Legends Ranch Lakefront Property (Spring, Aldine: HOA, insurance, houses)

[springrl]

Hi Everyone,
I'm thinking about buying a lakefront property at the Legends Ranch community in Spring TX. I really like everything about the house especially the fact that it is by the lake. That fact also makes me a bit uneasy. I wonder how big are the chances of flooding for the houses in that area. I also wonder, what are other problems I might find (that are related to It's proximity to the lake). Is home owner's insurance more expensive in this cases?

If anyone has any experience with this type of property please let me know. I know the lake is man made, and I don't think it has caused any flooding since it was made. I would like to see if anyone has had experience that might help. If you lived in the area during any of the hurricanes please let me know if something specific was done to keep it from flooding. Thanks in advance for any comments.

[tdhg566]

We live in The Lakes subdivision of Imperial Oaks, on one of the homes that backs up to the "lake". Our "lake" is actually a natural farm pond that was equipped with three fountains, a well pump for dry periods, concrete edge liner and two wetland areas to encourage bird feeding and nesting. Because it's natural it's a bit different from the stark blue man-made lakes you see in Legends Ranch and other places. But flooding/drainage issues are the same. We drive up Aldine Westfield frequently, and looked at properties in the Ranch before building here. I'm not familiar with which lake you're speaking of, but I'm sure they all have similar characteristics.

We've only been in the house a few months, but many of my neighbors were here during Rita and saw no problems caused by the lake. The lake's water level is far below the elevation of our house and no one's yard is allowed to drain into the lake (all must drain from back to front into the street). The lake also has a lower "mouth" at one end (the entrance to the subdivision) where water would drain onto the streets and into the drainage system long before it affected any of the homes directly on the lake, or any of the other homes in the subdivision.

I also had no issues or added expense with my home insurance.

So, net net, what you should look at is the drainage situation for the entire area. Just because there's a lake in your backyard, if nothing is feeding the lake (run-off), then where would extra water to cause flooding come from? In fact, a lake has less chance of causing flooding than dry land. Why? Because if our lake area were dry land, and that land became water saturated during a rain, then any additional rainfall MUST run off somewhere. In our case, all rainfall on the lake stays in the lake. Granted, if we get a 5-6 foot rain and the the entire Drainage District 6 system backs up, then we've ALL got problems . (you're in a different Drainage District, 10 I think - be sure to check).

So take a hard look at the entire drainage system around your house and the lake in your backyard. Look at the FEMA flood map of the area, which should show topo lines and you can see how the water will move. Knock on doors and ask people all around your prospective house how long they've been there and what did they experience during Rita.

In our case, I don't loose a minute's sleep worrying about my lake flooding You're welcome to PM me if you want more detailed information, or want me to drive by the property you're looking at and give you my opinion. It's worth what you'll pay for it

[springrl]

wow you seem to know a lot about this subject. Thanks for your post. you bring a lot of really good points and things I would not know to consider. I will take your advise and look into the kind of draining system they have.

In your experience, what kind of restrictions are applied to that kind of property? Since it is very visible, I can imagine they have a lot of restrictions of what you can and can not build or have in your back yard. I have looked at other communities and I was able to find a list of their restrictions on line. Legends Ranch does not seem to publish any of that. It would really help people make a more informed decision if they did.

[tdhg566]

Your desire to get a copy of the deed restrictions before buying or building is very smart. Too many people don't, and that's where the horror stories start. I got a copy of mine, and read them, before building in Imperial Oaks. So I knew exactly what I could and couldn't do and you're right, the restrictions vary widely. IOaks has a staffed management office that helps with things like that. Don't know about LRanch. But someone has a copy because they have to be filed with the county. If you're working with a RE agent, I'd give them the assignment to find the restrictions, or else make it the responsibility of the seller's agent (since it's the seller who has the most to gain by making you happy). Since LRanch is "built out", you may need to visit a Legend's office in another Legend's community nearby. The other entity that would have the restrictions is the HOA/POA Board of Directors. If there's a meeting soon, you should attend (IOaks has a public board meeting monthly). The other approach is similar to what I already mentioned: bust some shoe leather and knock on doors. Once neighbors know you're not soliciting, they're usually glad to help you.

I googled Legends Ranch deed restrictions and came up with this link:

Legends Ranch | Peel, Inc.

It appears all the LRanch newsletters are published here. The latest one, July 2010, is here

http://www.peelinc-newsletters.com/w...ers/1007LR.pdf

Nothing in it about deed restrictions, BUT there are plenty of phone numbers for you to chase.

Good luck.

[springrl]

Thanks tdhg566! I really appreciate your suggestions. I think I'm going to try asking the HOA first if that doesn't work then I'll put it on one of the agent's shoulders. Thanks again and have a great 4th of July!