After the storm: Easing the minds of relocation buyers
In the best of circumstances, moving to a new city can be stressful and challenging. If that city is Houston, and the time is now, there might be additional cause for worry. The idea of moving to Houston might not be appealing for some people, given the recent catastrophic flooding in the area.
Based on the news reports and video coverage that potential newcomers have been exposed to over the past few weeks, people might mistakenly believe that the whole city was underwater. And that, of course, was not the case.
In fact, there were many more areas and neighborhoods that remained high and dry.
Nonetheless, although many activities in Houston were abruptly halted during the storm, the phones continued to ring for many real estate and relocation professionals. This was due in part to the large number of people who were already in the throes of the relocation process. “Once the storm was over, and the city was still dealing with a lot of flooding, our phones were ringing with buyers who were ready to look at properties again, and sellers who were ready to put their homes on the market,” said Pattie Huey, director of relocation and business development at Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Gary Greene. “For us, the number one thing was to make sure that we were able to get appraisers and/or inspectors back out to the properties for our relocation clients who were already under contract.
“Then we spent almost two weeks helping people understand that Houston was open for business, and that there is plenty of inventory available.”
Huey said that when the storm hit, many of her relocation clients hadn’t even been to Houston yet for their home-finding trips.
She and her team, along with their agents, have been working together ever since to help ease the minds of those who might feel anxious about moving here.
“We are dealing with this on a very large level, because we do a lot of the larger group moves into Houston. So, we have supplied a lot of information to our corporate clients from local appraisers, and economic development people to let them know what is happening in different parts of the city, and in different communities, to help reassure them,” Huey said.
For anyone buying a home in the Houston area, Huey said that her company reinforces the importance of having flood insurance, regardless of whether the home is in a flood zone or not. The potential risk always exists for any property in the Houston area.
Likewise, Lisa Marshall, a Realtor with Martha Turner Sotheby’s International Realty, said that another important message for people who are relocating to Houston right now, is that there is still a lot of normalcy out there in many neighborhoods, and many homes available that didn’t flood.
“This is why having a really good agent is so important for relocation clients, since they are relying on that agent to help them and guide them towards different neighborhoods. So, as an agent, you have to listen very carefully to what the clients is saying about what they want, and let them know that there are still a lot of homes available, which I think really helps ease their minds,” Marshall said.
She said it is equally important for relocation buyers to understand that they shouldn’t discount an entire neighborhood just because they heard that it had some flooding.
“There are a lot of neighborhoods that had homes that flooded, as well as homes that stayed dry,” Marshall said. “Relocation buyers should also keep in mind that the things that make a neighborhood wonderful, are all still there. Whether it’s the large lots, or the trees, or the schools, or the proximity to restaurants and shopping, all of those things are still there.”
She said that for any property that are currently on the market and didn’t have any flooding, that it is important for listing agents to include specific remarks in the MLS, stating that the property didn’t flood or incur water damage.
“This is so fresh in people’s minds, so when they see a listing that states that there hasn’t been any flooding, that’s going to be really reassuring. And, as Houston continues to grow, people will continue to want to move here, and they will want to have lovely, comfortable homes that provide good shelter for their families,” said Marshall.