The little brick house at 813 Yale was supposed to be a smart investment, the proverbial "smallest house in a great neighborhood."

Actually, it is one of the two smallest houses in the University City neighborhood just west of Big Bend and north of Delmar. The other small house is right next door at the end of the street.

The street ends, not incidentally, at the River Des Peres.

Mark and Mary Harvey bought the house at 813 Yale in 2003 for $134,500. It was their first home, but they were not typical first-home buyers. They were both already over 50. They are United Methodist pastors and have spent their 29-year marriage living in church-owned parsonages.

In 2003, Mary was pastor of Grace United Methodist Church at Skinker and Waterman. The couple lived in the nearby parsonage, and they liked the area.

When Mary received a small inheritance upon her mother's death, the couple decided to put it toward the down payment on a house. After all, retirement was getting closer every year, and they would need a place to live. They were delighted when they found the house on Yale. It was small — 1,250 square feet — but that would be enough for them. They were even more delighted when they found a couple who wanted to rent it on a long-term basis.

In September 2008, the remnants of Hurricane Ike brought torrential rain to the area, and the River Des Peres rose out of its channel and swamped the two little houses. Larger, nearby houses were on higher ground and, although some had water in the basement, the real damage on Yale was to the two little houses closest to the river.

The couple renting the Harveys' house moved out. The house seemed a total wreck. The same was true for the little house next door. The couple who owned that house also moved out.

The Harveys were stunned. They knew when they bought the house that it was close to the river, and the bank had required flood insurance, but still, the previous owner had told them it hadn't flooded in the 25 years he'd had it.

Oh, well. At least they had insurance.

Most of the damage from that flood occurred in another neighborhood, in an area that had flooded previously. Almost immediately, there was talk of buyouts.

Those early post-flood days were a time of confusion for the Harveys, but they figured things would work out. The confusion had to do with all the various entities involved — University City, FEMA, the Army Corps of Engineers and the National Flood Insurance Program that had provided their policy. There was also talk about funds being available from a Community Development Block Grant.

But as the confusion lifted, the Harveys found nothing but bad news. They weren't going to be included in a buyout. In fact, they didn't seem to qualify for any kind of help. What's worse, the insurance company notified them that because they were not living in the house but renting it out, it was considered business property. That meant they would receive significantly less than if they had been living in the house.

They eventually received a check for $29,967. "We had no clue it was a business," Mark told me.

He and Mary and I were standing inside the house. It's little more than a shell now — a slab of concrete with walls and a roof. The little house next door has been vacant since the flood.

The Harveys put their insurance check toward the mortgage, and now they owe only about $30,000. They make their mortgage payment of about $900 every month, but they're not sure why. They said that FEMA told them they'd have to raise the house more than 3 feet to restore it, and they said that would put the cost of restoration at about $100,000.

"We have three choices," Mary said. "We could walk away and lose everything we've put into it. We can hold on and hope for a buyout. We could try to put a lot of money into the house." She did not make that last option sound realistic.

Later I spoke with Mariela Tapia, assistant to the director of public works for University City. She did not seem to offer much hope of a buyout. The city is having trouble coming up with money for even the more frequently flooded properties. She also said she thought the Harveys could rebuild without elevating the house.

I mentioned that to Mary. "I don't think so," she said. "But even if we could, would that be smart? Or ethical?"

Mary is now pastor at the Arlington United Methodist Church in Bridgeton. She and her husband, who serves two smaller churches in Overland, live in the parsonage. Good thing, too. Last week's rain found its way into the house on Yale.