Whether you bought your house when it was already in a flood zone<\/a> or your house recently got classified as high-risk, find out how to navigate key steps<\/a> like pricing<\/a>, disclosures<\/a>, and conversations about flood insurance. With the right approach, you\u2019ll put yourself in the strongest position to sell despite your location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n If you’re selling a house in a flood zone, consult with a top local real estate agent about your options and the best way to proceed.<\/p>\n \n As a homeowner, you know the ins and outs of your property, including which flood zone you\u2019re in \u2014 but here\u2019s a quick refresher on what that means as you go to transfer the home to someone else, according to FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency<\/a>).<\/p>\n You can look up your flood zone by address via FEMA\u2019s Flood Map Service Center.<\/a><\/p>\n If your house is located within a high-risk flood plain, you have more on your mind than water damage<\/a> whenever severe weather erupts. You\u2019re also likely paying for flood insurance on top of your regular homeowners policy. The vast majority of Americans with flood insurance, or about 5 million policyholders<\/a> nationwide, get their policy through the publicly subsidized National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)<\/a>, which FEMA oversees.<\/p>\n Buyers of your home will have many questions about the flood insurance you pay now and what that means for them. Depending on your zone, flood insurance may be a requirement for potential buyers of your property.<\/p>\n If you live in a high-risk flood zone, you have at least a 1 in 4 chance of flooding during a 30-year mortgage<\/a>.<\/p>\n Under federal law<\/a>, people with homes in high-risk areas with mortgages from federally insured or regulated lenders (this includes most nationally known financial institutions) must have flood insurance. However, lenders can, at their discretion, require flood insurance for mortgages on homes located in low- to moderate risk areas as well.<\/p>\n The average homeowners flood insurance premium<\/a> under the program is approximately $700 a year.<\/p>\n But some residents in areas hit hard by flooding, such as people on Long Island who weathered 2012\u2019s Hurricane Sandy, already have seen their annual premiums jump over the past two decades from $1,200 to $2,500, according to Newsday.<\/p>\n \u201cI have seen premiums that range anywhere from $3,000 to up to $7,000,\u201d depending on the flood zone where your home is located, said Ariel Pena<\/a>, a top real estate agent in New York City.<\/p>\n The NFIP bases its insurance policies on factors such as a building\u2019s elevation<\/a>, age, and amount of coverage and deductible. In general, owners of homes closer to water and homes that are more expensive to rebuild can expect higher premiums.<\/p>\n The buyer of your home may need to present their lender and insurance agency with an elevation certificate<\/a> that basically shows: if a major flood were to occur, would a house theoretically be above the height of the estimated floodwaters, or would it be at risk? Insurance agencies use this document to determine their flood insurance premiums.<\/p>\n One option as a seller could be to go ahead and order an elevation certificate from your local floodplain manager proactively, Pena suggests. You could shop it around to a few different insurance companies to get a few quotes for the new buyers to stay ahead of the game.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not uncommon for sellers to offer their buyers a one- to two-year home warranty to cover unexpected issues<\/a> that may arise with the home\u2019s main systems and components during the initial course of ownership. Similarly, a seller could offer to discount the buyer\u2019s flood insurance costs for a year as an incentive to purchase the property, either through an adjustment to the purchase price or credit at closing.<\/p>\n Real estate disclosure laws<\/a> vary from state to state. Many states have their own specific form that sellers use to disclose any known issues that could impact the safety or value of their property. There\u2019s often a place on the disclosure form to note a home\u2019s past history of flooding or location in a flood zone.<\/p>\n The Illinois disclosure report, for example, lists the following disclosures related to flooding and flood zones:<\/p>\n You can talk to a top local agent about your own state\u2019s disclosure rules, and HomeLight<\/a> also has a list of all 50 states\u2019 individual disclosure laws, including their respective reports<\/a>. However, the general rule is that you should never hide material facts about your house from buyers, regardless of state laws, including its flood zone status or insurance requirements.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s better for everybody just to disclose,\u201d says Pena.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Find out how to navigate key steps like pricing, disclosures, improvements, and insurance when selling a house in a flood zone. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":44571,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[243,322],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-contracts","category-logistics"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"homelight](\"https:\/\/www.homelight.com\/blog\/wp-content\/themes\/ccprototypev5\/images\/img-cta-logo-light.png\"){kind=logo}
\n <\/div>\n \n Partner with a Top Agent to Sell Your House In a Flood Zone<\/h3>\n
Know your situation: Flood zone variances and insurance basics<\/h2>\n
Flood zone tiers<\/h4>\n
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The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP)<\/h4>\n
The rules around flood zones, insurance, and home financing<\/h2>\n
Getting a mortgage for a property located in a flood zone<\/h4>\n
How much does flood insurance cost?<\/h4>\n
Get the certificate of elevation and do a little legwork<\/h2>\n
Help your new buyers foot the insurance bill<\/h3>\n
Real estate disclosures and flood zones: Always be transparent<\/h2>\n
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