Flooded home

[TJ Sayers]

I found a house with an ARV of 36000 and the lady wants 15000 for it. She said that the house has flooded and it is in a flood plain. Is this worth taking a chance on? I do know that flood insurance can be very, very expensive. The seller told me that the house was flooded almost up to the electrical outlets. For something like this, I have no idea how to estimate the cost of repairs. I would expect having to replace all electrical, drywall, plumbing(?). I am scheduled to go look at the property on Thursday, but I'm not sure how much I will be able to estimate repairs to give her an offer.

[Adam Greene]

I second Troy and Colleen, on this I currently own a Home that I got as a "steal" picked it up as an REO at about half the going avg rate for homes in this town, in a good neighborhood, I was informed at closing no less that it was in a hundred year flood plane and I'd need an extra 1300 a year for flood insurance.. I was new enough to not be thrown by that.. I was seeing an ARV of almost 300k, purchase price of 150k, and approx 40k of work needed.. 7 years later I still own this house. Flood insurance is now almost 3k a year with the deductibles getting higher and coverage getting lower every year. It's difficult to get tennants who will pay enough for a house when they are told not to put anything in the two car garage and that you can't leave anything in the basement, since the basement will fill completely with water 1.5 times a year and the garage can get as much as three feet of water on those occasions. My best suggestion is knock on the doors of some of the neighbors homes.. If I had taken this small step I'd have passed on this deal. Talk to the mail man etc.. people who have been around a while can tell you if it legitimately is a 100 year plane or a good lord you are going to spend 2k a year on foundation repair. Also ask a good insurance broker, she will know the real story, and can give you an idea of what you will expect to pay.