HOUSTON -- A man in southeast Houston used to fighting floods in his home is now drowning in red tape.

Jackie Hamaker’s house has flooded several times in the past. He would like to move, and FEMA has offered to buy him out.  But Hamaker has run into a snag that involves a map and the city of Houston.

All it takes is a little rain, and Hamaker’s yard and home flood with water. In fact, his home has flooded 14 times, and he has pictures to prove it.

After years of cleaning up the mess, Hamaker wants out.

In March 2008, it looked as if he had found a way with a new program called the Severe Repetitive Loss Program.  The program agreed to buy him out with a $246,000 offer.

But there's one problem: Houston said his home shouldn't be flooding.

"Then they said, 'you're not in a flood zone,'" said Hamaker.

Hamaker doesn't live next to a bayou or creek. His place floods because of man, not nature. That means the Harris County Flood Control District through FEMA can't buy his home unless the City of Houston agrees to maintain the lot after the sale.

“We can't find nobody with Houston that can say, 'yeah we will take it,'" said Hamaker.

When Houston City Councilman Mike Sullivan found out about Hamaker’s problem, he said he was not clear what the hold up is, but he plans to find out.

"Dropped the ball, delayed, swept under the rug, whatever you want to call it, to this homeowner it's an important issue and we got get on it. We really do," said Sullivan.

In the meantime, Hamaker continues put up with his fate by bracing for the next flood and hoping for the day when he won't have to worry every time it rains.

Hamaker is not the only one going through this kind of red tape. Out of 205 homeowners that qualify for the Severe Repetitive Loss Program, 90 of them are in the same boat.