Flood insurance needed in Federal flood zones? (Ocean View, Frankford: HOA, mortgage)

[rsdk]

My wife and I are starting to look for a place to retire in the Bethany/Ocean View/Frankford area next year and I've noticed that some of the listings are for houses in Federal flood zones. Does anyone know if flood insurance is required in these zones (I'm guessing that it's at least recommended) and also about how much the flood insurance would run?

Many thanks.

[nuts2uiam]

Recommended of course, generally required if a mortgage property. Google flood insurers. There are websites that you can pop the address in and get a quote. It can dependent upon the actual address - you might be in a flood zone and a neighbor not.

[lyndyb]

There are people who are far more knowledgeable about things like this than I am, but I did an internet search and came up with the information below. I do know that if your house will have a mortgage a lender will most likely require you to have flood insurance if you're in a home in the federal flood zone. The cost of the insurance would likely vary by location. If you do an internet search using "flood insurance quote", you'll get links to any number of places that you can get a quote. I know the AARP insurance carrier, The Hartford, offers flood insurance - a link follows: https://www.thehartford.com/aarp/flood-insurance

You Don’t Always Have A Choice About Not Buying Flood Insurance
You may feel okay about taking a risk and not buying flood insurance, but the federal government is more cautious. Under federal law, flood insurance is mandatory for all federal or federally related financial assistance for the acquisition and/or construction of buildings in high-risk flood areas, known as Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHA).
Check with your mortgage company to find out if the property you’re considering falls under mandatory flood insurance laws. If the property is in a low-to-moderate risk area, federal law doesn’t require flood insurance.

[rdlr]

This link might help those wanting to know if a particular address is in a designated flood area (might load slow). I work with flood maps every day in my work, and have the flood map software which inserts the maps into my reports.

And YES, if you are in a designated flood area, the mortgage company REQUIRES that you have flood insurance. They build that into your mortgage payment, along with property taxes (maybe), garbage pickup (maybe), home insurance (maybe), and HOA Fee (maybe if required), and PMI (if required). .

https://msc.fema.gov/portal/search

Sometimes the above link doesn't work. If so, go in this roundabout way: https://www.floodsmart.gov/flood-map-zone/find-yours

[rsdk]

Thanks everyone. All good information.

The floodsmart.gov site has good advice on flood insurance. I looked at GEICO's online flood insurance quote and they show that for building and contents valued at $250,000, flood insurance is $572 annually (about $48 per month). The cost (up to $250,000) is apparently set by the National Flood Insurance Program and won't differ by insurer. However, floodsmart.gov indicates that premiums can vary by factors such as location, deductible, or whether the house is elevated.

In any event, this is enough information for me. I was worried that the cost might be astronomical.