I realize this might be an unpleasant subject, but it’s my opinion that if a flood zone floods more than a certain number of times in a given number of years, FEMA should stop paying out. Granted, that means that some, if not all, of the residents are going to be in bad shape for a number of reasons.
A co-worker has relatives that live in southern Louisiana. in almost every one of the recent storms that have gone through the area in the past decade their home has been flooded to one degree or another. In other words, they’ve sustained losses whether it be from personal belongings to damage to the home that has to be remediated before it can be occupied again. We’re talking about claims in the order of 8-10 over the last decade. At what point does FEMA step in and say “No more”? And if it does, how can they be made whole so that they can find another home in an area that won’t be flooded? -D > On Apr 19, 2021, at 10:18 AM, Curt Raymond via Mercedes > <mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > > Dan's point is valid, the house shows up right bang in the middle of a flood > zone. I googled "Fema flood zone map" and it came up with "search by address". > I get what you're saying, this out to be a required disclosure but buyers > ought to at least do some bare minimum of research when buying a house. I > mean, you're going to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars... > "which could result in the whole area being dropped from FEMA flood insurance > coverage (this would be A Really Bad Thing)."This is actually a really > realistic thing, those houses WILL flood again, they're a lousy risk for > insurers, people shouldn't live there, or if they do the houses should be > lifted 10 feet... > > > -Curt > > On Monday, April 19, 2021, 10:11:12 AM EDT, Floyd Thursby via Mercedes > <mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > > No that is the issue, it is NOT public record. FEMA rules prevent > disclosure of previous claims and payouts. Some of the houses in her > neighborhood have been flipped several times, every 2-3 years after a > flood and repair, to the next sucker who has no clue. Unless a buyer > goes around and does a lot of research (I know, caveat emptor...) to > find out what the story is, there is no way to know. And the realtors > strongly discourage anything like that and in her case, blatantly lied > about it (as is one who is trying to sell neighboring properties). Her > neighbor, a young couple with one small child and another on the way buy > this nice newly-restored house, then bang a year later it floods and > they lose a huge amount of money... > > Ana's house was actually the first house to be done for this TV show > Flip This House, which was started by some guys in Charleston. They > bought the flood house, fixed it up, sold it to Ana and her husband, > then it flooded 2 more times. She got really pissed off and started > digging into the history of the house and the neighborhood. It was not > easy as little was direct public record, and nothing disclosed on > previous sales. The City actively resisted FOIA requests and will no > longer even respond to her. Realtors are not required to disclose, if > they even know, previous flooding history. Turns out this neighborhood > had fraudulent base flood elevation certificates going back to when it > was built in the 80s, apparently signed off by the building inspector > (who is now dead) despite clear evidence that the homes were built in a > flood zone, and old low area that had been drained by a ditch that backs > up in hurricanes and large storm events (you can actually see this on > aerial imagery). There is some evidence that collusion between this > guy, the mayor, and the developer allowed this to happen. > > She became obsessed by this (and still is to the point of near insanity, > seriously) and did a huge amount of investigation on it. She received a > lot of old records and such from sympathetic people, stuff that was > pretty much abandoned by the City over the decades, that show a lot of > fraud against FEMA, etc. She and 2 other friends wrote a 20-page letter > to FEMA 3 years ago detailing all this, there is a 3-part fraud > investigation now active against the City, which could result in the > whole area being dropped from FEMA flood insurance coverage (this would > be A Really Bad Thing). > > Anyway, the whole thing is a sh*tshow that would make a fascinating > book. Bottom line is that FEMA is not your friend and your local > jurisdictions are generally not your friends either. In Ana's case, the > court has been very supportive of her in her foreclosure case, turns out > the judge had almost the exact some problems and had no idea how to deal > with it until she came along. > > Anyway, that is the short story, the whole thing is almost unbelievable. > > --FT > > On 4/19/21 9:44 AM, Dan Penoff via Mercedes wrote: >> I’m trying to understand how one would be on the hook from a liability >> standpoint if they sold? That’s like saying if you don’t disclose a property >> is in a flood zone you’re liable. It’s public record and an underwriter or >> lender is going to look for this as a part of the underwriting process. >> >> So what if she did sell and disclose? If it was me I would be dumping it in >> a heartbeat to the best bidder with an attestation that they agreed I told >> them it had been flooded. >> >> I don’t have a lot of sympathy for people who live in flood zones. It’s a >> calculated risk, and if you lose, you lose. As FEMA’s new insurance >> requirements start to go into effect next year you’re going to see a lot of >> properties come on to the market, I’m betting. It’s already a big deal >> around here, as even with the hot property market people are very conscious >> of how much flood insurance is going to add to their cost of ownership. >> >> -D >> >>> On Apr 19, 2021, at 9:25 AM, Buggered Benzmail via Mercedes >>> <mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: >>> >>> Ever how national Time is these days >>> >>> https://time.com/5953380/climate-housing-crisis >>> >>> This is a growing expensive issue around these parts >>> >>> --FT >>> Sent from iPhone >>> _______________________________________ >>> http://www.okiebenz.com >>> >>> To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ >>> >>> To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: >>> http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com >>> >> >> _______________________________________ >> http://www.okiebenz.com >> >> To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ >> >> To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: >> http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com >> > -- > --FT > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > > To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
