Fort Wayne Real Estate Blog

I recently sold a house to a 1st time home buyer.  Great little starter home in need only minor repairs.  As we started through the loan process, the lender came to us and said the house is in a flood plain and that we would require flood insurance.  This alone is enough for my buyers to walk away. 

They were very dissapointed that we had to start over.  After we hired a surveyor to do an elevation check on the home, we discovered that the home is actually 2 feet above the flood plain.  There is a large ditch in the back of the house.  Where there is water, there is always flood plain.  We now know that the home is out of the flood plain, so we should be home free.

Not the case!  Now we have to go through FEMA, a government entity that has to review the findings of the surveyor and make its final decision as to whether or not this home is in a flood plain or not.  This can take several months.  Until then, my clients have to carry expensive flood insurance, even though we know the home is out of the flood zone.

Moral of the story-If you live in a home with any body of water nearby, and you are looking to sell, you can look at the local flood maps on the GIS website near you.  This will show your proximity to a flood zone.  If you are close, order the elevation check early so your sale won't be delayed.