House backs up to flood zone (Lewisville, Highland Village: insurance, loan, how much)

[DfwNoMad]

I have a contract on a house that I found out today backs up to a flood zone AE. No part of the property is in the flood zone but I see that the FEMA flood zone AE line is maybe 20 feet from the back fence of the house. The elevation of the back fence is maybe 4 feet below the rest of the house (the patio has a retaining wall) and past the back fence the land slopes down further but I can't tell by how much since there's dense trees and brush there.

My loan is about to go to underwriting and I'm pretty sure they won't require flood insurance (but who knows).

This is a great house that backs up to a green belt and till today I thought that was a selling point but didn't know the green belt is in a flood zone.

The house is in Highland Village and apart from this one disturbing fact, it's perfect. It's not close to Lake Lewisville.

Would you buy flood insurance? I got one quote for $100/month and the lady I talked to said the house was not in a flood zone but typing the address in floodsmart.gov tells me "The property is high risk".

Should I be concerned?

[veuvegirl]

I would get another quote. Look at the history of the house (although as we learned from this season no guarantee of no flooding).

We lived in a flood zone and insurance was $400 a year.

[jdallas]

Flood plains are adjusted from time to time so check into the status and make sure they are not planning to expand it in that area.

[octo]

If it didn't flood this year with our record rains then I would not worry.

[dch526]

Flood Zone AE represents the 100yr Flood Line.

See if you can get a map that shows the 100yr flood line and the 500 yr floodline. Based on your description of the slopes away from the house and the retaining wall, I bet almost all your property is above the 500 yr flood line.

As octo said above, if it didn't flood this year with the record rains, then you are probably outside the 500yr flood zone. Be sure to have the inspector check for any sign of flooding in the house or even on the outside walls.

[DfwNoMad]

Originally Posted by dch526

Flood Zone AE represents the 100yr Flood Line.

See if you can get a map that shows the 100yr flood line and the 500 yr floodline. Based on your description of the slopes away from the house and the retaining wall, I bet almost all your property is above the 500 yr flood line.

As octo said above, if it didn't flood this year with the record rains, then you are probably outside the 500yr flood zone. Be sure to have the inspector check for any sign of flooding in the house or even on the outside walls.

You're right. All of the property is above the 500yr flood line. I was just concerned with the flood plain being so close to the back fence. It's actually less than 10 feet from the back fence now that I look at it on the FEMA map again.

[dch526]

Originally Posted by DfwNoMad

You're right. All of the property is above the 500yr flood line. I was just concerned with the flood plain being so close to the back fence. It's actually less than 10 feet from the back fence now that I look at it on the FEMA map again.

If they are nearly level then you may run into some flooding into the fence.

Based on everything else, it seems like that would be the flooding risk you would run into. If it floods and washes away the fence, how much would it cost to rebuild it? Then compare that to the cost of flood insurance.

Whichever bank that is providing the loan should do their due diligence and recommend buying flood insurance if they think you need it.