It was about two years ago that the Feds announced they would be “adjusting” the flood insurance program premiums to better reflect a particular property’s risk. Needless to say that freaked a lot of people out.
It happened, but they tempered it a little so owners didn’t get slammed in one big hit. I think they agreed to phase the increased premiums over a period of time, I’m not sure what. All I know is that a lot of properties around here that are in flood zones that were on the market at the time came off the market in a big hurry. Potential buyers wouldn’t even look at them, as the ramp-up for premiums only applied to existing owners. That meant new owners would get hammered with 100% of the “new” premiums. There were all sorts of “the world is falling” pieces in the local media about the effects on home values. Doesn’t seem to have had much of an effect from what I can see. As far as I’m concerned that’s the way it should be. They should ban construction in flood zones and make those who have property in them pay their fair share of the risk. And I say this as someone who is on the edge of a flood zone and still carries Federal flood insurance. The “AE and “X” zones bisect my property, but when the property was built an exemption (“LOMA”) was filed with FEMA due to the ground level being raised from 20 some feet to nearly 38 feet. That effectively took me out of the flood zone, but if you look at the FEMA maps the zones still cross my property. FEMA has this weird arrangement where they don’t update maps when changes are made - they issue exemptions called LOMAs, or “Letter of Map Amendment”, to the property which the County keeps on file. So if you go and look up my address you’ll see that it’s in a flood zone. If you contact the County about anything regarding my property, such as title insurance, underwriting, etc., they’ll offer up the exemption to show the ground level has been changed. Goofy. Dan > On May 31, 2015, at 4:08 PM, Scott Ritchey via Mercedes > <mercedes@okiebenz.com> wrote: > > Aha! I guess things change. I became a halfback (one-time Yankee who lived > in FL but later moved halfway back) 10 years ago, right after Katrina > (although that was not a factor). Back then my FL homeowners and flood > insurance was not bad (less than$2K); the bayou lot with 19 ft elevation was > worth a lot more than the 50-year-old house. But FL is still a bargain, > IMO. I have a brother who still lives in Northern suburban NJ and his taxes > and insurance would water your eyes. > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com To search list archives http://www.okiebenz.com/archive/ To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://mail.okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
