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Fort Myers - Cape Coral area Lee County
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Old 01-20-2016, 10:30 AM
 
Location: Chicago Area and Ft. Myers Beach area
81 posts, read 97,118 times
Reputation: 154

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We currently own a home on a canal in the FMB area. We bought it several years ago and paid cash. We do not carry flood insurance since the cost would be prohibitive and the value of the structure would not be worth the cost. What I am investigating is how high I must place a replacement home if I chose to do so in the future. I have looked at the BFE maps, but am not sure how to Identify BFE. Is it the mean sea level for our area? If so, would that figure be zero?

I also noticed their seems to be a glut of slab type homes for sale now, and am guessing the flood insurance is prohibitive for those properties and some owners may be looking to leave such risks to others.
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Old 01-21-2016, 06:50 AM
 
12,016 posts, read 12,622,573 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TuckerFMB View Post
We currently own a home on a canal in the FMB area. We bought it several years ago and paid cash. We do not carry flood insurance since the cost would be prohibitive and the value of the structure would not be worth the cost. What I am investigating is how high I must place a replacement home if I chose to do so in the future. I have looked at the BFE maps, but am not sure how to Identify BFE. Is it the mean sea level for our area? If so, would that figure be zero?

I also noticed their seems to be a glut of slab type homes for sale now, and am guessing the flood insurance is prohibitive for those properties and some owners may be looking to leave such risks to others.
Sea level is not the main thing. All of Lee county is basically at the same sea level. There are flood zone maps that tell you if you are required to purchase flood insurance or not. Some homes are only about half a mile from the river and don't require it.


Flood Insurance Rate Map Flood Zones

Right now I have a roommate with a rental of a duplex right on a canal. There is low to moderate risk here.

contents only $44 - $266

building and contents $137 - $452

I don't think that it's even required say if you wanted a mortgage.

There is another site and if the area is marked with X if I recall correctly flood insurance is not required.

Even in high risk areas there is only a 25% chance over thirty years of flooding.
In high-risk areas, there is at least a 1 in 4 chance of flooding during a 30-year mortgage
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Old 01-21-2016, 07:28 AM
 
Location: Port Charlotte
3,930 posts, read 6,394,558 times
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Most areas are zoned AE and if you look at the FEMA maps on line, it gives you the flood elevation (such as AE ele 9). Building codes often require the 'living area' main floor to be an additional height above the flood level. Check with the specific jurisdiction. Often it will be 2'.

So, call your building department and they will tell you. It doesn't mean that you will have to build on stilts. As an example, we have canal homes near us, zone is AE9. Base elevation is about 8'. The new homes are built on an elevated pad appx 2-3 feet above street level.
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Old 01-21-2016, 11:15 AM
 
1,039 posts, read 1,147,624 times
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You need an elevation certificate.


For example if you are in AE9, you should be at or above BFE for good rates. Every foot below BFE your rates rise.


For new construction most towns usually do a +2. So at least an elevation of 11. Above street level does not really matter it is above elevation.


For instance my primary is in a AE8. But my elevation is only like 6. My town likes +2 on elevation. So my house would have to be at least four feet higher. My sidewalk is actually two feet below elevation.


Some houses near me are actually at an elevation of 10 for property so they could build a home flat on the ground if they wanted. And I mean like on same block.


You really need to buy an elevation certificate.
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Old 01-21-2016, 07:34 PM
 
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Cool
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Old 01-22-2016, 08:30 AM
 
Location: Cape Coral
195 posts, read 269,226 times
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Insurance companies do not like the old form of report for elevation certificate. So, they would require a new one and that would be done by a surveyor. The elevation can be different from the lot next to it. When you have a current elevation certificate then you can contact Insurance Companies to get a quote for rates.
If the elevation is below base and you are going to do a tear down you can then bring in fill to raise the level to above base.
Many people have the misconception that flood insurance in prohibitively high. If your property is on Sanibel, or Ft Myers beach the rate can be high.
Most lots are not at a high rate, but just check with several Insurance Co and you will get the facts.
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Old 01-22-2016, 12:11 PM
 
179 posts, read 343,330 times
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Mr. Cape Coral is correct. Most people's flood insurance is not as bad as some people think. I am on a canal in the SW Cape, south of Cape Coral Pkwy, and my flood insurance is under $500 per year. I did choose a $10K deductible. If I went with a $5K deductible, I think it would have been a little over $600 per year.
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Old 01-23-2016, 12:01 PM
 
Location: Cape Coral
5,503 posts, read 7,291,272 times
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The problem is that flood insurance is subsidized by the federal government that has kept rates lower than they should be. Congress passed a bill to let the rates normalize. The rate will increase up to 25% a year until that happens. That $500/year may turn into $2,000 per year eventually. In really bad flood zones it may go up to $20,000.
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Old 01-23-2016, 01:17 PM
 
Location: Chicago Area and Ft. Myers Beach area
81 posts, read 97,118 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rikoshaprl View Post
The problem is that flood insurance is subsidized by the federal government that has kept rates lower than they should be. Congress passed a bill to let the rates normalize. The rate will increase up to 25% a year until that happens. That $500/year may turn into $2,000 per year eventually. In really bad flood zones it may go up to $20,000.
Would that increase also be applicable if the home is above BFE?
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Old 01-23-2016, 08:12 PM
 
179 posts, read 343,330 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rikoshaprl View Post
The problem is that flood insurance is subsidized by the federal government that has kept rates lower than they should be. Congress passed a bill to let the rates normalize. The rate will increase up to 25% a year until that happens. That $500/year may turn into $2,000 per year eventually. In really bad flood zones it may go up to $20,000.




Yes and no. Not in our case. Some people in low houses are "grandfathered in" under the old rules, even though they are at elevations below the BFE. When those homes transfer ownership, they lose the grandfather status. We are above the BFE, as are most houses that have been built in the past few decades. We don't need to worry about being grandfathered. The house is high enough, anyway. The established BFE in our area is 7 feet above sea level, and our house is a little above 8 feet elevation. An older home that might have been built lower than 7 feet above sea level would be subject to much higher rates in the future after their "grandfathering" runs out.


I believe the BFE for south facing homes directly on the Caloosahatchee in Yacht Club have a BFE of 11 feet. So, those would have to be 11 feet high, or they get high rates, and many of those are lower than 11 feet. That's where you'll see a lot of high flood insurance rates.

Last edited by Living the Florida Dream; 01-23-2016 at 08:27 PM..
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