Buy and Hold...in a flood zone

[Jeffery Scullark]

Long story short, ran the numbers on a property that looked like a great deal.  After getting prepared to make an offer, I looked up the flood zone information and, behold, it was in a 500 year flood zone.  After reviewing flood insurance on this property I had to pass but I am curious for my buy and hold investors how much weight do you put on a properties flood zone status?  Is it a deal breaker or risk that must be managed. How do you manage the risk?   Would you consider a flip but not a hold in a flood zone?  To this point I have approached properties in flood zones as a deal breaker but I am wondering if I am missing opportunities based on this logic.  Help me see it for what it is.  

[Adam D Rinehart]

@Jeffery Scullark just because the property is in a floodplain does not necessarily mean you have to pay flood insurance. If you order a slab elevation survey and the elevation is 1' above the Base flood elevation, you are not required to carry flood insurance. Once you get that certification from the engineer or surveyor, you can submit the information to FEMA and get a LOMA (Letter of Map Amendment) that will remove your property from the floodplain.