Tonight, it was hard to watch the late night news and all of the pictures of the flooding in South Carolina. They interviewed a 
guy standing on his screened-in porch with water lapping up to the top step. He was talking about how he was so much more fortunate than his across the street neighbors - their entire first floor flooded.
I am the daughter of a hydrologist who ended a long career at the US Geological Survey as Lord of the Floor Plains. And the only time I ever heard him rant, it was about building on or very close to creeks and rivers that were vulnerable to flooding during heavy rains.
He felt strongly that, if you wanted a river view, that was fine. But he didn't think the US taxpayers should subsidize your hazard insurance for your view.
There's no doubt about it. A river view, almost any river view, can add a boatload to the selling price of a house. And over the last several years, I've shown many homes that have had some kind of water feature, or issue depending on how you look at it.
Of course, I'll call the listing agent and ask about the flood plain. Does she have the map - I couldn't find it with the disclosures.
Huh?
Floodplain?
What's that?
With the weather getting so unpredictable, I think it's important to get floodplain information whenever we list a house where you can see water. And same thing goes for buyer brokers when we have a client flip out over Dream House on the Potomac (or any river).
Last time it was an issue for me, I learned that both state and federal agencies map floodplains, and the little rascals change every so often.
And while living in a waterfront home can be quite seductive, you have to keep in mind that, like the guy on the 11 o'clock news tonight, you could at some point in the near future find yourself mopping up.
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