Property/Structural Acquisition ("Buyouts")
Answers and information about buyout programs
Overview
Property or structural acquisitions (or "buyouts," as they're commonly known) is the purchasing of property from private citizens by a government entity as part of a hazard mitigation plan. Local, state or federal funds are used to buy property in areas that are at high risk in order to reduce or eliminate long-term risk to life and property from a hazard event, such as flooding.
Primarily, buyouts occur through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and administered in Iowa through the Homeland Security and Emergency Managment Division. For more information about the HMGP visit the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division Web site.
If the money Iowa receives through HMGP does not fully cover the buyout of properties that want to participate and are determined to be eligible, the state and local governments may pursue other funding sources. In some cases, local governments have already acquired high-risk properties through their own funding and programs.
In order to be eligible for a buyout, homeowners must meet requirements set forth by the program – whether HMGP, a local program, or otherwise – which typically include location within the 100-year or 500-year floodplain, a history of damages due to flooding, and a cost-benefit analysis that shows moving the homeowner would save money in the long-term.
Under HMGP, and oftentimes under other buyout programs, the acquired property must be turned into "green" space, typically a park, to reduce the impact of future floods and minimize the threat to life.
For More Information
- For more information about the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, please visit the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Division Web site.
- For more information about buyout programs in your area, please contact your city or county government officials.