Buyer's Guide to Resilient Homes

Buyer's Guide to

Resilient Homes

How to Ensure Your New Home Will Withstand Natural Disasters

How would you feel if a natural disaster destroyed your new home, but your neighbor’s home survived? Would you wonder what made the difference? Would you think it was just bad luck?

At the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH), we call this the “Tale of Two Homes,” and we have seen it unfold countless times. Earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, or wildfires strike communities, and many homes resist the shaking, wind, water, or fire. The families inside these homes are resilient. They bounce back swiftly and get on with their lives. Yet other homes are damaged and destroyed. Those families endure an expensive, long road to recovery. Some never make it back to “normal.”

The most important lesson from this story is that no matter how it turns out, it’s not just about luck. When homes survive disasters, it is almost always because someone made responsible decisions about how and where to build. They likely followed a modern building code, and inspectors verified that things were done the right way. But how do you, the buyer, find the right home?

The Buyer’s Guide to Resilient Homes has the information you need to identify homes that will still be standing after the disaster.

The guide will take you beyond aesthetics like curb appeal and stainless steel appliances to focus on the risks where you live and how your home should perform when tested by nature. You will learn how to identify inspectors or realtors who can help you determine a home’s safety potential. You will discover features and upgrades that make it safer and stronger. We’ll even help you understand how insurance provides financial security so you have the resources to recover.

We hope you will find this guide helpful as you begin your search for a new home. We know that having the right information at the right time is key to safeguarding your family from disasters of all kinds. Possibly the most critical time to focus on resilience is when you are buying a home. With the guide in hand, you may not be able to control the weather, but you can take charge of your future by knowing what to expect when disasters strike. You will not only be safer; you will be resilient no matter what you face.