All Forum Posts by: Tom Brooks

Reducing flood insurance premiums can be a value add. I have a whole post on some mitigation techniques but all depend on your existing rate and elevation certificate.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/61/topics/364937-reducing-flood-insurance-costs?page=1#p2316931

I have a whole article I wrote about it and can put you in touch with professionals who are VERY good. Here is my article:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/61/topics/364937-reducing-flood-insurance-costs?page=1#p2316931

There is quite a bit to it. I have a post all about methods for lowering premiums here.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/61/topics/364...

You need to get the elevation certificate and then you can look into flood mitigation methods to reduce your premiums. I have a whole post about it below.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/61/topics/364...

I have a post about flood mitigation techniques that can lower flood insurance premiums. I think many of you will find it useful. 

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/61/topics/364937-reducing-flood-insurance-costs?page=1#p2316931

Raising mechanicals can help lower flood insurance rates as they are less likely to be damaged by flood water. Above are two examples.

Here are some engineered foundation flood vents mentioned in first post. They help relieve hydrostatic pressure on foundations by allowing water to flow freely in and out of the building during a flood. This model opens automatically with floats as opposed to pressure which prevents rodents from entering the building on a normal day.

Different vents cover different areas. What I mean by this is while some vents can cover 50 square feet of interior space, others cover 200 square feet of area. This can dramatically influence the amounts of openings required for your building. 

Also I don't recommend using air vents as they must be permanently disabled in the open position. If ventilation is a concern and you need vents than this could be a good solution for you as it opens when it is hot and closes when it is cold while still protecting against flood and rodents. 

This is flexwall a point of use storage dry flood proofing system that is used in commercial applications. It was designed by the guys who make NASA's space suits and is reinforced with kevlar to help protect against impacts during a flood. The technology has been used to protect critical infrastructure in NY like the transit system.

I am a local and the vibe here is that the south florida market is due for a correction. I am personally holding off as long as possible. Job growth and pay increases don't justify local property appreciation. It is being held up by exterior investors and vacation homes. If the market hits any bumps it could dive.

 If I had investment property here I would sell or try to hold until the crash and 1031 into something else. Also climate change will have a real effect on this market long term. We were lucky avoiding Hurricane Matthew. Flooding/ beach erosion are major issues and thats not even taking into account some of the algae issues they are having just north of us.

I hope that helps.

Flood insurance isn't cut and dry. I wrote a whole post about it that goes into some detail that many of you will probably find valuable.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/61/topics/364937-reducing-flood-insurance-costs?page=2#p2315790

Flood insurance can be expensive and it might be worth reading my post about it.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/61/topics/364937-reducing-flood-insurance-costs?page=2#p2315790

I wrote a post that you might find interesting that goes into a bit of detail.

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/61/topics/364937-reducing-flood-insurance-costs?page=2#p2315790