This morning I was trapped in my neighborhood by flooded streets. I couldn't get to work after the torrential rains. The area got 4+ inches of rain from midnight to dawn.
Normally this means nothing but a day off work as I watch the DPW hustle around clearing things up. The old family homestead never flooded. It's on high ground in the subdivision, and I don't even have a sump pump. Others, even within a block of here are not so lucky.
And here I am, a year away from retirement facing the fact I may have to move. I don't want to stay here due to high property taxes for what the home is. (And the tiny basement it also has.)
I lived with my father for awhile now after I bid back into the area after working out of state.
Last October, he passed away at the age of 90. I now must move or buy out my sibling who gets half of his estate.
It was agreed I would stay here until I retire.
As I stated earlier, taxes are high here. A move out to the "boonies" might be in order.
So, being a basement-dwelling model railroader, I must ask the question; How does one buy a house and make sure it has a dry basement? At my ripe old age I am quite naive on this. Out of state I rented or the company paid for my lodging.
Do realtors have the answers?
Look for a house on high ground?
Consult a civil engineer?
Seepage or a couple inches of water on occasion I may have to live with. I doubt I'll ever find a place with such an arid basement as this place has.
But I could not tolerate a layout-drenching basement flood.
No one but me and my finances will dictate where and that the future home shall be.
A silly daydream has me building a below grade concrete bunker, and plop a manufactured home on top.
But in reality, a 2-3 bedroom ranch with full basement. I would like to think I'd have guests sleep over, but really it's just me and the trains, and a dog to be named later. (My old dog died this March at the age of 16.)
I want to stay within an hour or two of the Chicago area in Illinois or Indiana. All my friends and what I call a social life is there. Lets say 100 miles or so.
The question is to those of you who selected their homes with a secure environment for their collection in mind is how did you go about finding a suitable place? Might as well throw in the neighborhood, security systems and everything else that keep the trains secure and safe.
And before the topic of forgoing having a basement comes up, we get those pesky tornado things here in the Midwest, and I'm too old to fly to Kansas in my bathtub. It must have a basement. A wonderful roomy basement with a house on top to keep the elements out.
It seems those 100 year rains they talk about come almost every week now.
So let's have your experiences, horror stories, what have you. I really need some guidance here as I am a total real-estate newbie.