Getting flood zone status lifted by Fema

[Chris Masons]

Has anyone had success in getting a property out of a flood zone after having work done to the property IE. raising a part of all of the landscape so that it sits above base flood plane?

Once this work is done there needs to be a LOMA submitted to FEMA.

Looking for anyone who has been through this before and how long FEMA can take to respond?

thx in advance,
Chris

[James Martin]

Hello Chris! Let me tell you from experience that this is something you may want to think 2,3,and even 6 times about. I have one home that is in the five hundred year flood zone. I went to the mapping office to see how the line runs in my area. It was a very small line that ran at the very edge of my property and stop at my neighbors home next door. Now everyone else across and down the street was not in a flood zone. Guess what happen, we had a 500 year flood in Memphis. I also had several rentals that were affected by this flood. I worked on two commercial buildings this summer that were also built on a raised elevation, FLOODED. Now i know that flood insurance is a small price to pay upfront, I not only had to work with the code office, but FEMA regulated how I was to get my homes back to their standards. HEADACHE..

[Tod R.]

We just went through this process on a platted lot in our subdivision. The back lot line is the 100 yr flood boundary, along the creek. During development our contractor put a lot of dirt to level the lot. He accidentally put fill beyond the back lot line into the flood plain, which is a no-no. The buyer of the lot wanted to extend the back lot line because the layout of the lot as well as how the lot was leveled. We replatted with the city subject to a LOMR F (letter of map revision due to fill) from FEMA. The LOMR F cost us about $6K and about 6 weeks to submit to FEMA. A hydrologist had to survey elevations and calculate water flow from upstream in a report he compiled and submitted to FEMA. It took FEMA about 2 months to issue the letter stating that they agree with the report. This did not change the 100yr flood map but is an acknowledgement by them that the subject property is not in the flood plain. Basically an exception to the existing map. Our engineer did not mention a LOMA.

We will sell the lot this week and the buyer can use this FEMA letter to show lender/insurer that lot is not in 100 yr flood plain. A very slow process but it proved worth it for us.

Good luck with your process. Keep us updated

[Bryan Hancock]

Can someone please give a bit more detail about the LOMA? We would like to work on this for a lot we want to develop in Austin.

[McKellar Newsom]

I recently considered a rental in a flood zone. My insurance agent mentioned that properties in a flood zone require government backed insurance. Evidently, with the government push to decrease expenses, one idea has been to stop government backed insurance for flood zone properties. I find it hard to believe that the government might stop providing backing for this type of insurance but even the suggestion makes me more cautious about buying properties in a flood zone. Has anyone else heard of the this potential change in flood zone insurance?

[J Scott]

I've done a LOMR on 2 residential properties...

The process is as follows:

1. Get an elevation survey done by a surveyor. This costs us $400-450 depending on the property.

2. Have the surveyor determine whether the property is mis-classified by FEMA and is actually in a different flood zone.

3. If so, have the surveyor file a Letter of Map Revision (LOMR) with FEMA requesting reclassification and revision of the flood map. This costs about $500 (don't remember exactly) and takes about 4-6 weeks if done electronically.

[Chris Masons]

Thx for all the info guys. Yeah the situation is one corner of the back of the property has a depression on the cement where it meets the house and as a result this corner falls 4 inches below the base flood elevation, requiring Flood insurance to the tune of about 2,500 a year. This house stayed dry through Irene here and I checked with the neighbors as well as the owner prior to this one who owned the house since 1962.

Anyway, the current owner bought this house for a song via estate sale to rehab. Prior owners owned it outright so there was no required flood insurance. Current owner is beside himself about this issue. He met with town engineer and hired an engineer who raised the low spots by redoing the walkway, had a new survey done as well as an elevation cert. and applied for the LOMA to get it lifted from the flood zone. This is what is holding me back from buying the house.

It is a nice 2 family, all brick very low maintenance fits my profile of houses I look for. I have a great tenant ready to move in actually. He has dropped price considerably due to winter setting in and anxious to sell as I pretty sure he has a hard money loan coming due.

Anyway, I will keep you guys updated on how things progress.

thanks!

Chris

[Joel Owens]

Have not sold a property like this.I did list a piece of land years back where half was in a flood plain and the other 5 acres was not.

Was looking at the re-grading and the LOMA issue for a developer that wanted to buy the land and make lots for houses.

What I was told and the reason the developer didn't like the deal was that even though you get regraded to show not in the flood plain a lender giving out a loan can still REQUIRE that buyer to get FLOOD insurance.

The lender can still feel a high chance of flooding for that area.

Not an expert in this at all just relaying my experience with it and would like to hear others.

[Joel Owens]

So I guess what I am saying is just because you get a property changed from a flood zone not in a flood zone doesn't mean a future buyer will not still be required to get the insurance by a lender.

[Chris Masons]

Wow,

Joel that is VERY important information here. I need to look into this more deeply.

SO your saying even if classified out of flood zone lender can still require flood insurance? But how would the house differ at that point from any other property not in a flood zone? I guess there will be a record showing it was in a flood zone all these years and what was done to get it out of it perhaps?

Maybe to lenders this isn't enough? Just the mere assocoation ofo it once being in a flood zone could spook them?

thx Joel. I need to do more homework!

regards,
Chris

[Michael Smith]

I realize this is an extremely old thread, but in case anyone references it I thought I would add a bit of information. While true if you get your structure pulled out of a high risk flood zone through a LOMR the lender could still require flood insurance, the rate would be based on a low to moderate risk instead of High Risk which on a $250,000 policy with a $5000 deductible in a AE zone the difference between paying approximately $500 a year and $3000 a year.

[Chris Masons]

Wow, nice to bring back to life a 5 year old thread... To update everyone

The property I was purchasing was lifted from the flood plane and is now considered zone X - no insurance required (previously was zone AE - high risk)

thx,

Chris

[Michael Smith]

Awesome, Congrats!

[Bryan Wallace]

Yep - it is the lenders discretion if flood insurance is required if the structure is not in the 100 year floodplain.  

[Chris Masons]

I guess I got lucky as Wells Fargo didn't require flood insurance being in zone X

No intention of selling anytime soon but will cross that bridge when I get there.

Thx

Chris

[Wil Reichard]

Even though this thread is years old this information really helped me out. Im looking at a duplex in a very hot market. There is a small creek behind the house that creates a 1 year flood zone, just the neighboring house has it as well, the rest of the neighborhood is free of the zone. Anyone have experience on how hard it is to sell when its in a flood zone?

[Traci Lovelace]

@Chris Masons- how did you do it? I'm facing a situation now where a corner of the house is 3 inches below the base flood elevation. The city stated I will have to raise the house 3 feet and fill in the basement. I don't care about the basement, but the cost to raise the house pushes this renovation to something the house will never sell for. (This requirement is because the renovation cost is more than 50% of the value of the building) The engineer I'm working with suggested that we add 4 inches of fill in that corner and fill in the basement and that will get the house out of the flood zone. In researching this I see the city will have to sign off on the application to FEMA for a LOMR-F revision. Did you run into any trouble with that?