One of the first things you should look at when purchasing a home is not only the home, but also the actual land itself. While a cute house nestled near a babbling brook may seem like heaven to some, April showers may well bring you closer to the water than most you like. Dry creek beds that may be fun for the children to romp in during the dry months could potentially turn into raging rapids when the spring rains come, often over-flooding their banks and causing considerable damage. Not to mention if you happen to cross over that dry bed after it floods is another dangerous hazard to consider. One quick and easy way to verify if your home is in a floodplain is by contacting the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is a government sponsored agency which publishes FIRM’s, (Flood Insurance Rate Maps). You can also check your local library, as well as local and county offices to see if they have the maps readily available. Most mortgage companies require flood insurance when your home is in a flood plain, and a general rule of thumb would be not to buy a house if it is in the 100 to 500 year floodplain.
Wetland areas are regulated in development by federal and state governments, and often covered in red tape, can be time consuming, and very expensive to even obtain approval for construction. However, the most considerable cause of flooding, and basement flooding, is not from wetlands or streambeds, but more so from inadequately drained runoff or high water. Determining factors of runoff include setting, incline, flora, and soils and if not managed correctly can cause momentous troubles and damage. When checking out the land for a potential home buy, it is better to be on the top of the hill rather than at the bottom of a hill, and it’s better to inspect the land while it’s raining in order to check out the drainage and flood plains. Draining problems can be solved by sometimes simple measures such as cleaning the gutters, or more complex measures such as recon touring the land. However, a high water table, which is water that flows underground, can be raised by spring and thawing temperatures. Steep slopes also need to be considered when purchasing a home. Soil around the house can erode with any water drainage downhill, and often results in mud and rockslides. If the area of your potential home purchase is in a mountainous area, sometimes avalanches and landslides can occur often destroying your home. Terracing can be more expensive than stilts on concrete footers, yet terracing provides the best support.