Flood Plain Blues Comments from the Kitchen By Colleen Black, Realtor, Keller Williams Realty Metro South Something every Realtor has to be concerned with is whether the Buyers they are working with can viably purchase a home. I think every Realtor has probably worked with people who like to look at houses as a hobby. We have talked with a lot of Realtors who have had a banner year. We've been real busy, too, but we've also had some unusual challenges this year, that we have not had in the past. One of the challenges deals with homes that happen to be in flood plains. Last February, FEMA redrew a lot of flood plain maps in the area, changing things up a bit. We have dealt with two different homes that were in a flood plain twice during the past few weeks. Being in a flood plain is not necessarily the kiss of death, but it can be very expensive, and it can hamper future sales. We've lost two sales because of this. Once the home is determined to be in a flood plain, the Seller should hire a surveyor to do an elevation survey to show whether the home is above or below the flood level, and if so, how much. This will determine how much money flood insurance premiums will cost each year. In one of the homes we dealt with, the insurance was going to cost only a few hundred dollars a year (not very serious), but the other home is looking at flood insurance of $4,000 a year. Our heart goes out to the Sellers, because their home was not in a flood plain when they bought it, but now it is. So, whenever we show a house to a buyer, we go straight to the tax records to see if it's in a flood plain. If it's in a Zone AE, for example, that could potentially be a red flag. The other day, we were looking at new construction home being built in Hoover, and it showed AE. According to the Listing Agent, they had already done an elevation survey, and only the back of the property was in a flood plain. So, in that case, it won't cause the insurance premiums to be any higher than normal. I'm saying it's a good thing to pay close attention to that. Why go through the inspection and appraisal phases when you're buying a home, only to find out that it's in a flood plain and you have to pull out? My lesson learned from the last couple of weeks is that flood plains are something that hasn't been on my radar much in the past, but that we need to look at closely when buying a home in the Birmingham area. Flood plains are something we've not really run into very much before. So, if you hear that Sellers are under water, it could be with respect to their mortgages, or it could be that they're in a flood plain! If we can help with any questions about buying or selling a home in the Birmingham or Shelby Co. area, feel free to call us at 205-356-5412 or e-mail me at ' colleen@theblackteam.com' or visit our website at www.theblackteam.com. Thanks! Colleen Black, Realtor Keller Williams Realty Metro South Specializing in Shelby Co. and Birmingham, Alabama homes for sale 205-356-5412

• published: 20 Aug 2013
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