High water table/sump problems in Hingham? & Friendly or snobby? (Walpole: cliquey, insurance)

[Patapsco]

Hi -

Posting this for Puffle who asked it on another thread where I don't think it will be seen, maybe.

I'm also curious about this (full disclosure)

Is this a problem for only those lucky (?) enough to be right on/near the water? Or is this for the whole area? Are there hills in Hingham, or is everyone at say, 25 ft. above sea level?

Is it an ongoing issue? Or is it only during unusually heavy rain events, etc?

Another Hingham question:

I saw on another thread that Hingham's considered "snobby"?
If we were lucky enough to find a home there, would we always feel like the poor relations?

Or is it more "old money" that doesn't really care and it's no biggie?

I figure any waterfront community will have a more affluent crowd, but don't want my kids to be the "have-nots", either...

We're contemplating it for the ferry & new train line access, plus like the thought of being near the ocean, but not if we'll feel like fish out of water, though.

Thanks for any help!

[baystater]

As for flooding. I hadn't hear of any major flooding in Hingham since the no-name storm in 1991. I'm sure there some but not a tremendous amount. As for being snobby. When I use to work retail there for a while. I never had a problem. With any particular customer and the town didn't seem to have a high and might attitude. In fact most town I the south shore are not that bad when it comes to snobbishness. But as I've said on other post it a bit cliquey. And let me just clarify what I mean as cliquey. Because I caught some flax for using that word. What I mean it that people when I was growing up in the south shore from Age 10 - 32 had a tendency to hang tight with there friends and where skeptical of newcomers. It was not easy at first for most newcomers to make good friends quickly. But with that being said if you proved yourself through you actions and deeds to be a good guy/gal you were eventually accepted into someones circle. And once your in, you got friends for life no matter if you stay in the town or move on to somewhere else. In the end the south shore in general is a good place to live for everyone and I miss it badly right now and hope to soon return.

[haberstroh]

We looked at a lot of houses in Hingham and a lot of them had water problems, sump pumps, unfinished basements in older houses, wet spots etc. We actually put a bid in and had the inspection on a seemingly dry house. It was during the big storm in April and the house looked pretty good until the inspector pulled down a panel and it was like a river back there. After that we shifted our search to Canton and Walpole (where we bought a hopefully dry house :-)) . Saw a few pumps and water damage there as well. It seems as if the whole North East is plagued by this problem. We moved up form NJ and I have seen plenty of water damage there as well, not even mentioning major flooding. The question is are you willing to accept it. Some people are. I would never ever buy a house that has a disclosed water problem. And if it is undisclosed?...Try to get a good inspector. Water problems never go away and can cost you lots of money. Good Luck...I know how it is.

[Patapsco]

Do I *ever* know how it is!

That removed panel with a river behind it? That's the house I'm in NOW! My plumber looked me dead in the eye and told me it was time to sell the house. Yikes.

It's funny, b/c in some photos of interiors on realtor.com, they have a dehumidifier sitting RIGHT THERE in the picture! I'm all, "Um, NEXT!"

I can live with occasionially mopping a wet spot, it's the stuff you can't see that worries me... like where the mold might be growing.

Thanks for your help.

[Continental]

If you build/buy a home without some sort of subsurface water protection, e,g, perimeter drain or sump pump, your home is clearly vulnerable. The presence of a sump pump should always be viewed as "an insurance policy" in case something goes wrong. It should new be viewed with suspicion unless there is evidence the seller is trying to mask some larger problem. In the northeast, you can expect storms with heavy rainfall at any time, but especially in October and March. In March, the problem is frequently compounded because of frozen ground. Remember, spumps only work if you have electricity and, unfortunately when big storms occur, one of the first casualities is your power. Then, unless you have a generator or large marine batteries, your sump pump will be quite useless!

Regarding snobs...well hey, you can't really label an entire town with this characterization. But you can say you know this, or that, about any town and draw a conclusion based on personal experience. In all the years I lived in Hingham, I NEVER once had the idea it was snobbish. Folks were proud of this hamlet, but snobbish? No.

However, having just said that, I can give plenty of instances where snobbishness was/is alive and well in Concord, MA. Why? Who knows?