your lender requiring you to get flood insurance. Been there. From what I have seen and what you wrote here that flood insurance policy will most likely be very expensive. Been there.

Obviously, their insurance company now knows about the flooding problem and this house will not be covered for future mold issues even if you change insurance companies. Insurance companies share problem info. Don't forget to get a certified mold test done.

There are so many reason not to buy a flooded house and if I were you I would use this time to look for a house with some elevation.

This is just sickening for everyone in that part of the country. If the current owners are doing the repairs, you will have time to consider Bigtoe's advice and make some important decisions. As he pointed out, so many factors are involved here. If your backup home choices also flooded, you do have a lot of decisions to make. To go from having your offer accepted on a home you love to actually supervising the cleanup after a flood--that's very stressful indeed, both for you and the seller. I hope you come out okay on this. Keep us posted.

To answer your question about the appraisal...it may be too soon to tell how the flooding will impact the home's value. If other homes have similar damage throughout the surrounding subdivisions...that may soften the blow a little only because there are not many other options for the buyer, but the appraiser will have to make that call as best he or she can based on whatever info is available. So I guess I would have to say that I am glad I am not an appraiser up there right now...their job is hard enough without a flood. When it comes to appraisals, I like to steal a line from Jerry Seinfeld...

"Have you seen the size of that document?"...

I would be interested in knowing how much of a hit (in percentage of value reduction) the home took due to the flooding, even after being repaired. Mother Nature sure has been kicking the US around the last few years. Sorry I had no good advice for you.

Darlene

One more thing. There will be a lot of homes for sale after this is done and in a market driven economy more supply with less demand results in lower prices. Expect the prices in the whole area to drop because of this. A lot of folks are not going to stay if they don't have to.

Glad I caught this before I turned in. I have been up all night trying to fix some computer problems.

On my favorite weather site, www.wunderground.com, Jeff Masters has an article about the last 25 years of weather disasters and how much they cost in damages...complete with graphs...it's up to date, so go look if you get a chance.

I wonder if anyone knows a place in the US that is safe from these disasters. I know how to get away from hurricanes, but I'll be moving into tornado or earthquake territory. Not a good trade. And the flooding...sometimes it seems like there is just no moving away from that.

We had a bad storm move thru Houston today and broke a lot of limbs...some with a diameter about the size of a saucer. After seeing the flooding on TV, I'm not saying a word about this little storm.

Good night.

To answer Darlene B's question - Idaho, we have no tornados, flooding or earthquakes (at least not any to talk about and I know an earthquake, been there done that!)

I actually realized this several years ago while watching the news report on disasters throughout the country and how few, if any we have here. We had a mild earthquake a couple of months ago, didn't feel it, I was driving and that was the first one in the 11 years I've lived here.

Idaho, Montana, Wyoming are probably all good low/no disaster states.

It's Mother Nature taking back what is rightfully hers.

Always be ready for anything. Especially the obvious.

Good point. When I think of all the new builder homes going up near the coast since Katrina and Rita, it makes me wonder if people aren't getting hurricanes confused with lightning, not expecting another one to hit them again.

I found this site very interested. I think a reloction agent would like this site, also.

http://www.forbes.com/2005/08/29/cx_sc_0830homeslide.html?thisSpeed=35000

I would love to relocate north of Houston, out of the worst of the hurricane winds...but few of us have a choice where we live. If and when I do move, I might give this web site and similar ones more of my attention. After one year, my life is still upside down. Any weather condition that drives you from your home may be worth moving away from. I lived in Buras, Louisiana when I was a teenager. It's probably not even on the map after Katrina. I guess you don't need a web site to judge some of these locations.

Have you and your home totally recovered from the calamity? How effective was the [url=http://www.affiliatedrestoration.com ]cleaning restoration services[/url] you acquired?

My cleaning restoration service was very effective. Of course, it still hurts a little when I pick up something heavy.

Actually, if you are asking because you offer those services, there is another forum you should be posting in. Go to the Forum List and look for Real Estate Related Products and Services. Vendors are allowed to post there but read the rules first. Thanks.

Hurricanes are huge and threaten for days and leave behind a big mess, but other disasters such as flooding, massive fires, tornados, volcano eruptions, earthquakes, and even sinkholes can destroy homes and present huge problems for the housing industry. Let's not ignore these posts. We could have a very long thread just on how the housing industry has responded to California's buidling codes over the years. I think people who do not live in earthquake regions would be amazed at what is involved in building, rehabbing, and even seller disclosure in this areas. Let's put these type posts in this thread.

Japan's Tsunami

We have all seen video of just about every weather disaster imaginable. Still, most of us were shocked to see this river of rushing water filled with cars, buses, tanker trucks, ships, trains and whatever else was in it's path. The power plant issues are just more misery on top of an impossible situation. Japanese people are strong, determined and have the self control not to add to their already horrible situation by losing control. All our prayers go out to them.

Japan is a good friend to the United States. I hope you will take a few minutes to read this article about the tremendous amount of donations and support America received from Japan after Katrina. Other sites you know of may also shed light on this topic. http://www.america.gov/st/washfile-english/2005/September/20050915165123ajesrom9.768313e-02.html

That said, this post is about temporary housing for the victims. After the Katrina and Haiti disasters, a lot of these shelters had an opportunity to be tested. Japan and other countries impacted by the tsunami will need this housing very quickly. Everyday someone invents something a little better. Hopefully, these victims will not have to live in tents that can blow away and make the victims homeless again, as happened in Haiti in one area.

Maybe it is too soon to post about the great benefits of some new type of plastic pop-up temporary house with vinyl windows...with people still trying to find their family and friends. Right now, one priority is water, food and warm clothing for victims not reachable by any other means but helicopter. They would be happy with a blanket right now. Still, I will search for information on the shelters that might be used in the months to come.

The entire world watched Katrina play out on TV and saw how long it took to get help to the victims. Japan has a much difference situation. It will be hard finding and getting help to those people in areas where vehicles can't travel because the roads are gone.

From this article I found on the Wunderground, look how much damage we have had so far in 2011. Not all these billions are homes but you can bet enough of it is to cause a lot of rebuilding in all these areas.


http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=1856

This is just mindboggling not only in the amount of dollars but also in the amount of misery it caused the residents of these hard hit areas.