When buying a home, it can be easy to overlook year-around weather issues. You may think you are purchasing a home in a sunny area, but come to find there is always a heavy cloud cover. This is just one of a number of weather issues to consider when selecting your dream home.

Clouds...Rain...Floods

If you must have a sun deck as part of your new home, you better make sure it is going to be sunny! Just because a general geographic area has a lot of sun doesn't mean your home will. Things to look for include fog and heavy cloud cover for a home in a valley.

If the home is located on the side of a hill or valley, make sure you know when it will get sun and shade. Temperatures can be radically different depending upon the amount of sun you get. When it rains, it really pours! One potential nasty surprise for new homeowners can be the condition of a neighborhood after it rains. In San Diego, for instance, the total rainfall averages roughly 12 inches a year.

Despite this low total, there are certain beach communities that grind to a halt because of flooding issues. Even an inch of rain can flood streets to the point that you can't drive at all. Make sure you stop by a gas station or local store to ask about flooding problems in the area. I have been known to enjoy a good boating trip and perhaps you have as well. I am pretty sure neither of us would enjoy it in our house.

Still, millions of people a year buy homes in flood plains without even knowing it. Eventually, this can lead to a disaster when heavy rains come and you find out the reason they call it a flood plain. Unlike streets with bad drainage, floods are much more damaging.

When a river overflows, flood levels are typically measured in feet. Can you image the effect on your home of a flood that reaches five feet in depth? Well, you probably always wanted to renovate the first floor of your home. Mother nature has a way of doing whatever she wants. Make sure you avoid her grumpy spells by looking into the effect of weather on your prospective dream home.