NSL - home collapse (Bountiful, Francis: houses, neighborhoods, inspection)

[CCSLC]

Great explanation, Geo!

I've always thought common sense indicated that if you're going to buy a home on a hill, buy one that's been on that hill for many, many years---not new construction.

After all, if the homes in Yalecrest on the hill at 1300 East were going to slide, they'd probably have already done it sometime in the last 100 years, no?

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

There have been homes in NSL sliding down before, just not this dramatically. I remember a news story maybe 3 yrs ago? about it. The Traverse area problems should be well known but some people stick their heads in the sand.

[SWFL_Native]

Wow was just Looking at homes there last weekend (two streets over). I bet this is going to put a hurting on property values there.

Anybody know if homeowner insurance here protects against flooding or mud slide? If not can you buy a separate policy to protect against this?

[CCSLC]

Originally Posted by SWFL_Native

Anybody know if homeowner insurance here protects against flooding or mud slide? If not can you buy a separate policy to protect against this?

Generally, no, regular homeowner insurance does not cover landslides. Additional policies exist, but many will not sell you a policy on a hill like this in NSL or on Traverse in Draper. The risk of slide is just too great.

[SWFL_Native]

Originally Posted by CCSLC

Generally, no, regular homeowner insurance does not cover landslides. Additional policies exist, but many will not sell you a policy on a hill like this in NSL or on Traverse in Draper. The risk of slide is just too great.

Wow many of those houses go for $350k - $850k that is a ton to risk in buying into that neighborhood. Would you think further down in bountiful (mueller park area) or in the upper aves they'd sell the additional policies?

[MovingtoUtah99]

Originally Posted by SWFL_Native

Wow many of those houses go for $350k - $850k that is a ton to risk in buying into that neighborhood. Would you think further down in bountiful (mueller park area) or in the upper aves they'd sell the additional policies?

I bet those policies would be pretty expensive too........It just seems like any "add on" policies like this would cost quite a bit per year..I guess you have to evaluate the risk and see...

[irman]

What Geo_Aggie described, is often happening in Southern California.
The land is formed thru the eons, into a landscape that is relatively stable,
but then mankind changes it by cutting thru it (roads, housing developments, etc.)
Sooner or later during rainfall, the *material* gets slippery and it just *slides down*.

Read:
http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2005/3107/pdf/FS-3107.pdf
page 4 especially

Speaking about who is responsible ...
Reminds me of an area in Switzerland called *Falli Hoelli*
A resort type area on the side of a beautiful mountain area,
with vacation homes and a large hotel.
Then one day, the whole bloody mountain side gave away
and all that what mankind built and enjoyed for so many years, is now down in a ravine.
For many months after that, the people wondered why it happened
and why the authorities even considered giving out building permits.
We left, shortly after that so we have no idea what the legal ramifications turned into later on.

Sounds like a familiar story ?

An excerpt from an official report
Man-Made Landslides
Although several types of human-
induced landslides are common in south
-
ern California, most can be avoided or mitigated.
They are most commonly a result of building roads
and structures without adequate grading of slopes, of
poorly planned alteration of drainage patterns, and of
disturbing old landslides. Most of these situations can
be avoided through careful planning and design by
qualified professionals and knowledgeable oversight
by appropriate regulatory agencies

[elcee499]

Great conversation!

I've been looking at east side homes and building lots in Davis County for a while now, and have also been trying to interpret the landslide maps from the US Geological Survey. It's hard, because most of the landslide maps don't show any streets in the hillside areas, meaning that they pre-date the development. That suggests that the city and the developer didn't do their due diligence before the houses went up. Hardly any of the communities in Davis County provide plat or zoning maps online, so it's hard to pretty hard find out if a specific home or lot is on an active landslide without a site visit. Farmington has a interactive city map on a google base map that shows faults and flood plains - but not landslides.

[Chango]

it's a shame and I'm glad nobody was hurt but what bugs me about the whole thing are the owner's seemingly complete lack of accountability.

Nobody forced them to buy there and those houses didn't come cheap so they clearly could have bought a house just about anywhere they wanted, but instead it's the city and builder's fault they made a bad decision about where to live?!

[SWFL_Native]

Originally Posted by Chango

it's a shame and I'm glad nobody was hurt but what bugs me about the whole thing are the owner's seemingly complete lack of accountability.

Nobody forced them to buy there and those houses didn't come cheap so they clearly could have bought a house just about anywhere they wanted, but instead it's the city and builder's fault they made a bad decision about where to live?!

Everyone deserves their fair share of blame... However even I'm still drawn to the idea of living way up on the bench. I like most people would assume that if developers/builder/investors put $Millions into that area that it would be both relatively stable and safe. I understand it's everyone's responsibility to due their own due diligence but usually it's limited to an extensive building inspection, talking with neighbors, and "kicking the tires". I'm not a geologist nor could I read topographical data if it was provided.