Real Estate Community Forum

I have been watching the news lately and have seen many people preparing for hurricane Gustav. Many people have decided to leave the area while others were forced to leave for safety reasons. As I watched all this I began to wonder why do people live in an area that is constantly being attacked by hurricanes? Why on earth would you want to live in a place that can destroy your house in a single day? It just doesn't make any sense to me. Can someone explain to me why these people continue to live in the path of hurricanes?

I currently live up north where the threat of hurricanes don't occur. I assume one of the reasons people live where hurricanes are an occasional occurrence is because some enjoy living next to the water and don't think a hurricane will actually come in their direction.

In addition, some people are so used to the procedures to prepare for a hurricane that they don't feel it is a detergent. Instead it's just a part of life for them. The same can be said of people who live up north where their is the threat of snow storms. You learn to accept it because that's where you live.

I live up north where we have snow all the time. I've been living here all my life and I don't mind the snow because at least I have a home during a snow storm. I don't have to worry about bordering it up every time a hurricane is coming into town. I know many of you might be saying, "who wants to live in a cold climate and shovel snow all the time", but I'm willing to take the cold over 100 mile per hour winds that can demolish my house.

Does anyone else feel the same as I do? Does anyone live in the path of hurricanes? How do you feel about living in a place that has hurricanes?

I've been reading the news on hurricane Ike and I'm amazed of the amount of destruction the hurricane has caused. These people must be devastated from losing their home or business. In fact, there are millions of people who are without electricity and are expected to be without it for about a month! How are these people going to manage being homeless and how long will it take to clean up this mess? We've still trying to clean up from hurricane Katrina and that was in 2005. These people are still hoping to rebuild their homes and they're living in FEMA trailers. So how long do you think it will take to recover from hurricane Ike?

The answer for me is “absolutely not”. Same applies to hurricanes and earthquakes and floods and tornadoes. Why people do this is totally beyond me. When I was a child I learned not to stick my hand in the fire, and this seems exactly the same. Once you’ve been burned, you don’t touch the flames again. If you have a full picnic basket, you learn from others who get themselves burned. I guess it’s not nice to say bad things about those who are a couple of sandwiches short.

You might be able to build or buy a home in danger of any of these natural disasters without being advised of them, but it certainly is not in my area. The documents you sign on purchase or sale are seemingly endless. But I read each and every word, and understand the words I read. Disclosures are meant to tell you what might go wrong with your plans. To not read them is sheer foolishness. That’s another good reason to make sure you get a very qualified home inspector. If you don’t know that the house will stand against nature, you are betting a lot of investment that you will be protected from the elements. Isn’t that what a house is basically intended to do? If you are in an area of heavy rainfall, question the inspector about the house’s ability to handle it. If snowfall is expected, what happens when the storm of the century piles it to the window tops? Why do people continue to inspect drapes and light fixtures when touring an open house? None of the decorations in a residence will keep out piled up snow, driving rain or the more severe weather. The quality of the siding, roof, windows, foundations and wall straps is what will make your house stand. The paint color in the bathroom isn’t going to.

Poor mortar between bricks is something to ask about. New carpeting won’t stop a tornado. A well-grounded lightning rod will keep you from frying. A six burner range won’t keep flood waters out. A good inspection of a house is going to get your clothes dirty. Choosing a house to withstand what Mother Nature can throw will need careful thought and a lot of questions. Prepare to put out some brain power and sweat to get the job done right. Otherwise, you will have very little of my sympathy and probably a nasty surprise.

Well I don’t have an answer for that but I too sometimes think about this issues. I personally would never prefer to live in places which are very prone to hurricanes.