Home Under Contract Is Newly Listed In FEMA Flood Zone Ao

[J Grant]

The ironic part is that a home outside the flood zone can flood as well. FEMA grants separate insurance for that, another expense as regular insurance does not cover it.

 

[Mike Kennedy]

"Some buyers would not consider a home in a flood zone for one second under any circumstances."

insert "Knowledgeable" before buyers.

The OP is becoming knowledgeable and was wise to ask here on AF. Hopefully .......he will find what he seeks - clearly OUTSIDE a flood zone or flood plain.

 

[Terrel L. Shields]

http://water.usgs.gov/edu/100yearflood-basic.html

 

[Restrain]

BTW, check with Lloyd's of London. They have entered the flood insurance market in some areas. I know it is significantly lower than FEMA, not reimbursing the pot after Sandy, etc.

 

[Deleted member 128537]

I appraise lake front on Lake Michigan and Green Bay. And many houses are in a flood plain. I actually haven't found that it affects value as much as you think. Many times the flood elevations are not that high and don't flood much. Also we have lots of cash buyers. They don't need flood insurance. That was also my experience in NW Wisconsin where I appraised lake front on small inland lakes.

The biggest issue would be if you are on a river without good water control. But hey if you live in North Dakota near Fargo everything is in a flood plain. And what about all those coastal houses in Florida. They get hurricanes! Their values are pretty decent.

Fact is that many people don't know they are in a flood plain because
1). It has never flooded while they owned property.
2). Flood zone maps change.
3). They didn't mortgage the property to get a flood certification.

Heck I don't live in a flood plain and I had 11 inches of water in my basement after a big rain. Electricity went off in midst of 9 inch rain and my sump quit. Water in basement or crawl space is probably what's going to happen to most of the houses on the flood plain.

I think I would wait until you get a flood elevation. It doesn't take that much time. A surveyor can do it very quickly. Then you will know more about your situation.

Also I built houses in flood plains. We just built them above the flood elevations. So it could be site is in flood plain and improvments are above.

 

[Restrain]

From the Tampa paper: while prices are not being affected at this point, the Bigger-Waters moratorium on big rate increases expires this year, and people are once again facing double digit increases. People who don't have mortgages are going without flood insurance.