re: People are crazy about not buying a properly renovated property

In undeveloped areas such as forests and grasslands, rainfall and snowmelt collect and are stored on vegetation, in the soil column, or in surface depressions. When this storage capacity is filled, runoff flows slowly through soil as subsurface flow. In contrast, urban areas, where much of the land surface is covered by roads and buildings, have less capacity to store rainfall and snowmelt. Construction of roads and buildings often involves removing vegetation, soil, and depressions from the land surface. The permeable soil is replaced by impermeable surfaces such as roads, roofs, parking lots, and sidewalks that store little water, reduce infiltration of water into the ground, and accelerate runoff to ditches and streams. Even in suburban areas, where lawns and other permeable landscaping may be common, rainfall and snowmelt can saturate thin soils and produce overland flow, which runs off quickly. Dense networks of ditches and culverts in cities reduce the distance that runoff must travel overland or through subsurface flow paths to reach streams and rivers. Once water enters a drainage network, it flows faster than either overland or subsurface flow.

more here