Do I Need Flood Insurance? (Austin, Sweetwater: house, neighborhood, purchase)

[bmurrie]

My wife and I are purchasing a home in the new Sweetwater Glen community in Travis County (78748). It's near the corner of Slaughter and Manchaca. I looked at the floodplain maps someone posted a link to earlier (thank you, btw) and know we're not quite in a floodplain. However, I'm wondering if any Austin-ites can tell me whether we should get flood insurance anyway? How severe of a problem is flooding in that area? Thank you.

[deeptrance]

Caveat emptor: I don't know the exact location so I'm responding generally.

Flood maps should be taken very seriously here. Most places DO NOT FLOOD, but those areas that can flood will flood. That's been my general experience. I highly recommend you not rely on a web forum to make your decision, but ask an independent consultant or just survey the land yourself and try to make a smart judgment. It's pointless to get flood insurance if you're out of harm's way, but it's foolish not to if you can see how storm drains might clog up and your house is below street level or other such scenarios.

The flood plain maps are created based on creeks, they don't take into account the actual properties and how low they are, what the foundation is like, their elevation relative to surrounding land, etc. You have to envision what would happen if 10 inches of rain falls in a 5 hour period. And that happens in Austin. We get some seriously wicked rain here! The national record for most rain in a 24 hour period was recorded near Thrall, NE of Austin, when they got over 40 inches of rain in 24 hours. You can imagine what type of havoc that would cause! Don't expect that, it's a national record and unlikely to be broken in your neighborhood, but you can easily expect a 24 hour total of 8 to 10 inches at least once if you leave there for several years.

[ericbramlett]

Ask your insurance agent to run a flood determination. This will tell you whether or not you are in a flood plane. If you're in a flood plane, it typically will not distinguish which type of plane you are in. You will then need a surveyor to perform an elevation certification, which will determine the type of flood plane you are in.

If you're not in a flood plane, you can get flood insurance pretty cheaply - ~$300/year for ~$200k house. If you're in a flood plane, it's going to vary a lot depending on the class of plane you're in.

[austin-steve]

How severe of a problem is flooding in that area?

I'm pretty sure at least some of the Sweetwater track must be in floodplain, especially on the northern edge of the subdivision. But I seriously doubt DR Horton built any actual dwellings in the flood plain. Ask them about it.

It's pointless to get flood insurance if you're out of harm's way,

A large portion of homes that flood each year in Texas are not in or near a flood plain. I forget the exact number, but I think it's over 20% of all homes that flood that are not in floodplain. So I would respectfully disagree that it's pointless.

The new FEMA Floodplain map hasn't been adopted yet by Travis County, but I've seen it and it adds 100's of homes to the floodplain in South Austin, many of which flooded in 2001.

In 2001, most of Alcott St just south of Slaughter lane near Manchaca Rd. was under 5ft of water. My tenant called and told me his car had just floated down the street and he had waded to high ground. South Austin had 16 inches of rain in 24 hours. Homes along Westgate in Cherry creek flooded also, as well as many other areas in south Austin.

The following days looked like a disaster zone (which it was) as we were all trying to assess the damage and pull wet carpet and furniture out into the yards and tenants were picking through their stuff deciding what to salvage. None of the owners (that I know of) had flood insurance since the duplexes were not located in a flood plain.

Here's a picture I took of the street. I walked up and down and into several of the places to have a look, and it was a real mess. So I would not at all think it imprudent for someone outside a floodplain to purchase flood insurance.

[Trainwreck20]

It depends on what you call a flood plain. There is a federal definition, I am sure (probably like 'would flood in a 100 year (or 500 year) rain event'). I would not go by that definition, since some areas around austin have had a couple of 500 year events in the last few years .

When I bought my house, we used a flood plain map and the insurance company decided what category flood plain I was in. I think it was 'flood plain x', which turns out I should watch for arks being constructed before I worry. My insurance was ~$30/year, if I remember correctly. The lower the flood plain you get into, the cost will go up exponentially. Maybe I will go try to find the classifications......

[bmurrie]

Thank you so much for all the advice. I'll definitely be getting a quote from the insurance company, and then look into it a little more. I appreciate it.