Flood insurance Davis Island (houses, buy, live)

[roblu]

Does anyone live on Davis Island and have any recent flood insurance quotes (with elevation?) Just wondering since we have been looking at houses there and it is hard to tell what insurance is going to be like in a few years.

[spbbound]

If you're in a waterfront home on the west or southern sides, you're in a 10 foot V zone. The rest of the entire island is 10 foot A zone. The island's ground elevation ranges between 5 and 7 feet, so in some cases, homes that were built up just a few feet and are in the A zone may be okay since the height is measured at the top of the first livable floor. Homes that are just slab on grade are likely below Base Flood Elevation (BFE).

If you're even a foot below, or you're right at BFE and FEMA raises the height on you next time they re-map the area, you could be in trouble. If you've at or above BFE, you're probably looking at ~$500/yr, if you're below, many thousands per year. I had to pay $9k to get $80k of insurance on a house I was tearing down; fortunately I got a pro-rated amount back once it was demolished but the rates are a real nightmare if you're below BFE.

Google Earth will give you a reasonably accurate elevation; just plug in the address of the home you're considering.

There is of course a lot of stuff going on with regard to flood rates, opening up Floridians to private insurers, etc. but I honestly would not count on any of that panning out long term. They might buy some long term residents a few years of relaxed rates, but eventually everyone will have to pay suitable rates for homes built below BFE.

[roblu]

Thanks, that is great info.