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I am in the process of buying a house, and we just received the "Flood Hazard Determination" paperwork. It clearly states that the home is NOT in a special flood hazard area and does not require flood insurance, but there is a note that says, "property is partially affected by moderate flood hazard."
We have verified that the seller does not have flood insurance and our lender does not require it. In addition, the seller disclosed that he has never had problems with flooding in the 10 years he lived there.
The realtor said this has something to do with towns being rezoned in order to qualify for federal flood assistance money. The lawyer spoke to someone from Floodsmart.gov: Your premier resource for flood insurance information who told him not to be concerned (can't remember their exact explanation).
My question is, do we need to worry? Does it sound like it's in any sort of flood area? Anyone familiar with this clause?
What I was told about the house we're looking at is that if you are not in an A Flood zone, then you don't need the insurance. The insurance broker told me that if we were in a B Flood zone optional flood insurance would be about $400 a year. If we were in a B zone and had the flood insurance and were then reclassified into an A zone, then our insurance would be grandfathered under the old rate. It turns out that we are in fact in a flood zone and the insurance will be $1400 a year. I'm new to all of this, but if your town could be rezoned why does the realtor think that won't affect you? Will the rezoning NOT put you in a class A flood zone? You can look at a FEMA map online and see what the current zoning is in the area.
Thanks Irish - the rezoning actually happened already, and we are not in the A area on the FEMA map. All that makes me think it's okay, but I don't like the "partially affected by a moderate flood hazard" bit...
Helllo everybody,
I have a question about the cost of flood insurance if you happen to have it. I know my question is probably too general. I am just trying to estimate the monthly cost: is it like $100 or $500 or $1,000??
Thank you all
We live on a controlled lake that has never flooded the neighborhood, and pay around $1100 a year. It would be much more along the bay or ocean. When we first had our mortgage that mortgage company insisted on a FEMA company from their list and it was twice as much for the same coverage. When our mortgage got sold the new company luckily accepted the less expensive policy and we were able to switch. Make sure your mortgage company will accept whatever policy you choose.
With rising waters due to climate change, more zones will be required to buy flood insurance. Even if you don't live near water as long as your land level is low enough to be affected by the water table rising during a major storm.
During Hurricane Irene, I had minor water coming into my basement. I found some foundation cracks that allowed the water to get pushed in. But some people down the block had to throw out their furniture and items in the basement as it became flooded. There's no sign of flooding on the streets.
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flood insure
