I am in the process of looking at buying a house, and currently live just outside Brandon in a rental. It will be the house I am probably going to stay in until I am ready for a retirement home, so I am very cautious about where to buy. My question would be where are the worst flood areas? Would I be able to get insurance on a house in the flood area? Would a Real Estate Agent and/or the Home Owner who is selling privately be legally obliged to tell me it is in the flood area and was evacuated last year's flood? Is Mcdonald Avenue and Stickney Avenue considered flood areas since they are so close to the river?

Yes stickney is flood area... they were evacuated during the flood.. For McDonald Ave.. I have no idea

I just had a few people inbox me that both Stickney Avenue and Mcdonald Avenue are in the flood area and were evacuated during last year's flood and also have issues with rain water flooding in past.  
Thanks for the input. I can't call city hall today, but will try on Monday to verify flood areas. However, still wondering about Real Estate legalities? (dont know if City Hall can answer that ) I would ask a Real Estate Agent but won't be sure if they are being completely honest, as I know people who sold without ever mentioning they flooded, and they did have severe flooding issues. It scares me to think there are no laws in place to protect home buyers from knowing.  
 
 
Edited by chicklet, 2012-08-04 17:59:16

Does anyone know if there are repercusions if a home is purchased in 2002 and are just finding out in 2009 that they are in a flood zone and need to have flood insurance?  
 
Apparently a FEMA flood study was done in 1998 and from what I understand the Realtor should disclose this information. Also, our mortgage company didn't know this either. We have been paying on our Mortgage for over 6 years before we were notified by our Mortgage company and then later by FEMA that we are in a flood zone and require Flood Insurance coverage.  
 
Had we knew when we were interested in purchasing the property that it was in a flood zone, we would have passed on the purchase. I would like to see if there is any way we can recitify or even possibly sue a Realtor for not disclosing this information, and if yes, how does one start the process? Thank you to anyone that can provide advice or may have experience the same problem.  
 
 
 
Read more: http://www.city-data.com/forum/colorado/1079696-property-purchase-where-flood-zone-information.html#ixzz22caGstx6

well you can't get flood insurance with home insurance so maybe that will be a deciding factor

Fyi heres a thread from last year during the evacuation. Includes a map that shows the evacuated area.  
http://www.ebrandon.ca/messagethread.aspx?message_id=466410&cat_id=410  
 
On disclosures, I know that when we sold last year we had to fill out and sign a disclosure form to the best of our knowledge, answering various questions relating to any issues that the home might have. If I recall correctly there was a question relating to flooding. It sounded like it was new at the time to require the form to be filled out so I'm not sure how standard it is, but if this kind of thing is a serious concern make sure you ask your lawyer and/or Realtor about it and they'll probably know the form I'm talking about.  
 

Still, in this case you might not rely just on the seller. I'm guessing a lot of your questions will boil down to the dike that was built and any work that has been done or will still be done on it to mitigate the risk that led to the evacuation last year. Those are questions that may have to be asked of the City... It's possible the seller doesn't know any more about the dike than you or I. This article that was done in August of last year might be a starting point:
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/brandons-eyesore--dike-system-will--remain-for-months-126823098.html

On insurance, if there's anyone out there in the area that was evacuated it would be very interesting to hear if your insurance was effected in any way.  
 
Edited by Adam, 2012-08-04 19:27:38

Terry9366 said "well you can't get flood insurance with home insurance so maybe that will be a deciding factor "

Does this apply here? I don't think so. However, realtors are required by law to disclose all information about a property to prospective purchasers.

When we bought our home, the previous owners were to fill out a sheet full of questions regarding the house. One of the questions was whether there had been water standing in the basement.  
Edit: You can get sewer back up with your house insurance which can help... providing that the sewer backs up during a flood.  
 
Edited by lala*, 2012-08-04 20:28:01

The disclousure form has been around since the 1980's at least. You can be held liable for selling a house that you know has problems if you do not disclose those problems. Buyer would have to prove that you knew however.

Flood insurance is not available here. Even in the US, it's not provided by the insurers, but can be purchased from the government. Anything "overland" is considered flood, and is not covered by insurance. I remember back in 2005 when there was that big rain (we had just moved to Brandon shortly thereafter), there was a big kerfuffle about how the water came into the people's houses because it would depend on who covered the damages - the insurers or if government assistance was needed to help homeowners recover.  
 
Even seepage from the walls is considered "overland" flooding and isn't covered by insurance. Believe me, we had that last year and didn't get a dime!  
 
Here's some Canadian/Manitobain context:  
 
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/story/2011/04/21/sk-flood-insurance-research-110421.html  
 
http://www.newswire.ca/en/story/556655/insurance-bureau-of-canada-reminds-manitoba-residents-to-protect-their-belongings-overland-flooding-not-covered-by-insurance  
 
http://www.gemstarinsurance.com/kens-blog/item/flood-insurance.html

chicklet said "I am in the process of looking at buying a house, and currently live just outside Brandon in a rental. It will be the house I am probably going to stay in until I am ready for a retirement home, so I am very cautious about where to buy. My question would be where are the worst flood areas? Would I be able to get insurance on a house in the flood area? Would a Real Estate Agent and/or the Home Owner who is selling privately be legally obliged to tell me it is in the flood area and was evacuated last year's flood? Is Mcdonald Avenue and Stickney Avenue considered flood areas since they are so close to the river? "

Technically, most of Manitoba is a flood plain. It's just a matter of degrees. I would say that if you really like a house down in the Flats to get it, as the city has decent infrastructure to protect it. Yes, it was evacuated, but no houses were flooded. Unless we had a one-in-a-thousand year flood or something anytime soon, I would expect more of the same.  
 
I personally would be more concerned about the rail line, LOL (speaking from someone who lives near the rail line!).

 
 
Edited by Just me!, 2012-08-04 23:36:04

Thanks Adam and everyone else for the input. I am not just worried about it flooding, and do realize the flood didn't actually reach those houses by the river. I am also worried that my business which I do out of my home would be affected. If I was evacuated it would greatly affect my business that I run out of my home. That and the stress I would just rather avoid. Plus re-sale I am sure would be affected downt the road if I do have to sell due to it being by the tracks and flood area! I was really curious as to laws and disclosures to help me avoid the obvious flood areas.