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Not all homes located south of Sunrise Highway or Merrick Road are considered flood zones. FEMA maps for flood insurance are based off elevation. My co-workers in south Bellmore live right across from a canal yet their house is not considered within a flood zone because their street and home is elevated. Likewise, there are homes NORTH of Sunrise Highway which COULD be in a flood zone (once again, check out elevation). You can see if the home falls in a flood zone by plugging in the address on FEMA's web site:
As to parts of Merrick/Bellmore - Merrick Woods is a really nice area, its the section of streets just north of the LIRR station with streets named Seneca Gate,Cayuga etc. You can tell right away where you are because you won't see many capes, tudors or colonials. Most of these homes are considered "ranger ranches" (I am sure someone else can pipe in with historical information).
The other homes just south of Sunrise Highway which you considered to be tiny or odd-shaped with stucco siding / tile roof is called Gable Estates. (specifically around Wynsum Ave - the area between Merrick Rd and Sunrise Hwy). Per a web site listing that describes this part:
"The Gables Estates neighborhood of Merrick is located south of Sunrise Highway, just east of Merrick Avenue. This distinctive neighborhood is most recognizble for its Spanish-stucco, California style homes, most of which were built in the 1920s to replicate the kind of homes to be found in Hollywood at the time. Indeed, many attribute the name of the neighborhood to Hollywood legend Clark Gable, who lived in the New York area during his career on Broadway."
We saw some of these homes at Open Houses and they are rather small, but they have an internally cute architectural style if you want something that isnt "cookie cutter" like other homes on LI.
Last edited by LegalDiva; 07-23-2014 at 10:21 AM..
With regard to the pool, it depends on the town code but you need a certain setback from the fence. I'm not aware of any towns that disallow pools.
On our 65x100 lot, we have an extension plus deck directly out toward the back taking up a lot of the 100. Without the extension, I don't feel it to be a big enough, comfortable house. 60 wide is plenty for a pool, but with our setup we'd never fit an IGP in with the depth to the back fence. I mention this because a potential house's sqft on a 60x100 lot may not be as big as you may like if you want to fit an IGP in on a 100 length lot. Not only that, you wouldn't have much grass/walking space to speak of and it's only warm a few months a year so most of the time it's unusable space in the backyard. We passed on houses with a pool. Also, come resale time people like big yards when looking here because it's all about the kids.
yea i think the ranger ranches looked a little weird to us. i guess because we have not seen to many if any of those before but that listing the house looks amazing!! i was thinking there has to be a catch somewhere and then saw the taxes :-( womp womp womp lol 25k a year for taxes seems way too much and i know they will only go up and we hope to buy a house that we will live in until old and grey god willing so i worry that one day the taxes will be so unbearable we would have to move before we are ready. I mean if the house was 300k and 25k in taxes then maybe we are talking here lol but even so taxes are forever and they never go down while you will eventually be done with your mortgage.
great info on that fema link. also does anyone have links to flood maps that i have seen referred to on here? like ones that show where sandy affected.
also i would love to get maps of each section of these towns and blow them up and drive them and cross certain blocks/areas off. like when we were driving around we would drive down one block where it looked really nice houses well maintained, then next block a mix and another block looking kinda trashy. any ideas where to get blown up maps of different section? i guess get a link to them and print them at a staples or something?
sorry for all the questions, feel like I have a feel for a lot just from looking on this forum and listings for years but still pretty clueless to everything obviously.
I really appreciate all the advice, help, and thoughts!
Twingles i think some propertis that are 60x100 may be able to accomodate igp i believe. I think i have seen listings with that size property with igp. Do u mean rvc wont allow that because of rules about having pool away from neighbors fence?
I can only speak to Garden City but RVC is also an incorporated village - a village will always have stricter rules....I don't know the criteria to be allowed a pool in GC but put it this way - unless you are in the $2 mil and up price range, it's not happening. Garden City does not allow above ground pools, period, and trust me if you try to put one in your neighbors will be on the phone with the building dept ratting you out, you probably won't even have filled the pool yet.
I lived on a 60x100 and had one of the biggest yards on my street (just the way my house was situated I suppose) and there is no way I would have put a pool in, even if it were allowed. It was also a house with the original footprint intact. No way you're getting a house with all your wants on 60x100 AND reasonable room for a pool.
I totally get wanting a backyard oasis but an IGP on 60x100, you better really like your neighbors, and hope they really like you. You are better off staying in eastern Nassau and trying for a yard with some privacy.
As others have noted, you are probably going to have to give on something. But you have time to be persistant. House hunting before the kids come is much easier!
yea i think the ranger ranches looked a little weird to us. i guess because we have not seen to many if any of those before but that listing the house looks amazing!! i was thinking there has to be a catch somewhere and then saw the taxes :-( womp womp womp lol 25k a year for taxes seems way too much and i know they will only go up and we hope to buy a house that we will live in until old and grey god willing so i worry that one day the taxes will be so unbearable we would have to move before we are ready... I mean if the house was 300k and 25k in taxes then maybe we are talking here lol but even so taxes are forever and they never go down while you will eventually be done with your mortgage.
great info on that fema link. also does anyone have links to flood maps that i have seen referred to on here? like ones that show where sandy affected.
also i would love to get maps of each section of these towns and blow them up and drive them and cross certain blocks/areas off. like when we were driving around we would drive down one block where it looked really nice houses well maintained, then next block a mix and another block looking kinda trashy. any ideas where to get blown up maps of different section? i guess get a link to them and print them at a staples or something?
sorry for all the questions, feel like I have a feel for a lot just from looking on this forum and listings for years but still pretty clueless to everything obviously.
I really appreciate all the advice, help, and thoughts!
I agree w/ you..the taxes on that home are outrageous and you know what I just discovered ? That home is in Flood Zone A which isn't really that great.
Here is a link that explains what different zones mean --- the most desirable homes are in flood zone X which do not require flood insurance)
As to maps showing Sandy damage - you would have to use that FEMA map and just plug in every address and do a "Zoom Out" to see where the waters would go in the event of a flood. You really cant base it from a "street by street" perspective because some sections of Merrick Road (for example - use any random street), fall right below Base Elevation/Sea Level and flood, while only a 1/2mile up Merrick Road the elevation will increase and no flooding will occur. So you only need to know where YOUR particular house is situated on the map to determine its specific Base Elevation and designated Flood Zone.
The maps are pretty up to date and accurate - our home definitely showed exactly where the water level reached during Sandy and which homes on our block were completely unscathed due to higher elevation.
Last edited by LegalDiva; 07-23-2014 at 10:44 AM..
also when i say it looked weird to us we could tell that merrick woods looked like a nice neighborhood just not used to seeing those kind of houses guess would have to look at an open house or two in those kind of houses to see. most of them seemed to have like wood shingle siding that neither of us really cared for. The one in your post looks better on the outside then the circular road we drove on and saw the wood shingled once and the inside looks really great imo. 6brs 4baths i almost got hopeful until i saw the taxes. that seems to be the way the searching online goes. anytime i see a almost perfect house for us that isn't even at top of our range, the taxes are like 20k or better, or its in the crappy school district a la when you see a house in rvc and it winds up being in baldwin schools.
great advice thanks ovi although i disagree with only a few months i think if you have a heated pool you could prob enjoy from may to sept or maybe even october with the way the weather seems to be getting crazier and crazier. nevertheless glad that 60x100 would work depending on the way house is situated on lot and how big of house it is. love all this feedback and info
interesting info twingles! thanks. Didn't know that you couldn't even put above ground pool in some villages but my wife hates above ground pools so that is a moot point anyways. out of curiousity what about those half in half out? guess it all depends on town? hilarious on the neighbors ratting ya out before you are done filling it lol see i think that is a neighborhood i dont really like and doesn't check the tight knit community all together type feel lol
legal that link wasn't working. how many different flood zones are there? A is the worst i assume?
luckily we are just in the very beginning stages of finding a home and we will see what mortgage broker says but prob a year or so away from being very serious on putting offers in and such unless we somehow find an amazing house on the very low end of the budget but looking at all these listings doesn't seem like that will be happening lol. really want to zero in on areas that we want and kind of zero in on sections and then spend time there walking around, going to restaurants, shops etc around to get a feel for everything. then keep those specific sections, areas, blocks on the radar and pray that a house that works pops up sometime in our lifetime.
Here is the info on that web site re: flood zone designations:
"The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has placed more than 20,000 communities in the United States into a category of flood zones. Each community is able to participate in the agency's National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), with premium rates determined by the risks of flooding. To indicate the risks in different parts of the country, FEMA has assigned a character from the alphabet to each zone.
The most hazardous flood zones are V (usually first-row, beach-front properties) and A (usually, but not always, properties near water).
V Zones
According to FEMA and the National Flood Insurance Program, any building located in an A or V zone is considered to be in a Special Flood Hazard Area, and is lower than the Base Flood Elevation. V zones are the most hazardous of the Special Flood Hazard Areas. V zones generally include the first row of beachfront properties. The hazards in these areas are increased because of wave velocity - hence the V designation. Flood insurance is mandatory in V zone areas.
Living in a V Zone
If your home is in a "V" zone (this includes VE and V-1-V-30), adhere to the following recommendations:
The bottom of the lowest horizontal structural member of the lowest floor elevation must be at or above the Base Flood Elevation (BFE).
Enclosed areas below the lowest floor cannot be used for living space. The building must be elevated on piles, piers, posts or column foundation.
Electrical, heating ventilation, plumbing, air conditioning equipment and other service facilities must be elevated to or above the BFE.
A Zones
A zones - the next most volatile of the Special Flood Hazard Areas - are subject to rising waters and are usually near a lake, river, stream or other body of water. Flood insurance is mandatory in all A zones because of the high potential of flooding. A-zone maps also include AE, AH, AO, AR and A99 designations, all having the same rates. The different A zones are named depending on the way in which they might be flooded.
Living in an A Zone
If your home is in an A zone (includes AE, A1-A30, AH, AO, AR) follow these important recommendations:
thanks for the great links diva. where did you say you live currently?
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