Regarding insurance, my mother recently purchased a house in the area and her insurance costs rival her mortgage payment. It's astonishingly expensive. My insurance payment in Northern Virginia is less for a year than hers is for a month, on a house that cost 4x as much. So it's already a massive issue and will only get worse from here.
Encourage her to get out now. Every sign suggest those insurance rates are only going to increase. And while property values might be increasing at the moment, it's only a mater of time before the insurance rates become so onerous she can't afford the property. And at that point good luck finding anyone willing to buy it.
