Questions about Pearland (Brazoria: insurance, lender, custom home)

[RM69]

I have several questions about Pearland.

I am about to buy a house but found out the seller does not have a WPI-8 certificate. I have several options.
A) Don't buy the house
B) Get insurance and get a WPI-8 certifcate withinn 60 days otherwise get dropped by insurance carrier.
C) Get insurance without the certificate from another carrier and pay a much higher premium.

Of course I don't like option C and I can't find anyone willing to do an inspection since the home was built some years ago. As a result Option B is not feasible.

1) Does anyone know an engineer who does WPI-8 inspections on homes already built in Pearland?

2) Does all homes in Pearland and Brazoria County require windstorm insurance?


3) What builders are currently building homes in Pearland?

4) Does Pearland/288 flood a lot?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[City Love]

What exactly is preventing the WPI certificate to be issued? Is it an older or custom home?


1) Does anyone know an engineer who does WPI-8 inspections on homes already built in Pearland? Sorry, I don't know any. Although you can probably check with different structural engineers and they could refer you.

2) Does all homes in Pearland and Brazoria County require windstorm insurance? Yes. Since it's a coastal county, it can be underwritten by TWIA or an independent insurance company. It's only required because your lender requires it. Otherwise you can go without it, not recommended though. Non-coastal counties have windstorm coverage, but it's usually built into the policy itself.


3) What builders are currently building homes in Pearland? There are many, many builders. What price range were you interested in?

4) Does Pearland/288 flood a lot? No, the area is not known to flood. Particularly the newer areas. You can never be to safe though, get flood insurance if you are unsure.

[Timnwendy]

Just because the seller doesn't have the certificate, it doesn't mean the house was not inspected. Try searching for it by address at the state's WPI-8 website, at this link:

https://apps.tdi.state.tx.us/windstormsearch/start.jsp

[350days]

[quote=RM69;18103146]I have several questions about Pearland.

I am about to buy a house but found out the seller does not have a WPI-8 certificate. I have several options.
A) Don't buy the house
B) Get insurance and get a WPI-8 certifcate withinn 60 days otherwise get dropped by insurance carrier.
C) Get insurance without the certificate from another carrier and pay a much higher premium.

Of course I don't like option C and I can't find anyone willing to do an inspection since the home was built some years ago. As a result Option B is not feasible.

1) Does anyone know an engineer who does WPI-8 inspections on homes already built in Pearland?

2) Does all homes in Pearland and Brazoria County require windstorm insurance?


Is that a requirement for the seller to have a WPI-8 certificate? How old is the home?

[davidtk]

To me, that's a pretty big deal. Without the certificate, it's going to cost you more to own the home, and it may be more difficult to sell because the next buyer will be faced with the same issue, if they're aware of the effect of the certificate.

Will the Texas Windstorm Association even insure a recent home without the certificate?

If it were me, I wouldn't buy the house until you figure out the insurance situation, including the exact cost.

[RM69]

Thanks everyone for the responses. I just found out the homebuilder has the certificate so I have been told that all I need is for an engineer to sign off it. The inspection was done but it was never filed with the TDI.

[cbeard2011]

I know its a late post, but we ran into the same problem a while back. we ended up going through a different insurance carrier for both wind and home and saved money without needing the wpi-8