Buying a house w/confusing flood risk data. Pls help (Dallas: insurance, how much)

[dishdash11]

My brain hurts. I found a great house north of dallas that has most of what I want, but the Floodfactor rating that shows up on redfin lists it as a 6/10 "Major" risk. Some of the light blue color touches the property on their map and shows the street as all blue, as well as an entire house 2 houses away. It says the property's risk of flooding is increasing as weather patterns change. According to the FEMA map, it's in a zone x which is low-moderate risk. The last update i can see on this is 2017. It's about a block away from a park with a creek that is a zone ae. Flood insurance is not required for the house. So...i'm at a loss. I know if i proceeded I could buy flood insurance, that's not the issue, but i honesty don't want to deal with a higher risk of flooding. My predicament is that I cannot figure out how much weight to give the floodfactor rating vs the FEMA map, and don't know if i should be concerned. I also wonder if this will be an issue in the future with a future buyer if/when i sell. I know there are experts like hydrologists and such, but i'm trying to make a decision before offering and as we know time is of the essence in this market.



Does anyone have thoughts on the legitimacy of floodfactor? The cynic in me wonders if doomsday climate change predictions weigh on it heavily. Or could this be an elevation issue? I wonder because the house before this has a small retaining wall 4/10 risk, this one has no retaining wall, and 2 houses after is completely covered in blue but shows the same 6/10 risk. Can someone pls shed some light on this? TIA!

[DFW_FTW]

Find a new home if it bothers you enough to make a post about it on the internet.

You will have the same issue when you go to sell your homes and buyers will be hesitant to buy your home given the flood risk.

Good, fast and cheap. Pick two out of three.

Right now you are going with fast and cheap. Spend more and get a home that doesn't have flood risk.

[escanlan]

Originally Posted by dishdash11

My brain hurts. I found a great house north of dallas that has most of what I want, but the Floodfactor rating that shows up on redfin lists it as a 6/10 "Major" risk. Some of the light blue color touches the property on their map and shows the street as all blue, as well as an entire house 2 houses away. It says the property's risk of flooding is increasing as weather patterns change. According to the FEMA map, it's in a zone x which is low-moderate risk. The last update i can see on this is 2017. It's about a block away from a park with a creek that is a zone ae. Flood insurance is not required for the house. So...i'm at a loss. I know if i proceeded I could buy flood insurance, that's not the issue, but i honesty don't want to deal with a higher risk of flooding. My predicament is that I cannot figure out how much weight to give the floodfactor rating vs the FEMA map, and don't know if i should be concerned. I also wonder if this will be an issue in the future with a future buyer if/when i sell. I know there are experts like hydrologists and such, but i'm trying to make a decision before offering and as we know time is of the essence in this market.



Does anyone have thoughts on the legitimacy of floodfactor? The cynic in me wonders if doomsday climate change predictions weigh on it heavily. Or could this be an elevation issue? I wonder because the house before this has a small retaining wall 4/10 risk, this one has no retaining wall, and 2 houses after is completely covered in blue but shows the same 6/10 risk. Can someone pls shed some light on this? TIA!

Where is "north of Dallas"? IMO I would use the official maps for flooding and not any second source map or report. You can access the various mapping at these locations.


FEMA FIRM Maps https://www.fema.gov/flood-maps


ArcGIS Mapping - This is suppose to be the recent FIRM maps in a interactive mapping system and easier to use than the actual FIRM mapping system


Your County GIS mapping system - Local variations occur due to many factors that FEMA does not necessarily keep up with as you would expect. Local Counties, municipalities, etc., can create updated maps but they must also be approved by FEMA and may not necessarily show in real time with the FEMA FIRM information.


Not using the third party mapping services for this removes the propensity for games with the information they provide.