How to check an area’s natural-disaster risk

A new company helps buyers and current owners determine a property’s vulnerability to five different perils.

Q. Considering all the wildfires and other natural disasters that we’ve had across the country over the past year, is there some way for a homebuyer to determine which area may be more “at-risk” than another?

A. Sure. Probably your best source is a relatively new company named ClimateCheck (www.climatecheck.com), which rates nearly each of the nation’s neighborhoods’ exposure to various risks based on the area’s historical data, as well as climate-related projections, through 2050.

The online service is free, fast and easy to use. All you need to do is type in the name of a city or neighborhood, a ZIP code or even a specific street address, and you will instantly get a customized risk assessment for the location.

The overall rating ranges from zero (lowest risk) to 100. The ratings are based on a property’s future exposure to five climatechange-related hazards compared to other homes in the United States: storm, flood, fire, heat and drought.

Those five natural perils are also broken down individually. For example, Miami’s flood risk over the next 29 years or so is 100 because the city is so susceptible to hurricanes and rising sea levels. But though much of Florida has sustained drought conditions for more than a year, its future drought risk is what ClimateCheck characterizes as a “very low” 31, as rainfall levels return to normal.

Los Angeles is a different story. Though ClimateCheck rates the city’s storm risk through 2050 as a “low” 21, it has a “very high” drought-risk grade of 82 — a rating that could sadly soon climb as countless new thirsty subdivisions are built and the West Coast’s water supply continues to fall.

A recent survey by realty brokerage Redfin found that 58 percent of buyers and sellers in Houston are “very concerned” about climate change and will consider it when making their future real estate decisions, the highest percentage in the nation. New Yorkers (47 percent) ranked second, followed by residents of Miami (46 percent), Austin (44 percent) and Los Angeles (43 percent).

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Q. We accepted a full-price offer to sell our home, but the buyers’ professional home inspector found a lot of problems that we did not know about. Now the buyers have amended their offer, demanding that we make about $17,000 in repairs. Do we have to make the repairs and then go through with the sale?

A. Probably not. The buyers’ inspection uncovered problems that you previously didn’t know about, so you had no legal obligation to disclose them and can cancel the sale without penalty.

You have several options if you instead want to complete the transaction. You could make the repairs yourself, reduce the sale price by $17,000 to reflect the cost of a professional to do the work or include the cost as a “closing credit” so the buyers would have the cash they need to do the work themselves

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Q. I live in a house that I have owned by myself for several years. Now I am getting married to a man who earns more than I do but has never owned a home. Will it be necessary to put my fiance’s name on the title to my home after we get married? Should I ask him to sign a prenuptial agreement?

A. The decision to put your groom’s name on the title to your longtime home is a highly personal one. Doing so will automatically give him a half-interest in the property but no legal responsibility to help make the monthly mortgage payments, unless his name is also added to the bank’s original mortgage contract.

I do not want to seem unromantic, but it is a statistical fact that about half of all marriages end in divorce. Simply talking about your concerns with your fiance now, before you both walk down the aisle, could prevent several problems from arising later.

Conversely, creating a full-blown prenup would formally spell out how the assets of you and your betrothed would be divided in case of a divorce. It is not a sure-fire way to avoid possible legal disputes, but it is a good head start.

It is worth noting that many lawyers generally recommend prenups only for those who are marrying someone with much less money or with much more debt, or for people who are financially responsible for children from a previous relationship.

People who are involved in a family-owned business also often sign a prenup to reduce the chance that an eventual divorce would jeopardize an enterprise that may have been in the bride’s or groom’s family for decades.

Discuss your real estate and other financial concerns about your upcoming wedding with an attorney, as well as with your sweetheart.