Watch out Houston area, flood insurance program expected to boost rates ! (2015, buying a house)

[WRM20]

Originally Posted by gwarnecke

If a house would cost $15k a year to insure in a competitive, unsubsidized market, by virtue of its probability of flooding and expected cost of repair, then many would argue that it simply shouldn't be there. Or at the least should be elevated.

That may be true, but it's pretty unfair to change the rules in the middle of the game, or on folks who had nothing to do with the transition of their property from safe to flood prone.

[NTexas2010]

Originally Posted by WRM20

That may be true, but it's pretty unfair to change the rules in the middle of the game, or on folks who had nothing to do with the transition of their property from safe to flood prone.

Valid point. We talked to our neighbors who have lived where we are for 40+ years. Not once had they seen Flewellen break its banks until Cross Creek Ranch was developed, which drains into Flewellen; they never would have dreamed of the kind of flooding we saw last April.

Converting open pasture land to suburbia and funneling all of that water runoff into one tiny creek is bound to have consequences, especially for those downstream of the development.

[NTT]

Originally Posted by Jack Lance

I wonder if the Harris county flood control district is paying any attention ?


The cost of federal flood insurance will likely rise for thousands of Houston-area homeowners after Congress hits its September deadline to renew and reform the deeply troubled program.
The National Flood Insurance Program was created because private insurers couldn't bear the risk of catastrophic loss, but the program is $24.6 billion in debt and struggling to remain solvent. It covers more than 300,000 homes in Harris and Galveston counties.
"The program offers rates that do not fully reflect the risk of flooding." the U.S. Government Accountability Office concluded in a report last month.

Deep in debt, flood insurance program expected to boost rates - Houston Chronicle

Sigh... This just became my reality now.


My house had flood claims for the 3 major storms: Allison, Tax Day 2016, and Harvey. Very unusual in our area so I thought. I had water seeped through the front rooms, and did not have high water but still needed to claim. Each claim was less than $10K.


My premium was below $400 for years and years. Just received the new billing, premium jumped to over $2100 . Looking through the latest flood map, I'm still not in high risk of flooding area nor in the 100/500 yr risk . With such low risk, am I going to pay that much for flood insurance?!? Heck no, because I no longer can afford it on a disability fixed income. Sigh... Guess, just need to tighten up my belt a bit more from here on, and add more $$ to rainy days instead of buying such high flood insurance premium. No more peace of mind

I'm gathering, this will hit many homes since many were struck with the same 3 major storms/floods. Any of you are going through the same?

[misterno]

i will never understand the people who live in high risk neighborhoods

Just sell your house and move to a safer sam priced neighborhood

Simple as that

[Jack Lance]

Originally Posted by NTT

Sigh... This just became my reality now.


My house had flood claims for the 3 major storms: Allison, Tax Day 2016, and Harvey. Very unusual in our area so I thought. I had water seeped through the front rooms, and did not have high water but still needed to claim. Each claim was less than $10K.


My premium was below $400 for years and years. Just received the new billing, premium jumped to over $2100 . Looking through the latest flood map, I'm still not in high risk of flooding area nor in the 100/500 yr risk . With such low risk, am I going to pay that much for flood insurance?!? Heck no, because I no longer can afford it on a disability fixed income. Sigh... Guess, just need to tighten up my belt a bit more from here on, and add more $$ to rainy days instead of buying such high flood insurance premium. No more peace of mind

I'm gathering, this will hit many homes since many were struck with the same 3 major storms/floods. Any of you are going through the same?

Sorry but my flood insurance premium stayed about the same, less than $300 for 1st floor coverage of about $50k

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by misterno

i will never understand the people who live in high risk neighborhoods
Just sell your house and move to a safer sam priced neighborhood
Simple as that

Let me try to explain it ....

If a family sells their house in a flood prone area,
now the family that bought the house, lives in that house

[3shipguy]

Originally Posted by misterno

i will never understand the people who live in high risk neighborhoods

Just sell your house and move to a safer sam priced neighborhood

Simple as that

If only it was simple as that...

[crone]

Originally Posted by misterno

i will never understand the people who live in high risk neighborhoods

Just sell your house and move to a safer sam priced neighborhood

Simple as that

Do you really think that all who flooded are our village idiots?

I know of no one who would buy a house they knew would flood. Except maybe beach houses.

Some of these places were high and dry until we drained the aquifers and poured tons of concrete. Houston is unique in that we have several kinds of flooding. Rising water as in creeks and sheet or street flooding. It could happen anywhere to anybody.

Where do you think all that fast runoff from the new freeways and shopping centers goes. Into the same watershed that has always been there.

It took years of begging by lots of people for the county to require retention or detention ponds. The builders just dug a hole and used the fill to make the lots higher. There was no gain. Some say all new building has retention ponds. Eighteen acres are being developed next to me. They didn't put the ponds under the parking lot.

Now the city and the county want all new construction to be above the level of the 500 year flood plain, wherever that is. Now some of these new subdivision were in low spots. Fill them all in and where will the water that used to go there go? On the houses that were high and dry for years.

[txdemo]

Originally Posted by misterno

i will never understand the people who live in high risk neighborhoods

Just sell your house and move to a safer sam priced neighborhood

Simple as that

Brilliant advice! Can you make your post public so that I can share with all the flooded folks? They've been wondering what to do for months.

[jfre81]

One step in de-subsidizing sprawl in a flood zone.