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Flood insurance is (not sure what horrible word to insert here).
I just paid $2,800.
OP: I am no expert, but if you *try* to get a flood elevation cert (have your property surveyed, by whom, I don't know - and in my neck of the woods, surveys are muy expensive!) - anyway, if you try to get the cert, and don't, then what? As I understand it, you have to elevate your house? Or sell?
Or if you own the house outright, you don't have to purchase flood insurance (again, my understanding). Lenders require it.
Added details: the county gave me a flood map with my house on it. Only 2 corners of the house are in zone AH. The rest of the majority of the house is shaded X. I am a 77 year old senior and don't have a few hundred dollars for a surveyor. I still think this is unfair.
It is very unfair.
If I were you, I would pay a visit to the insurance agent who sells you your homeowner's insurance, and ask for their assistance in figuring out what you can do. I did this, and my agent, ran over to my house and looked for those little screens that you have to have every so far in the foundation - I didn't have all of them at increments they wanted - old house. I give her kudos for doing that.
I did NOT get a survey, but I DO pay flood insurance (I'm on a creek, so there is no argument about zoning, though when I was looking into it, NO ONE knew who does the zoning or how to contact them - It's the flood people, not as someone said about "the zoning department." The local building/planning department has nothing to do with flood zoning (that I am aware of).
Flood insurance is very controversial for many reasons.
I hope you can get your agent to help you.
I was never able to get through to anyone that handles flood insurance on the phone or by email. They are a very elusive group).
There is a group on FB that talks about flood insurance stuff.
Some people have to actually elevate their houses!
As noted upthread, can't sue someone for failing to disclose something they didn't know. Sorry, I'm sure this sucks, but it doesn't sound like your realtor or the seller should have known.
Not sure where you live exactly, but there's not too many places in Prescott that have AH and shaded X. I would have thought you were near the hospital, but there aren't any newer homes over there that I'm aware of. Of course, some of your neighbors are probably in the same predicament, so if you haven't already, perhaps chat with them to see what they plan to do (if anything). Maybe a bunch of you could get a surveyor out to do several properties at the same time at a significant discount?
Anyway, you could always give the county flood control district a call to see if they can tell you anything more or refer you to someone who can help. Yavapai County Flood Control District for more information on the flood plain at (928) 771-3197. You've probably already checked out their website - Flood Hazard Mapping.
I don't believe flood zones are designated by local zoning boards. They are designated by a Federal Agency
FEMA designates the flood zones. I was not in a flood zone in my old condo but would get letters from them all the time because I lived close to a flood zone and was still eligible to participate. When they want to change a zone, they give people in the possible affected areas a long time to comment on the proposed changes. I think I saw signs in my area that changes had been proposed, like many other zoning changes. It is not like the process is secret.
You could appeal the designation with your local zoning board, but no guarantee that it will work and the bank may still not allow refinancing without flood insurance. Unfortunately, fairness doesn't matter in this situation.
My wife successfully appealed for an exclusion for her mother's house which had a corner projecting into the newly designated flood zone. It was laborious but the FEMA people she dealt with were very helpful and ultimately it required a local building department official (don't know his capacity or title) to sign off on a FEMA form and then Voila, flood insurance problem solved.
Added details: the county gave me a flood map with my house on it. Only 2 corners of the house are in zone AH. The rest of the majority of the house is shaded X. I am a 77 year old senior and don't have a few hundred dollars for a surveyor. I still think this is unfair.
Call several surveyors to learn their price for an Elevation Certificate. Maybe it's $120 in your area.
Although FEMA initiates the flood map, local county offices keep these flood maps handy.
If 2 corners of your home are in zone AH, then your home is considered in a flood zone unless you get something changed. It might be called a Letter of Map Amendment but I am not 100% sure. It is done through FEMA, via a form and a request of some sort. Not easy for a regular person to understand all the terms when doing this.
The elevation certificate is just the start. If required by the lender to get flood insurance, they use the numbers on the elevation certificate, plus some other info, to determine your annual insurance premium for flood insurance. FYI if/when you get flood insurance, you can choose to only insure the home and NOT insure the contents (contents is furniture, personal belongings, appliances that aren't built-in, etc). Your flood insurance is cheaper if you only insure the home, which is what is required by lenders. Flood insurance, if required by your lender, is another cost that could vary. Mine is approx $300/yr. Some are higher and some are lower.
"If 2 corners of your home are in zone AH, then your home is considered in a flood zone unless you get something changed"....it would appear to me that you have a 50-50 chance of getting exempted by FEMA, but how you go about that is a big question. How on earth could only a portion of a house be in a flood zone ? Water by nature seeks the lowest level, so unless the home in built on an angle, with sloping floors, if one corner is susceptible to flooding, it stands to reason the whole house is susceptible to flooding. To me, it sounds like FEMA made a mistake with their mapping.
Here's a link to one survey company which offers Elevation Certificates. They also offer LOMAs which is Letter of Map Amendment. This, I think, is what was mentioned below regarding someone getting FEMA to remove the home from the flood zone. Looks like this survey firm can handle this, for a fee.
VH Land Survey in Prescott Valley also provides Elevation Certificates. vhlandsurvey.com Ask for a quote for price they charge for Elevation Certificate.
"If 2 corners of your home are in zone AH, then your home is considered in a flood zone unless you get something changed"....it would appear to me that you have a 50-50 chance of getting exempted by FEMA, but how you go about that is a big question. How on earth could only a portion of a house be in a flood zone ? Water by nature seeks the lowest level, so unless the home in built on an angle, with sloping floors, if one corner is susceptible to flooding, it stands to reason the whole house is susceptible to flooding. To me, it sounds like FEMA made a mistake with their mapping.
Regards
Gemstone1
FEMA is not looking at the house. They are looking at the ground topography and elevation. If two corners of the house are within the flood zone, then it’s really close. That’s why the elevation CERT is necessary.
This happened to us too, OP. We bought our house when it was not in the flood zone, but now it is. I can’t remember what our designation is, but fortunately it cost only about $500.-$600. a year.
You can pretty much guarantee that your lender will be notified and will catch up to it eventually. You might just as well refinance. You might save the difference that the insurance will cost you. Of course, as others have suggested, if you can somehow get the ruling changed, it’s worth a try.
In our case, it is a second garage that is in the flood zone, and auxiliary buildings aren’t even covered by the insurance. It seems very unfair.
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