![]() If you’re in an area prone to flooding, chances are, your mortgage provider will demand you have it. Let’s go into a little more detail about flood insurance here. If you live in an area prone to earthquakes or, more pertinent to Ithaca, prone to floods, you typically need specialized insurance - in this case, flood insurance. “Acts of God” natural disasters and acts of war aren’t reimbursable events. However, homeowner’s insurance doesn’t cover certain conditions. That includes the size and features of the home, its condition and its neighborhood, which takes into account things like crime rate. ![]() Just like your car, the amount you pay for a policy is based on a number of risk factors. Any homeowner with a mortgage is going to have homeowner’s insurance, protection of the property against damage and theft inside and out. So as we delve into this issue, let’s start off with something of a primer. Cascadilla Gorge (Photo by Casey Martin) Credit: Casey Martin / The Ithaca Voice So how did things get to this point? It’s a combination of bad timing and circumstance. Aspiring homeowners will be forced to pay thousands for flood insurance in order to get a mortgage, making housing even less affordable in a city strained by rising housing costs. Existing homeowners will see a drop in property value that reduced what they could get for their properties if they choose to sell, as well as buy flood insurance if they still have a mortgage or plan to take out a home equity loan. First I’m thinking they can’t afford this, or they may not be able to afford this, and then add to it that if they want to sell their property, they may not be able to get what they thought they were going to get, or what the standard of the market would bring, because the cost of the flood insurance may be prohibitive,” Hoyt continued. A lot of the property owners may not be able to afford the flood insurance,” said Hoyt. It worries me that the owners of those properties will have to reduce asking prices in order to be able to sell. “When I first saw this, my reaction was, this was going to be a problem for the city of Ithaca because it’s going to devalue the properties, because there’s so many properties going into the flood plain. She knows where it floods, how often it floods, and how much it’s going to cost a homeowner to live with the threat of floods. Sally Hoyt is a Vice President at Tompkins Insurance, and has a reputation for being the “flood queen” of Tompkins County. All SFHA’s are flood zones, not all flood zones are SFHA's.īase Flood often referred to as the “100-year Flood”, which is a misnomer, is the area where flood has a 1% chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year.īase Flood Elevation is the elevation, above sea level, at which Base Flood will inundate.Just how bad could it be? Well, let’s ask someone who’s in the know. Sometimes the SFHA is casually referred to as the “Flood Zone”, but these terms shouldn’t be confused. ![]() This is where flood insurance may be required depending on structure location. Some important points and definitions to know:Ī Flood Zone is any zone delineated on a FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM)Ī Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) is a high risk flood zone, and is the land area covered by the base flood on a FIRM. The different zones illustrate whether you live in a high-risk, low-risk, or moderate-risk flood zone. Everyone lives in an area with some flood risk-it’s just a question of what level of risk is present. Everyone is in a Flood Zone, Not Everyone in a Special Flood Hazard Area.Įvery property is mapped within a flood zone of some kind.
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