Flood Property Houses For Sale By Three Types of Owners

One thing I learned after dealing with owners of flooded properties after Hurricane Ike hit the Gulf Coast of Galveston is that property owners
have a very short window to make something happen if they want to sell and move on. In this case timing really is everything.
 

There are basically three waves of sellers:

1. The LET'S MAKE A DEAL Owners
2. The TUNNELERS
3. The LOSS LEADERS

Let me explain.
The first wave of sellers, "LET'S MAKE A DEAL" owners are usually first to respond , have adequate insurance on their homes and want to collect their settlement, make the best deal possible on the sale of their home. Thus they combine the two and come away with
close to pre-flood value in their property. This happens in the first days to  six weeks after the flood occurred.

"The TUNNELERS" are the owners that had tunnel vision to begin with, either have minimum insurance or none at all and believe that
thay can get more for their property as time as passed. While some will prevail, most will have to sell now because values
are dropping like rocks in a pond, perspective buyers have more choices now and will move on quickly if not able to make a deal,
and the cost they have already incurred in cleanup has added to their financial burden of holding such a property.

The third group, what I call the "LOSS LEADERS" are just that. The majority of these owners have no insurance and no money to fix things. The optimum time to sell has long past, out of town investors have moved on, their property is getting moldier and smellier by the day. This diverse group of people will have to take the biggest hit on value.  Usually .35 to .40 cents on the pre flood value!

Not all flood settlements are equal. There are some criterion that apply and I will cover those in a later blog.