Photo Courtesy of weather.com

This past week torrential rains hit Vermont, leaving three months worth of rain in the span of 24 hours.  The resulting flooding in Central Vermont has created issues with numerous real estate transactions throughout the state; in some instances the subject property has been damaged while in others the parties involved are unable to conduct the closing due to electrical outages or road closures.  Of similar concern, due to the federally-declared State of Emergency throughout Vermont, most federally-backed lenders are requiring secondary appraisals and/or inspections of properties to confirm that they have not been harmed by the floods.

Where such requirements arise, this office is recommending that wherever possible buyers extend the contract financing contingency and the closing date to account for the delay such appraisals and inspections may cause.  Additionally, buyers and their realtors may ask lenders if photos or other visual evidence of the state of the property can be provided in lieu of waiting on a third-party vendor to complete the appraisal or inspection.  Most lenders are allowing this, resulting in closing staying on time and on target.

With such weather events becoming more the norm than the exception, it is worth planning ahead in your closing process to make sure that your once-in-a-lifetime purchase is not derailed by a three-times-in-a-lifetime weather event.

For more on the increased likelihood of such events in our future, please see the Washington Post: