Have you ever had a flooded basement? Have you ever had to deal with accumulated water? What about filing a claim with FEMA because of a flood? If your answer to all these questions is no, but you are still paying for flood insurance, it’s time to reevaluate if there’s anything you can do about it; especially because being in such a zone negatively impacts your property value. It’s one thing if the information is accurate; but if it isn’t, you might want to take steps to protect your biggest asset.
Do you own your home outright?
This question may seem irrelevant, but it actually has some bearing on the subject. Since the Federal Reserve provides funding for banks, and banks provide funding for mortgages, if you have a mortgage, you will be required to carry flood insurance. That’s the way that cookie crumbles. If you don’t like it, blame the lobbyists. But if you own your home outright, you’ve met step one of getting out of the burden of having to pay for flood insurance.
Is your property located in a high-risk flood zone?
If you’ve never experienced a flood, you’ll want to find out whether you’re really in a high-risk flood zone. You can do this by emailing your Elevation Certificate to National Flood Experts (NFE). If you don’t know what an Elevation Certificate is, we can help. It’s a document that you’ll be able to find in your closing documents from when you purchased your home, or you can request a copy from your flood insurance agent. If all else fails, NFE can obtain it for you.
Have you checked recently at the NFIP flood rate maps?
Even if ages ago, you were notified for a fact that you’re in a high risk flood zone, know that FEMA changes their NFIP (National Flood Insurance Program) maps on a regular basis. They do this to reflect any environmental or soil changes that may have affected your designation.
Have you ever considered filing a zoning appeal with FEMA?
If you’ve already done all your homework and know that you are indeed outside of a high risk flood zone, but are stuck in such a designation by FEMA, you can file an appeal.
This is not a pipe dream. If any of the above scenarios may apply to you, National Flood Experts can help you take the next step. We’ll conduct a free evaluation of your property (seriously. You won’t have to pay us a dime for it), to determine whether you could be removed from a high risk designation. Contact us to take the first step in accurately appraising your home.
I own a house at 909 Brookside Dr. NE, in Miami, Oklahoma. The house was built on a fill to be above the Flood Zone in 1970. It is stabilized by 32 piers that are set on solid stone. The house has only flooded one time in 2007 with about 2″ of water on the main level. FEMA has since raised the 100 year flood level to include my property. I had no insurance at the time because the house was paid for. Since the flood, I exhausted my retirement funds and had to borrow from the SBA to rebuild, thus requiring flood insurance provided by and required by Federal Agencies. The flood was caused by backwater from Grand Lake of the Cherokees, created and (mis)managed by the US Corps of Engineers and The Grand River Dam Authority. The dam was approved, created and built as a flood control structure, and a power provider with the upper arm of the Neosho River being at the Miami, OK city limits. The problem with flood control dams is that they can only prevent floods downstream from the structure. They create floods upstream. Then, in very few years the Corps and GRDA requested an increase in the power pool and were given approval.
My property was on the market for $279.000.00 before the 07 flood, now, with current conditions , My first year of REQUIRED flood insurance was under $2,000 and I just received a bill for next year for $9,652 for coverage of $214,000 and $42,000 contents on a house that is basically empty. I am retired and on Social Security that, I think has increased 3% while my required Flood Insurance has increased 500%.
I have had 3 contracts on the house in the $180,000 range and all fell through when they realized that they were required to buy flood insurance at the ridiculous high rate.
I have a condo in Rockport, TX that was hit 2 years ago by Hurricane Harvey The Government agency that oversees wind insurance is TWIA (Texas Wind ???) TWIA has tried for the past 2 years to make big increases in premium cost and the people rebelled and stopped it last year and the same battle is going on now. Why is nobody working to control the enormous increases in Flood Insurance in Oklahoma????