Is Renting On The Rise After Harvey?

Losing a home to a flood is devastating. Does renting make more sense for homeowners in Houston who keep getting flooded?

By Florian MartinNovember 16, 2018 9:30 am, , , ,

From Houston Public Media:

Guadalupe Mares grew up in the Hidden Forest neighborhood just north of I-10 East and still lives in the same house with her mom and brother.
Harvey flooded it to the roof.

“To this day, the outside of the house is done,” Mares says. “Just the inside, we’re still working on it.”

She says they plan on staying here, despite the frequent flooding. Water previously entered the house during Tropical Storm Allison in 2001 and Hurricane Ike in 2008.

The property’s 2018 value dropped to a third of last year’s, entirely due to structural damage.

“My mom, I guess she’s just hard-headed,” Mares says. “It was her first house that she owned and, you know, being an immigrant from Mexico coming over here, she worked really hard to get her dream house.”

But is it worth it in an area that floods often?

Read more.