HouseLogic on Disaster Preparedness: A Q&A with the American Red Cross

For first time home buyers, there are plenty of things to take into consideration when planning the purchase of their first humble abode: Finances, decorating schemes, necessary renovations and drawing up plans for additions are just a few tasks on the To-Do list.  Though the last thing a prospective buyer wants to think about is the idea of a tornado tearing through their new house or a flood wreaking havoc on their basement, disaster planning takes an hour of family time and could prove to be both financially responsible and lifesaving in a time of need.

The folks over at HouseLogic recently posted Q&A with Court Ogilvie, the chief of staff to the senior VP of Disaster Services at the American Red Cross.  With HouseLogic, Ogilvie stresses the importance of emergency preparedness, and draws attention to the fact that thinking ahead is just as cost-effective as it is careful:

“Recent studies suggest that every dollar invested in preparedness nets a post-event return of $4 to $7,” says Ogilvie. “With homes being the biggest investment that many of us will ever make, disaster preparedness needs to be considered as another way to protect that investment.”

Offering up ideas for first time home buyers in his answers, Ogilvie continues on to lay out the basics of preparing for a disaster.  The first step in hatching an emergency plan?  Get together and talk about it:

“Homeowners should devote an hour to a family meeting about emergency preparedness. Discuss evacuation and communication in the event of disaster, and take action to assemble an emergency kit. You can make your own kit or purchase a pre-made emergency kit. It’s a wise investment of time and money.”

Other interesting points from Ogilvie’s Q&A with HouseLogic:

-The first threat you should think about when putting together an emergency preparedness kit is possibility: What disasters have the highest potential of occurring in your region, and what measures can you take to lessen their impact on your home?  Says Ogilvie, “Most of the threats we face in our homes are predictable—home fires, natural hazards common to our location, gas leaks—things that we would identify as possibilities if we just stopped to think about them before they occurred.” 

-Red Cross provides free checklists that outline various disasters that could potentially affect your home and your area, including emergency plans for hurricanes and tornadoes.

 -Even if you don’t live in a disaster-prone area, think twice before putting off emergency preparedness: Of the 70,000 responses to disaster-related incidences last year, Red Cross notes that most of them are to single-family homes.

 -Take action post-disaster by reporting damages, emergencies and vandalisms immediately.  Says Ogilvie, “Recent research shows that people think that help will magically arrive at their doorstep within three hours of an event, and that is quite simply not the case. You need to take charge of your own safety, by having a plan, by having the right supplies on hand, and by staying informed.”

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Mark W. Martin is President of 2M Realty. He is active in real estate sales and develops land in the Houston real estate market. Areas of current development include the Conroe real estate, Porter real estate, and the New Caney real estate markets.

2M Realty has simple goals in mind: Simplify the real estate process, reduce stress for Buyers and Sellers, earn client trust, and keep client trust. These simple but lofty goals are backed by over 20-years experience as a Texas real estate broker and Houston Realtor.