There is another layer of liability which no one is considering. To build a house, even 50 years ago, you have to have a "building permit" issued by the government agency, [usually called something like "Planning and Zoning something or the other"... Having issued a "permit to build" this government agency must know that permit is in a known flood zone, THUS are liable. [how liable to be determined by a court case, I suppose.]
Simple case in point: You can't build without a permit, that permit has to come from a government approving agency, thus, that agency is liable for your loss. Further point: That government agency had a list of financial gains by issuing the permit. ie. Job security, future tax incomes for "improved value land with a house on it." etc etc etc... Gains which they took knowingly at the peril of the property owner / house builder.. Thus, guilty and liable. That should bring out the big money lawyers.. what say you? On Mon, Apr 19, 2021 at 8:51 AM Dan Penoff via Mercedes < mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > 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 > > _______________________________________ 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
