Do we need to worry about flood zones and flood insurance in FL?

[Bryan T.]

Do we need to worry about flood zones and flood insurance when buying rental properties in FL? Any good maps with the flood zones?

Are there certain cities that never have any hurricanes or floods in Florida? Which cities have the highest and lowest risk of hurricanes/flooding? 

Thank you.

[Mitchell Jaworski]

@Bryan T. it literally comes down to if an area is in a flood zone or not.  And it doesn't need to be close to the ocean to be in a flood zone.  I have a property more inline than some others and it ended up being the one in a floodzone.

I believe the floodzone maps are on the FEMA website, they are the ones that designate it. There is also different grades of flood zone that impact ins cost.

It's interesting how many out of staters are still buying up FL.  I've started buying outside of FL as cash flowing opportunities are getting tougher and tougher to find here, then again my area is the hottest.  

Better opps upstate and to the west,