Whats your flood zone rating?

[goodoleboy]

Anyone own any land with a flook zone risks? My land has has a small creek according to the surveyor and the area is in flood zone A /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif according to his maps.But,the remainder in zone C /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif.

I know each communities have their own rules flood zone regualtions.
But In your area, How far must one build away from the flood zone to be exempt from required flood insurance?

 

[mikim]

<font color="blue"> to be exempt from required flood insurance? </font> If you're not in a flood zone the flood insurance is super cheap. If there is a chance in 100 that there is a possibility of flood - I'd buy the insurance.(and did) There are thousands of people in the gulf basin you can talk to about that.

 

[RonR]

I'm not sure about the ratings, but I can share my experience and my new resolution NEVER to own a house that requires flood insurance ever again.

In the late 70s, we bought a house in town that had a drainage ditch behind it. It was large, maybe 15ft deep and 30 yds across. It drained several streets to a river, which was 1/2 mile away. Mortgage required we have flood insurance. Survey showed the house was 21" above the 100 yr flood plane. Below 18" above the flood plane and you couldn't get the insurance and the mortgage company wouldn't lend money on it.

Flood insurance is sold by everyone, but it's really a federally offered program, and your rates are based on where you are in relation to the flood probability. So you can't go to 3 different agents and get a different price on the same house for flood ins.

We lived in that house for 10 yrs. The initial price was like $300 a yr. No biggie.

Over the next few yrs, the price crept up a little each yr, and was up to $1K per yr for several yrs.

Then our city did some re-figuring or the flood plane was updated or whatever, and as a result, our rate went to like $30/yr. GREAT!

Then there were several yrs of heavy flooding in the Southeast. Our agent sent us a ltr saying, "STAND BY, due to heavy sustained losses in the SE, everyone's insurance will take a drastic increase this year."

Our $30 premium went to like $600! I'm thankful that it had been lowered from before, and I'm more thankful that we've moved!

Ron

 

[Farmwithjunk]

We live on top of a hill that's the highest point in our county and the surrounding 5 counties.If it floods here, we're ALL in trouble.

The view is good too!

 

[SPIKER]

LOL @ farmwithjunk: sounds like my place, (both with JUNK and in height) when I bought they said I had to pay to have a flood check done, I laughed and said exact same thing you just said, "If it floods there then you will have more to worry about than my morgage" lol. guy was well you still have to pay for it, to which I said I think you need to take a look at the listing photos, and showed him the view, he said Oh Ok well I guess you can pass by that one. /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

anyhow I don't own flood insurance /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
mark M

 

[Bird]

We're exempt from having to buy flood insurance, but where do you find those ratings; i.e., "A, C," etc.? On the .gov site, I entered our address and it showed right in the middle of the "low/moderate/high" risk bar, and I found some definitions of the letter ratings, but no place to see what ours would be. I guess I ought to do some more checking and/or talk to an insurance agent. I'm also curious as to just what they cover. I know it says "rising water", but what about a sewer backup? We've never had a problem anywhere we've lived, but the first little house we bought was about half way down a half mile long slope. No way a flood would have ever gotten there. However, I later sold that house to a cousin, and he awoke one morning to a horrible sound and found water shooting up out of the toilet a foot or so above the top of the bowl. A city sewer had stopped up one or two houses down the hill from him. So while the yard wasn't flooded, the entire house was flooded by sewage to a depth of about 6". Would flood insurance cover something like that?

 

[TC18guy]

I don't believe the insurance sponsered by FEMA would cover that, although I'm sure you can get something through your home owners insurance to cover it.

Flood zone designations are found on the FIRM (Federal Insurance Rate Map) published by FEMA for your community.

To answer the original question, you can build anywhere outside of the flood prone area or floodway without a restriction although you may have to prove you are outside of it through permitting, etc.

A flood zone area (when the maps are created) is more or less determined by calculating the area needed to hold a certain volume of water created by a 100 year flood event for a certain period of time. Some communities have detailed studies that show what the limits of the zone are and some have very approximate areas shown on the maps. In the former case, a simple survey can by used to prove to community officials that the area is outside of the flood prone area. In the latter case, FEMA designated officials can determine determine the Base Flood Elevation of your site, but will require a survey to gather the information they need and have a fairly substatial review fee also.

 

[TC18guy]

I'm re-thinking what I said a little. FEMA requires mortgage companies to require flood insurance for structures existing in designated flood zones. Mortgage companies can still require flood insurance outside of a flood zone if they feel there is still a risk. I'm not sure, but I suppose local zoning COULD require flood insurance within some sort of setback to a flood zone area. I've never heard of it, but I could see it happening especially in costal regions.

 

[Mosby]

Flood insurance will not cover the loss you describe. If the homeowner policy offers the "sewer back up endorsement" in your state, that would in all likelihood do it. Subject to terms and conditions etc...The national flood policy is a bear at times. Just the thought of sitting through the flood training seminars makes me want to sleep!!