All Forum Posts by: Tom Brooks

Lets see what FEMA has to say about vents.

"Careful attention to compliance with the NFIP regulations for flood openings is important during design, plan review, construction, and inspection. Compliance influences both the vulnerability to flood damage and the cost of NFIP flood insurance. If openings are not compliant, the floor of the crawlspace or the floor of the enclosure becomes the “lowest floor.” In those cases, the result may be significantly higher flood insurance premiums, especially if the floor of the crawlspace or enclosure is more than a foot or two below the BFE."

Source:

https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1...

So again to my point "You might be able to lower your flood insurance by putting foundation flood vents on two walls of your basement, crawlspace or garage."  LOMAs, grandfathering, and mitigation work are all site specific. There is no blanket answer. Talk to a Certified Flood Plain manager and an insurance agent. Preferably someone with both credentials.

@Anthony Lee

I am not really sure what you find misleading about the word "might". Perhaps you should look it up. I would also encourage you to start using spell check. 

Guys.

You might be able to lower your flood insurance by putting foundation flood vents on two walls of your basement, crawlspace or garage. I can help you with this and looking at other mitigation techniques to lower your insurance costs. To Brian's point a LOMA might also be possible and I can help you look into that too. PM if you would like to discuss.

" great cash flow" is subjective. Get all the numbers. Does it need flood insurance? Run all the numbers. Run them again and then show them so a skeptic. Days on market seem to be concerning. Look into it and due your due diligence. Throw in a low offer based on everything you find, what makes sense and what you can afford. Move up cautiously. Wish they had stuff this nice at that price point in my neck of the woods. Best of luck.  

You should reach out to a CFM who does insurance. I can direct you if you need help.

We have seen $5,000 annual reductions on individual residential properties. More in multifamily. I can provide examples.

@Chris T.

If the property is in a flood plane there might be an opportunity to reduce the insurance costs through flood mitigation, a LOMA or other means. I can direct you to a team of Certified Floodplain Managers that can review elevation certificates and potentially help you reduce costs. Good luck!

Offer based on your valuation and your criteria with a little bit a wiggle room for negotiation. Everyone wants to feel like they have won something. You can also show how you came to your valuation and how there is the additional risk for you as an investor with special assessments. Note how we were barely missed by the recent hurricane that ravaged some other states with flood damage after having been downgraded.

Sometimes working with the condo association can help with flood mitigation work to reduce insurance costs for many people living there. I can send you a video if you would like to see an example.

Best of luck on the property. I am available as a resource for the flood end of things.

LOMAs are a great tool but are not always available. While they won't always eliminate the need for flood insurance they can help reduce costs of the insurance in certain circumstances. 

I believe one of the recent podcasts was about an orlando guy from a TV show who did this.  I have been interested but it seems incredibly risky getting started with title issues, potential property damage, people still living there and so on. Best of luck. Any thought on rehab costs getting to that point?

Good luck!