Buying in a Flood Plain?

[Ruffdaddy]

I've been wanting to buy a ranch for some time now and I'm getting closer to having the money for a modest one (if the deal is good enough I may be ready in mid 2018...a little ahead of my original plan). It will mostly be used for shooting, hunting and recreation. However I want the option of a cabin or barndominium in 5-7 years.

If the land is in a 100 year Flood plain, is it possible to reasonably build on it? Can a pad be built up or does it not work like that? Is it going to be absurdly expensive?

[kingjason]

I've been wanting to buy a ranch for some time now and I'm getting closer to having the money for a modest one (if the deal is good enough I may be ready in mid 2018...a little ahead of my original plan). It will mostly be used for shooting, hunting and recreation. However I want the option of a cabin or barndominium in 5-7 years.

If the land is in a 100 year Flood plain, is it possible to reasonably build on it? Can a pad be built up or does it not work like that? Is it going to be absurdly expensive?

Make it tall enough for the 500 year flood plain. Yes you can build them up on a giant mound of dirt or depending on where it is cinder block base or maybe piers.

I was in Lancaster and went through the 500 year flood as they called it. It buried both neighborhoods on both sides of the 10 mile creek. They let the people come back and build the houses taller. I watched a lot of different things happen with that. I almost bought a log cabin and two smaller houses in the corner that had been vacated a while. I had a long discussion with the fire marshal about that stuff.

They were in the 500 year flood plain but had two separated incidents so they made it the 100 year flood plain. One guy had a cinder block wall protecting his house. Yeah right it blasted those bastards right through the side of the house. I thought it was a shitty deal since honestly, I think DeSoto and Lancaster city developers caused some of that. You throw down miles and miles of concrete everywhere, where do you think the water is going to go.

https://www.google.com/maps/@32.5796289,-96.7992914,3a,75y,322.14h,96.42t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sTEdb9nrvnELNV622W6iTVQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DTEdb9nrvnELNV622W6iTVQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D330.0515%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

https://www.google.com/maps/@32.5783535,-96.7967261,3a,37.5y,0.48h,85.46t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sqzUezYF7ZnhuECqdePz-hw!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DqzUezYF7ZnhuECqdePz-hw%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D320.86624%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

https://www.google.com/maps/@32.5791659,-96.7903613,3a,75y,11.22h,87.27t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sEUy2m8GGdWkUb9beUzSAPA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[Sean88gt]

Just carry that flood insurance.

The 100/500 year stuff is a bit misleading. It really is 1/100 (or 500) chance of getting flooded. With it being a 100yr, you'll pay.

[Sgt Beavis]

Sean is right, you can just get national flood insurance. You could change the topography to raise the plot where a house goes but it will be expensive. Depending on the location, you could have environmental regulations keeping you from doing that. What you could do is build on a raised pier system or a pile foundation. That would raise the structure above any flood levels and greatly decrease your risk. You could also use the space under the structure for parking. It's very common in southern Lousiana.

[John -- '02 HAWK]

If the land is in a 100 year Flood plain, is it possible to reasonably build on it? Can a pad be built up or does it not work like that? Is it going to be absurdly expensive?

Depending on where the property is some lenders won't provide the loans or the insurance for a permanent structure. The same goes for the governmental bodies they won't allow the permits or the occupancy permit. Which will also mean no elec or water hooks ups. There are also laws about wells and septic tanks in the floodplain as well And be warned of Army of Corp of engineers easements and restrictions can bar any construction and structures especially around marsh/wetlands.

So do a lot of research on the property before you put any money on it

[lowfast]

I looked into this. Most insurers only care that top of slab is higher than the -00 year mark.

[Chili]

Yeah, build in a flood plain so that when there's a big storm the rest of us will have to go rescue you and donate money so you can get through your tough time..

[AnthonyS]

New Orleans is a good flood plain example. It's never a matter if, but only when. Geology is what it is. You can fight it or cooperate, but you can't beat it.

[juiceweezl]

Just carry that flood insurance.

The 100/500 year stuff is a bit misleading. It really is 1/100 (or 500) chance of getting flooded. With it being a 100yr, you'll pay.

This is what people don't understand. The mean reoccurrence in a year rating is simply the percentage that the event will happen each year. So, a 100 year flood plain means there's a 1% chance that it will flood to that level in the given year. If it does flood, it doesn't meant it won't happen again for another 99 years. It can happen twice in the same year or in back to back years. It's all a probability. Look at Moore, OK for example.

[Big A]

The palm tree might be a tad out of place o a ranch, but you're welcome.

[Baron Von Crowder]

it's possible to build up in order to get out of the flood plain. A guy I know did buy digging a big pond and putting the dirt where his house needed to go, and it looks cool too. No idea how much he spent to do it, though.

Check the street view.

https://www.google.com/maps/@32.5018837,-97.1159915,3a,75y,80.62h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1shxH5F8aPbvYRHQKJ5MiWQQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DhxH5F8aPbvYRHQKJ5MiWQQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D78.923355%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

[Ruffdaddy]

Thanks everyone for the good info! Looks like it's a cost trade off now to see if the cost savings on the land is greater than the cost of building up a large pad/digging a pond.

The primary reason for buying in a Flood plain is the great pricing and I also want the water features to attract wildlife. But if it's going to be more expensive in the long run I'll just keep saving.

Yeah, build in a flood plain so that when there's a big storm the rest of us will have to go rescue you and donate money so you can get through your tough time..

Haha...it won't be a primary residence and obviously the plan is to build up above the flood level.

But I'll still take the money if you're charitable.

[Ruffdaddy]

it's possible to build up in order to get out of the flood plain. A guy I know did buy digging a big pond and putting the dirt where his house needed to go, and it looks cool too. No idea how much he spent to do it, though.

Check the street view.
https://www.google.com/maps/@32.5018...7i13312!8i6656

Do you have a ballpark for the cost of building it up like that?

[Baron Von Crowder]

Do you have a ballpark for the cost of building it up like that?

couldnt tell you. I asked why the huge pond, he told me that he wanted the house where it is, and they needed a bunch of dirt. There is some sort of state assistance with the cost of building a stock tank, and they paid half.

[bcoop]

We just had a guy come do a lot of dozer work at the ranch, and he charged us about $1200 to build a 72'x 62' pad up for our new pole barn. He built it up 18", up to 24" in some spots.


There is no dirt included in that price, strictly dozer work. The dirt will likely cost you more than the dozer work imo. Can't say for certain because we used dirt we already had.