Flood Zone (Jay: real estate, lender, homes)

[CharlotteCo]

Just got done playing around on the Counties website and I was able to get a copy of the Elevation Certificate that was on file for the property I'm interested in. Go on the County website to Building Construction in the Departments section. It will walk you thru the process. It says you can call the Department also for this info. Thought it odd they wouldn't have this on file. Anyway, for somebody that needs this info IT IS on file with the County. Hope this helps someone.

[SeaRay35]

Originally Posted by CharlotteCo

Just got done playing around on the Counties website and I was able to get a copy of the Elevation Certificate that was on file for the property I'm interested in. Go on the County website to Building Construction in the Departments section. It will walk you thru the process. It says you can call the Department also for this info. Thought it odd they wouldn't have this on file. Anyway, for somebody that needs this info IT IS on file with the County. Hope this helps someone.

Or the seller could have been accomadating and ask their flood carrier for the elevation and save you a lot of leg work. That's great that CC has that information available good to know, TY.

[mr&mrssunshine]

a new home has to be at least 6" above the elevation stated (ie in an 8AE it must be min 8.5...10AE 10.5)


I laughed at the comment about saving a few bucks on fill dirt to increase profit....ok first most builders allow for the minimum required, if in a flood zone you may need a stem wall AND dirt, , the cost is $5000 per 8" course
it its just dirt alone -
take an average 2000 sq ft house, which adding in a garage and lanai will be closer to 3000.


3000x1' dirt = 3000cu ft/27 = 111 cu yards. you lose about 15%in compaction so that house needs roughly 130 cu yards per foot rise.....130 yards is 7.25 loads at $200 per load, so your extra foot just cost nearly $1500 hardly a 'few' bucks. And trust me clients don't want to pay extra

[SeaRay35]

Originally Posted by mr&mrssunshine

a new home has to be at least 6" above the elevation stated (ie in an 8AE it must be min 8.5...10AE 10.5)


I laughed at the comment about saving a few bucks on fill dirt to increase profit....ok first most builders allow for the minimum required, if in a flood zone you may need a stem wall AND dirt, , the cost is $5000 per 8" course
it its just dirt alone -
take an average 2000 sq ft house, which adding in a garage and lanai will be closer to 3000.


3000x1' dirt = 3000cu ft/27 = 111 cu yards. you lose about 15%in compaction so that house needs roughly 130 cu yards per foot rise.....130 yards is 7.25 loads at $200 per load, so your extra foot just cost nearly $1500 hardly a 'few' bucks. And trust me clients don't want to pay extra

Can't you just throw it in Pete? What's a little dirt? Lmao!

[MartyGras]

An issue that is going to rear its ugly head again is when the current FEMA flood insurance program expires on September.

This time around I am not so sure Congress is going to be so generous to those who have property below BFE.

Gary

[Harbor Hopper]

Originally Posted by CharlotteCo

Just got done playing around on the Counties website and I was able to get a copy of the Elevation Certificate that was on file for the property I'm interested in. Go on the County website to Building Construction in the Departments section. It will walk you thru the process. It says you can call the Department also for this info. Thought it odd they wouldn't have this on file. Anyway, for somebody that needs this info IT IS on file with the County. Hope this helps someone.

Not common though. I have about 15% success finding it on file, and I search for hundreds per year

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by CharlotteCo

I was going from the info posted on the property record from the appraisers office. Guess I'm reading it wrong. Have to wait for the surveyor then. Honestly don't know why the elevation certificates aren't logged in with the property record on file, would make it much easier when looking at a house. Seems backwards to me to have to wait till you put an offer in on a house and get it surveyed to find this out. What happens when you find out 3 weeks before closing the house your interested in is 4ft below BFE for that area and your going to get hammered on insurance? Do you pay for a survey for each house your interested in before putting in an offer? Doesn't make sense to me but I've never lived in a flood zone so what do I know. Thanks.

I know for every house we ever bought we had a survey done on the property, even if there was previous survey information available. Best I can figure those surveys icluded the lowest flood elevation point in the house if the house was in a flood zone . I think a new survey was required by the mortgage company, and was done after an offer was made and before closing, but I can sure see where if there is a question about a dwelling being below base flood elevation, a potential buyer would want to know that before making any offers. I'd probably ask the seller's realtor to provide this information.

As for building above the BFE, not sure what the minimum is (might be 6 inches as someone mentioned?), but I know that when we rebuilt our house in Miami after hurricane Andrew, we had to bring our lowest points (sunken living room and utility room) up to 10 feet (BFE was 8 AE) to get the community rated (so called )"discount" rate for our flood insurance policy, and the house was nowhere near the water.

We have a 10.5 foot elevation certificate for our house here in PG, BFE is also 8AE but we are on the water-just off the Peace River upriver. We've gotten what I consider a decent rate for the flood insurance on this house (around $630 or so annually), and our agent says the "preferred rate", as she called it, is due to the elevation certificate.

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by mr&mrssunshine

a new home has to be at least 6" above the elevation stated (ie in an 8AE it must be min 8.5...10AE 10.5)


I laughed at the comment about saving a few bucks on fill dirt to increase profit....ok first most builders allow for the minimum required, if in a flood zone you may need a stem wall AND dirt, , the cost is $5000 per 8" course
it its just dirt alone -
take an average 2000 sq ft house, which adding in a garage and lanai will be closer to 3000.


3000x1' dirt = 3000cu ft/27 = 111 cu yards. you lose about 15%in compaction so that house needs roughly 130 cu yards per foot rise.....130 yards is 7.25 loads at $200 per load, so your extra foot just cost nearly $1500 hardly a 'few' bucks. And trust me clients don't want to pay extra

Our property slants downhill towards the water and is partially in an 8AE flood zone. I recall when we were planning our house build, the contractor told us we might need to build on a stem wall, (which would have been the stem wall AND dirt), but that this depended on the results of a soil compaction test (and I have no idea what that entails, LOL). They brought in enough dirt to level the area for the house and around it, and the contractor told us they had "passed the soil compaction test with no problems at all and would not need a stem wall. It looked like a ton of fill they brought in, but we did get the 10.5 foot elevation certificate (BFE near the water is 8.0 feet), so I guess it was enough.

We'd have paid what they told us we needed to for either a stem wall and/or extra dirt, we trusted the contractor and our dealings with him on the house build showed time after time he was trying to do things right and wasn't out to rip us off. And we both believe in doing things right the first time, with no shortcuts so as to avoid problems later. Maybe we're rare birds, but it paid off.

[mr&mrssunshine]

a stem wall is needed if you have to raise the dirt more than 1' above natural grade (IN a flood zone). they don't like the outside levels going higher . that is determined way before the comp test, at design stage.


the comp test is carried out once all fill is in and simply determines the new soil has been compacted enough and also is dry enough.

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by mr&mrssunshine

a stem wall is needed if you have to raise the dirt more than 1' above natural grade (IN a flood zone). they don't like the outside levels going higher . that is determined way before the comp test, at design stage.


the comp test is carried out once all fill is in and simply determines the new soil has been compacted enough and also is dry enough.

Thanks, I didn't know what the criteria was. They told us it depended on the results of a soil compaction test. I don't think the level was raised more than one foot above the natural grade, but they did use fill in quite a large area top make it more level where the house was and around it. The rest of the lot still goes downhill toward the water, and they arranged the lot drainage to run wide of the house down towards the canal.