A little freaked over flooding issues. Less so about hurricanes. (Sarasota: homeowners insurance, buying a house)

[Cardiff by the Sea]

My best friend grew up in Houston and their family home was destroyed twice 25 years apart by hurricanes. She has really sensitized me to flooding issues.

Been reading the FEMA website. I may as well just buy an ark because every place I like is in zone A. With online mapping, I look up the address and zone B always starts one house over.

Help me out and tell me if my understanding is correct.

Zone A is anything less than 11 or 12 feet about sea level?

So zone b starts at 13 feet?

And code says new construction has to be 13 feet up?

Zone A is expected to flood once every 100 years?

Zone B is expected to flood once every 100-500 years?

How far into the the evacuation zones would a storm the magnitude of Sandy or Katrina go?


To me the risk of buying a house that is at 11 feet doesn't seem so great. Unless it is a Sandy or Katrina.

But you have to have flood insurance to get a fannie mae mortgage? And you have to know the elevation?

What is the deal about roof tie downs? Is it expensive to retrofit the roof on an older home?

I have the fantasy of buying the house I want that is at 11 feet and doing this too it. Just kidding but I wish.

[Cardiff by the Sea]

Is being the first post to your own thread worse than talking to yourself?

Just wanted to share an article that pushed me over the edge on worrying about floods. It says flood insurance is supposed to go up big time thanks to a new federal law passed in 2012 just before Sandy.

After Sandy, a New Threat: Soaring Flood Insurance - ABC News

[Petunka]

But you have to have flood insurance to get a fannie mae mortgage? And you have to know the elevation?

Yes, but only IF you are in the flood zone. All insurance companies should know the elevation. You may want to check with them. Or, call FEMA directly. They have offices in most states/regions. Also, talk to the neighbors about any possible flood problems.

What is the deal about roof tie downs? Is it expensive to retrofit the roof on an older home?

Not sure how to tie down a roof? Have never seen it. But here you may be referring to the wind insurance (unless the whole house is under water). The fun begins, when FEMA argues with Citizens because it is always not clear if the damage was caused by wind or flood. Katrina should not be blamed for the floods in New Orleans.. besides major portions of that city are below sea level. All home repairs after a major hurricane could double in price. Unfortunately. You may also pay higher premiums on an older home. I like your photos. Funny.

[gypsychic]

As you know, I am in Whitfield, Zone A. My house is at 9 feet. So far, no matter WHAT type of storm we have had (including those that have flooded many areas of Sarasota) there has never been any flooding here, this neighborhood has EXCELLENT drainage. Of course a storm surge would be a different matter. I know people who have been here for over 30 years who have never had to evacuate. Anyway, the risk is real, but somewhat minimal, IMO.

You are correct, flood insurance is an issue. Insurance in Florida in general is a huge issue - you pay a LOT more for an older home, plus flood. On our 1350 sq ft 1950s rancher we pay $2100 for regular and $1500 for flood as of this year. These costs increase every single year. Not sure where it will all end.

[Cardiff by the Sea]

The specifics are helpful. Thanks.

[coastal chic]

Roof replacements since 2009-ish are now required to renail your roof decking, which is huge. Most homes built in the 80's to early 90's have staples holding their roof decks down. If the roof was replaced prior to 2009 or so, most likely it still has staples holding down the roof deck. The only way to correct it is to replace the roof again, or install structural spray foam (not the same as spray foam insulation) on the inside of the decking. Either way, it's expensive.

As for tie-downs....There are companies out there that can add additional nails to the existing clips/ straps to get you an insurance discount and make the house stronger. The cost to add nails to existing clips ranges from $650-1000. It is much more difficult, if not impossible, to add wraps if you don't already have them.

The insurance company will know what flood zone a particular property is in, but only an "elevation certificate" will tell how high the home actually sits. This costs about $300 to have completed, but hopefully the seller will already have one. The higher you are, the better (obviously).

[Californianz]

They also have this odd thing called a "Wind Mitigation" report - you will want to get one done at the time of your future house inspection/purchase. It will help lower your insurance costs. I think it has something to do with the structure and roof being able to hold up to high winds.

To us Californians it's like a report on being retrofitted for earthquake safety and/or possibly shear wall (etc) requirements we have for construction.

[TamRE]

Yes, you do want to get a wind mitigation report to submit to your insurance company. Here are a couple of web sites that outline some of the items a home may qualify for a discount on - Florida Wind Insurance Savings Calculator or Save On Your Homeowners Insurance with a Wind Mitigation Inspection!

Most insurance companies will require an elevation certificate which is prepared by a survey company in order to provide you with flood insurance coverage. Elevation Certificate | FEMA.gov

Sarasota County Flood Map Info - https://www.scgov.net/FloodMaps/Docu...te%20Flyer.pdf

For other flood information visit - www.floodsmart.gov

[Cardiff by the Sea]

Originally Posted by coastal chic

Roof replacements since 2009-ish are now required to renail your roof decking, which is huge. Most homes built in the 80's to early 90's have staples holding their roof decks down. If the roof was replaced prior to 2009 or so, most likely it still has staples holding down the roof deck. The only way to correct it is to replace the roof again, or install structural spray foam (not the same as spray foam insulation) on the inside of the decking. Either way, it's expensive.

As for tie-downs....There are companies out there that can add additional nails to the existing clips/ straps to get you an insurance discount and make the house stronger. The cost to add nails to existing clips ranges from $650-1000. It is much more difficult, if not impossible, to add wraps if you don't already have them.

The house that we currently have our eye on from afar was built in 1940. It has had some kind of pre-inspection and we have asked the realtor to send it to us, but we haven't received it yet. Maybe it will shed some some light on the status of the roof.

Could you be so kind as to explain to me what roof decking is? And when you talk about clips, what is attached to what with he clips?


When you say the only way to correct is to replace the roof again, are we just talking about removing the existing shingles and putting on new ones? The pictures look like it is past due for a new roof anyway so we would just factor that in to what we would be willing to pay.

Online estimates give the high end of the cost at about $300 per 100 sq feet. So I am thinking a 1600 square foot house with a 2 car garage has about 2000 sq feet under the roof and would cost $6,000 to replace properly. Does this sound about right?

If we did strip off shingles and replace, what else should we do at that time?

Thanks for your advice.

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by Cardiff by the Sea

The house that we currently have our eye on from afar was built in 1940. It has had some kind of pre-inspection and we have asked the realtor to send it to us, but we haven't received it yet. Maybe it will shed some some light on the status of the roof.

Could you be so kind as to explain to me what roof decking is? And when you talk about clips, what is attached to what with he clips?


When you say the only way to correct is to replace the roof again, are we just talking about removing the existing shingles and putting on new ones? The pictures look like it is past due for a new roof anyway so we would just factor that in to what we would be willing to pay.

Online estimates give the high end of the cost at about $300 per 100 sq feet. So I am thinking a 1600 square foot house with a 2 car garage has about 2000 sq feet under the roof and would cost $6,000 to replace properly. Does this sound about right?

If we did strip off shingles and replace, what else should we do at that time?

Thanks for your advice.

More than that. Our house is much smaller, (1400 w single garage) 5 years ago the roof cost $8,500 for dimensional shingles. You could probably do it a bit cheaper with the single tab type.