Interested in Norfolk, VA - worried about flooding/climate change

[Ali Croft]

I am looking into purchasing a duplex in Norfolk, VA as a first step in real estate investing, with the plan to owner-occupy for 2-3 years. Norfolk because I like the city and it also seems that properties are still affordable.

The flooding, however, concerns me. Both as it occurs regularly right now, and also the potential larger effects of climate change, 5-10 years+ down the line.

Does anyone have any recommendations, Norfolk-specific or in general flood-prone/coastal areas, for what all I should be considering prior to purchasing in such an area for investment purposes? Here are the things/questions that come to mind so far:

Flood maps - I've looked up properties on them, but how do I learn how to better read these maps to know how to catch red flags? What maps should I look at specifically (if not all of them)? FEMA, city, Floodsmart? I am overwhelmed by not only not knowing how to intelligently interpret the maps, but also the variety of sources to find the maps.

Flood insurance - Would you say this is a must, no matter what the flood maps say? I plan to look into the costs for the purposes of calculating CapEx, but I'm wondering how I determine if it's necessary or not.

Flood history for a specific property - I’ve loosely heard that once a claim is made on a property, it is rendered uninsurable by flood insurance ever again. Is this true!? Is there a resource to find reliable info on a property’s flooding history?

Say a property has had no flooding issues in the past….how do you feel about investing in an area like this, that was built on a riverbed, that is particularly vulnerable to climate change in the longer term? Is it a ridiculous idea to think about this for a buy-and-hold for a 5 year period, with the hope to exit before climate change becomes a major issue?

Where do you look for reliable information on the potential effects of climate change for specific geographic areas

What am I not even yet considering?

…. I know this is a lot, any advice would be GREATLY appreciated!

[Sean Rooks]

For a owner occupied investment property use the FEMA flood map. Any home that touches a 100 year flood plain, AE zone will require flood insurance. If the house has a current elevation certification, then you can get an accurate quote from most insurance agencies. I've seen them from $30/month to $100/month. Without the elevation certification, you'll need to get one during the due diligence to get an accurate flood quote. if the property is outside of AE flood zone, it will not require flood insurance. Of note, a 100 year flood plain means it is likely the property will flood every 100 years. The next step up is a 500 year flood plain.