Floods in Seaford ? (Hempstead, Oyster Bay, Levittown: car insurance, mortgage, houseboat)

[quant]

My wife and I have been looking extensively to buy a house (our first house actually) in South Nassau county, mainly Merrick/Bellmore/Wantagh/Seaford/Massapequa. We believe these to be the best areas to be for someone that is looking to buy a house in good value, with good schools and close proximity to NYC and the beaches.

Having looked at Seaford lately we felt a bit surprised to see so many nice waterfront houses selling under 600k. A friend of ours that lives in South Merrick told us to stay away from those as they flood pretty frequently hence their low price.

How true is that statement and how worried should we be about floods in South Seaford ? In such cases, does the water enter inside the house, do you have to move your car in a different area etc ? Any reply is greatly appreciated.

[Glad2BHere]

I have cousins in Seaford. Home only flooded one time, and they know they don't have proper elevation of their basement area. Other than that, I really don't believe they flood often in Seaford.

Worse than that is property insurance. You would be required to get flood insurance through your mortgage company when you are South of Merrick, but good luck finding a company that will insure you. As most insurance companies aren't issueing new policies for houses South of Merrick. Hence your low prices in the area. Buyers are limited b/c people are not able to pay such high costs for flood insurance and taxes combined, or they can't easily find anyone to give them a new flood policy. A lot of people don't want to deal with this hassle.

[Walter Greenspan]

For those who may not be familiar with Seaford:

Seaford is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the extreme southeast section of the Town of Hempstead, in the southeast part of Nassau County, along the Hempstead/Oyster Bay town line.

Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of Seaford in the Town of Hempstead is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of North Wantagh; on the east by the Hamlet of Massapequa, Town of Oyster Bay (the Hempstead/Oyster Bay town line); on the south by Zachs Bay; and, on the west by the Hamlet of Wantagh.

Seaford is one of those villages and hamlets on Long Island where the majority of the places with the community name as part of their mailing address are not in the hamlet: places that have a "Seaford, NY 11783" mailing address that are not in the Hamlet of Seaford are in the Hamlet of North Wantagh and the Hamlet of Levittown in the Town of Hempstead and in the Hamlet of North Massapequa and the Hamlet of Plainedge in the Town of Oyster Bay.





For a good set of town-by-town maps showing all the villages and hamlets in each of LI's 13 towns (3 in Nassau County and 10 in Suffolk County):

http://www.city-data.com/forum/long-...-resource.html

[quant]

Glad2BHere

On your first point, it seems that almost all of Seaford south of Merrick Rd is in the high risk flooding area (msc.fema.gov). According to Fema this means that there is a 25% chance that a single family home will flood in high risk areas within 30years. Any others having experienced floods in South Searford ?

On your second point, in theory you should be able to get flood insurance even in high risk areas as the town of hempstead is a member of NFIP, correct ? (fema.gov/cis/NY.pdf) I guess the first paragraph above might provide the basis for your second point. Any others experiencing similar flood insurance difficulties ?

thx

[newtoli]

I live in a high-risk flooding area on a canal S. of Montauk. Flood Ins is an extra $800 a year. My house is raised off of the ground about 4 or 5 feet I guess (estimate). I don't have a basement. I have never had water enter my house, I've seen it happen to neighbors though. During a No'reaster 2 Aprils ago, the street here was like a river, and I didn't move my car (I don't have a driveway) and my car was totaled out flooded. Car Insurance covered it, I would move my car next time. I did notice that people w/ cars in driveways didn't have that problem. Of course, if a hurricane hits, that would be a different story.

[Glad2BHere]

Originally Posted by quant

Glad2BHere
On your second point, in theory you should be able to get flood insurance even in high risk areas as the town of hempstead is a member of NFIP, correct ? (fema.gov/cis/NY.pdf) I guess the first paragraph above might provide the basis for your second point. Any others experiencing similar flood insurance difficulties ?

thx

You are exactly right about those areas participating in NFIP. However, you will find that even still, some insurance companies still refuse to issue new flood policies regardless of this.

I know b/c I, along with some others I know, were looking in that area. I called many insurance companies, and was told they will not issue a plan if you are within 2 miles, I believe, of the water.

Travelers was the only one at the time that would issue me a policy, and I have heard that they are finding many ways to bow out of writing up new policies as well.

I am not an expert, but this was my experience. Hence we did not move to the area. We just did not want to deal with this (other reasons as well but this was one of them).

[SteffensRule]

I worked right by the water in Seaford for 3 years, never seen the area flood.

[sean sean sean sean]

Flooding used to be a big problem in Seaford, but hasn't been for at least 20 years. It got hit hard in Hurricane Gloria and most of the canal bulkheads were replaced with newer/sturdier structures. Even the homes all the way down Island Channel Rd. don't flood anymore.

[quant]

good to know that. By the way, I called travelers insurance and they had no issues insuring waterfronts or any other house in South Seaford

[Like a Rolling Stone]

I lived on 2 different houses on Ocean Ave. plus a houseboat in Seaford Harbor, as well as grew up with friends who all live on canals in the harbor, and there has never been a flood, so don't worry about!