Help! We Were Waterlogged and So Were Some of the Houses We Looked At!
I always recommend that buyers be sure to take a drive by a property they may be thinking of buying, right after a hard rain storm, if possible. Often times it can be quite telling. It can give them an idea of how a property drains or, on the other how a property holds water.
Well, yesterday I was out showing houses with a buyer. The sky was clear when we started out, but quickly the black clouds began rolling in. The sky looked menancing. The wind started howling and the thunder and lightning soon followed. We looked at a couple of homes, and then the torrential downpour began.
Now, mind you, I always tell buyers to check homes AFTER a big rain, I really don't recommend they check them in the middle of a torrential thunder and lightning storm! It was absolutely pouring! I couldn't see anything 2 feet in front of me. For me, this is typically the kind of weather where I stay inside and OFF the roads.
We were in an area with oodles of endless streets that seem to stretch for miles. We pulled up to the next house on our list, and I couldn't even pull in the driveway, it was completely underwater! So, I parked across the street.
My buyer is great and so easy going. I asked her what she wanted to do. We decided to try and wait it out. We waited for 10, then 20 minutes. We moved on to the next house. She didn't want a house that she couldn't pull into the driveway after a storm.
In arriving at the next 2 homes we made a mad dash for the front door and headed in. Luckily, I had an 
extra duffel bag, filled with towels. We dried off before going all the way in. Those 2 houses were fine.
As the rain began to taper off and we both looked like little wet rats, we continued on to the next three houses and here's what we found:
House #1) The back patio was completely underwater and it was an inch from coming into the house.
House #2) The living room ceiling was leaking on the carpet in 3 places.
House #3) The front culverts were full with nearly 3 feet of standing water. And various sections of the yard looked like mini swimming pools. (This scared her as she has a 2 year old daughter.)
The rain finally stopped as we looked at our last 2 properties for the day.
I don't typically show houses in the middle of a mini monsoon, but it is hard to schedule showings around our afternoon storms, here in Florida. However, yesterday was really an eye opener for me AND MY BUYER.
Out of 8 properties, my buyer immediately ruled out 4 houses due to the rain and drainage issues. (Now, let me qualify this by saying that we have had inordinate amounts of rain over the past month here in Brevard County FL.)However, after yesterday, I'm wondering if I should rethink my strategy...and begin to make it a policy to only show houses in the rain!
that for you
