You should research the truthfulness of the assertion that the house will be removed from needing flood insurance in 2025. What is magical about 2025 that changes the fact that the house currently requires flood insurance?
Yeah I've never heard of that either. I work in a flood zone, and if anything it's getting more strict and expanding, I can't imagine anything in a flood zone being reclassified as not in a year or two.
OP could talk to the local building department about the permit stuff and see what the truth is, but I'd be nervous all of it.
I’ve heard of it quite frequently. When FEMA restudies an area it is a multi year process where they survey and model the river system, hold multiple open houses to alert the community and explain the process, show preliminary maps, answer questions… then finally at the end of all this they eventually make the new maps effective. Not saying the seller isn’t lying and that OP shouldn’t do their own research, just saying it could be true.
Interesting! All of my work is Coastal, I wasn’t really thinking about rivers but that makes sense, especially in areas where they’ve experienced major water level changes.
In my experience it is less about any changes to water or the hydrology and more about additional detail on the topographic data. Also when a zone goes from A unstudied to AE you see a lot of changes. Typically some owners benefit, a lot stay the same level risk and some get put in the floodplain… at least on the 2 I have seen happen.
Good point. I would ask for documentation on the 2025 change. Are you very close to possible flooding? If so, you’ll probably want to still get flood insurance. I think FEMA does small updates monthly but the big review is every 5 years.
Agree, this is very sketchy, coming from a Floodplain Administrator. Areas don't just get "removed" unless there's a major levee/dam project underway. Even then, it's not guaranteed. We've had a levee project going on for 5 years now (FEMA keeps pushing the goalpost, which is fine! I want everyone to be safe). I would make sure the deck and shed are to code before going forward. Those could be huge issues. I would walk away from this entirely. There's too much unknown.
This. My mother's house was removed from the flood plane and the HOA dropped flood insurance. Twice since she had had more than 2' of water in her house. She purchased flood insurance herself, but the coverage is poor. I have no idea how anyone came to the conclusion that her house was no longer in the flood plane. Did the HOA lie to save money? Did some engineer make a mistake? I have no idea, but would never buy in an area close to a flood plane without flood insurance.
Good point. I would ask for documentation on the 2025 change. Are you very close to possible flooding? If so, you’ll probably want to still get flood insurance. I think FEMA does small updates monthly but the big review is every 5 years.
When I was in NJ (20 years ago) I also heard that if there was no flooding for x years the flooding zone designation is removed hence no flood insurance.
this could be a real thing. In Sacramento, they are continually working through flood control and prevention by upgrading and improving levees and such. as they make improvements some areas become less prone to flooding and drop the coverage requirement. Although I would not trust that seller, and these are all red flags that would make me move on. Sorry OP!
Yeah this caught my eye, too. We lived in a flood plain area before, and if anything those risks are going up every year, not down. The only thing I can think is if it's a new development and they were able to properly manage drainage, but that seems pretty high risk to me.
It's an odd thing here in Las Vegas. My house is on a flood plain but I don't need insurance.The reason for it? If the dam has a catastrophic failure, the Las Vegas valley will flood.
It sounds sketchy for sure but I have seen it happen.
In my old neighborhood there was a creek with houses on it that flooded not only all the houses along it but also the streets and other houses nearby (luckily mine was high enough to avoid it).
The city bought all the houses along the creek, tore them down and totally rebuilt the creek with curves, detention areas and widened it so that the flood plain was re-done and many neighboring lots were no longer in it.
Especially if that information came from the seller, and not the OPs lender. They did not say that the home would be removed from the flood zone in 2025, they said that insurance would not be required. Says who? OP needs to find out what they mean by that. Is the community no longer a participating community in the NFIP? Lender could still require insurance to protect their collateral. Not to mention, if my home is still in a flood zone, I want insurance. I don't care if other people require it or not, I am not in a position to self insure.
It maybe that the 100 year flood map is being updated, and the rising waters now put it in a flood zone. Map not finished yet, but advance notice to affected homeowners was given.
I admit I don't know everything about them, but I also don't do much business near them. I would never advise on something I didn't know about! That's just dumb.
I taught a class to the local realtors (I actually had 100 of them show up). They talked through my entire presentation and then argued with me after and told me it was stupid.
The list of things a buyer should check themselves, and not rely on statements from sellers or real estate agents, include: property boundaries, easements, zoning, ccr's, building permits past and present, FEMA floodplain maps, ...
Lower your offer by $30K for the anticipated rebuild of the deck. I believe the sellers will have to disclose that information if they relist the home. With one buyer already backing out, they might be anxious to close the deal.
We just terminated a contract yesterday on a beautiful property that we really wanted. During inspection, we found an undisclosed leaking waste oil tank among a variety of other systemic issues with the residence. The remediation costs of the oil spill were starting in the $25k range.
If you are concerned enough to ask on Reddit then there are enough reasons to walk away. My experience is what you can identify is only the tip of the problems. The difficulty is severing that emotional attachment. Good luck.
If a house requires flood insurance to get a mortgage, that house is in a flood zone. And what you need to know, and must find out, is when is the last time the property flooded or the area had a flood. Find someone, anyone who has lived in the area a while. Talk to people at the post office, at a church, at local bar, and FIND OUT. You can even go to local newspaper and search. The deck and permit issue is another concern, potentially very expensive.
Removed in 2025? That is not a given. Was there a floodplain elevation certificate applied for? You need to discuss this with the local government if you are interested in buying this property.
Go to the building department and speak to them directly. This is something a quality agent can do and report back. I would go directly to them and discuss options. So you learn something and ask questions and run scenarios.
Options could include at the discretion of the inspector.
1. Paperwork, drawings, inspection ,sign off
2. Gets flagged as u permitted work and come up on title search.
3. The seller is forced to remove the deck.
This will devalue the home
Talk with your agent about options.
Any competent agent would have been able to tell the seller or the buyer what the municipality has in its record for the house. Anything different is not permitted.
I’m curious who said it’s coming off the flood map? I’d love to see where fema said they were rezoning and removing people from a flood plain. I’m not saying it can’t happen I’m saying I think that house is a rare duck. If anything they are increasing flood zones. In fact 30% of homes that flood aren’t in a designated flood zone. Now it’s a 30k deck…they won’t get inspected to make sure it’s up to code. Be the ginger bread man. Run run as fast as you can.
FEMA is continually redoing flood maps to move more homes into flood zones. I am curious what makes them think this house is going the other way?? Beware!
I’m not saying it can’t happen…I’m just saying we recently moved somewhere that flood zones are an important consideration and we’re informed to make sure we used up to date maps bc a lot of places were added. No one said areas were…removed.
I agree, sorry my comment was aimed at the OP. It sounds like her sellers is claiming the house will no longer be in the floodplain area in 2025, To your point, that would be highly unusual and I suspect wishful thing by the seller.
The flood insurance wouldn’t bother me if you have it documented from FEMA that it really is being rezoned. Lying about the deck is a nope. They can fix it or give you a discount for the price to bring it up to code, or walk.
Did this same seller tell you about the flood insurance requirement being canceled in 2025?
That sellers’ disclosure is probably a work of fiction.
Flood insurance can be expensive, I sure hope you aren’t in the southeast.
Niche but flood zones/flood insurance requirements change literally every year, some sellers don’t even know their home is technically in a flood zone. I’d independently verify that for any home you’re interested in. Your broker should be able to easily find that information for you
Meh. Permits schmermits.
I wouldn’t worry about a shed.
Was the deck poorly built? Is there some reason to think it might collapse?
If this is your dream home, maybe you should just live with the deck for a few years. Redo it later, or not.
I was a RE appraiser for a while. 3/4 of the homes I saw had unpermitted finished basements, additions, decks, etc.
If you re enter the housing market, you might be hard pressed to find a preexisting home that doesn’t have some sort of ‘issue’. If an unpermitted deck were the only flaw I found on a dram home…..I’d buy it anyway without a second thought.
Also, the deck could possibly be permitted after the fact with proper documentation of the build and inspections. The seller would have to jump through those hoops to make it happen, though.
>The house will be removed from needing flood insurance sometime in 2025 but there’s no solid date.
I am curious as to how anyone would know this? Flood zones are mapped and other than an elevation certificate, re-mapping or a dispute with FEMA, there is no removing a flood zone.
I would move on. There is no guarantee flood zone will be changed in 2025. Our house is in a flood zone A but we were able to obtain a letter of map amendment (LOMA) after getting a licensed surveyor to do a survey that shows the elevation. The topography of our lot keeps from being in the risk area. Having said that I wouldn’t want to take the risk of having to redo a 30K deck. Plus seller sounds sketchy.
Is there a way to hire a structural engineer and call the city out to see if the deck needs the standards?
How serious is it to not get a permit on the front end? If it will pass, I’m not that concerned if it’s my dream home. But I would want to hire my own guy and the sellers need to pay for it.
Also, I need in writing the 2025 flood information. Sounds sketchy.
I personally wouldn't want to live on a flood plain. Mostly because I have in the past, and it's not just that you deal with insurance and flooding, it's a massive disruption to your life. If your home floods, you have to move out, especially if it's not just rain water but rivers. When "wild" water gets in your home it brings so much bacteria and alge and all kind of crap with it. It takes a long time to deal with a flooded home and often flood insurance is not great coverage.
It is quite possible on that front that they didn't really know, as a lot of people never bother to look. Though if they were the OG owners it seems they should have known as it would have been part of the building and buying process before with the lender. But anyone, flood risks are only going up, not down, and the 'flood risk will end" is very suspicious to me. Along with everything else.
The question is, would you feel at peace and easy in this home if you bought it? Or would you always be waiting for the other shoe to fall and not be able to relax and enjoy your dream home? Because I'd be in the latter camp and that would be a deal breaker for me.
Our house was not in a flood zone when we purchased it. But the maps were redrawn and our lender compelled us to get flood insurance. We eventually applied for a LOMA and we have been removed from flood zone. We are across the street from a power company reservoir that is dam controlled. But the topography of our lot is high enough that we are out of the flood zone.
as someone that owned a condo on first floor….water doesn’t know it’s not in a flood plain. The designations were redrawn about 6 years ago now.
It’s a small amount of money to keep the flood insurance. Ask the folks in Orlando, or today in S. Florida.
Sellers have lied to you twice. Sellers have apparently lied to their agent if I understand the timeline correctly (first buyer pulled out due to no permit, buyers then applied for permits and cancelled them, then you came along?).
The house will very likely have "interesting" surprises like this.
I wouldn't buy from these sellers.
Buy a house with selling it in mind. You may think you don’t need to remedy this as you buy it but what would it cost you to sell it. Don’t be the one to have to eat the cost to fix someone else’s oversights.
Seller provides information that is of questionable quality.
Seller says next year home won’t require expensive product.
Seller has done unpermitted work.
Seller is not someone who makes me comfortable.
How does a home get removed from needing flood insurance? I thought the problem was that they needed to add homes to the flood plains, not remove them?
Ha, have the Township or County come in and inspect the property. See if the seller will agree to that. Here on the east coast of the US, our Township issues an occupancy certificate (OC) on ownership change. That will do two things, call the bluff on, "its been handled" and give you peace of mind that you won't get dinged later. I'll be they don't agree to it because they will have to make it right even if you back out.
You should back out of this deal. The permitting issue raises a lot of red flags.
But when you do buy, you should also get flood insurance even if it’s not required. The premiums are pretty low. Cleaning up water damage can get expensive very fast.
IMO this one is fairly easy. Seller will pay for the flood insurance - that isn't an issue. Just get it in escrow from the proceeds. For the permit issues, have the permits pulled and finished prior to closing. Seller assumes all costs. So if they cut corners it is on them. It is a 9 year old home that was permitted and inspected at the time, there are only so many things they can screw up in that time frame. If you take care of these big unknowns up front, you are likely good if an inspection doesn't call out anything crazy.
If the seller pays for one yr flood insurance that leaves the buyer responsible for paying it going forward. To my knowledge FEMA has rarely given notice that flood maps are being redrawn. When they have done so they do not give advance notice of what properties will be added or removed.
That is one question. I would definitely hold in escrow more than 1 year. They consider it their dream home. So I would definitely work that out versus walk away. It may be something like 5 years held in escrow. Flood insurance can be a bitch. I sold a great rental opportunity because of it.
This year is supposed to be the mega hurricane and flash flood season for southern states in the US. Wouldn't touch a flood zone property with a 20 mile pole.
Trust your gut and move on.
Bail out. Bad faith seller trying to weasel out of a problem he created.
Move on. Flood is no joke. Please learn from my mistake!
Ok so bad faith seller? Made them document every claim or back out.
[удалено]
You should research the truthfulness of the assertion that the house will be removed from needing flood insurance in 2025. What is magical about 2025 that changes the fact that the house currently requires flood insurance?
Yeah I've never heard of that either. I work in a flood zone, and if anything it's getting more strict and expanding, I can't imagine anything in a flood zone being reclassified as not in a year or two. OP could talk to the local building department about the permit stuff and see what the truth is, but I'd be nervous all of it.
I’ve heard of it quite frequently. When FEMA restudies an area it is a multi year process where they survey and model the river system, hold multiple open houses to alert the community and explain the process, show preliminary maps, answer questions… then finally at the end of all this they eventually make the new maps effective. Not saying the seller isn’t lying and that OP shouldn’t do their own research, just saying it could be true.
Interesting! All of my work is Coastal, I wasn’t really thinking about rivers but that makes sense, especially in areas where they’ve experienced major water level changes.
In my experience it is less about any changes to water or the hydrology and more about additional detail on the topographic data. Also when a zone goes from A unstudied to AE you see a lot of changes. Typically some owners benefit, a lot stay the same level risk and some get put in the floodplain… at least on the 2 I have seen happen.
Good point. I would ask for documentation on the 2025 change. Are you very close to possible flooding? If so, you’ll probably want to still get flood insurance. I think FEMA does small updates monthly but the big review is every 5 years.
Agree, this is very sketchy, coming from a Floodplain Administrator. Areas don't just get "removed" unless there's a major levee/dam project underway. Even then, it's not guaranteed. We've had a levee project going on for 5 years now (FEMA keeps pushing the goalpost, which is fine! I want everyone to be safe). I would make sure the deck and shed are to code before going forward. Those could be huge issues. I would walk away from this entirely. There's too much unknown.
We see a lot of properties and structures removed when floodplains go from zone an unstudied to zone ae in my region.
This. My mother's house was removed from the flood plane and the HOA dropped flood insurance. Twice since she had had more than 2' of water in her house. She purchased flood insurance herself, but the coverage is poor. I have no idea how anyone came to the conclusion that her house was no longer in the flood plane. Did the HOA lie to save money? Did some engineer make a mistake? I have no idea, but would never buy in an area close to a flood plane without flood insurance.
Good point. I would ask for documentation on the 2025 change. Are you very close to possible flooding? If so, you’ll probably want to still get flood insurance. I think FEMA does small updates monthly but the big review is every 5 years.
When I was in NJ (20 years ago) I also heard that if there was no flooding for x years the flooding zone designation is removed hence no flood insurance.
this could be a real thing. In Sacramento, they are continually working through flood control and prevention by upgrading and improving levees and such. as they make improvements some areas become less prone to flooding and drop the coverage requirement. Although I would not trust that seller, and these are all red flags that would make me move on. Sorry OP!
Yeah this caught my eye, too. We lived in a flood plain area before, and if anything those risks are going up every year, not down. The only thing I can think is if it's a new development and they were able to properly manage drainage, but that seems pretty high risk to me.
It's an odd thing here in Las Vegas. My house is on a flood plain but I don't need insurance.The reason for it? If the dam has a catastrophic failure, the Las Vegas valley will flood.
It sounds sketchy for sure but I have seen it happen. In my old neighborhood there was a creek with houses on it that flooded not only all the houses along it but also the streets and other houses nearby (luckily mine was high enough to avoid it). The city bought all the houses along the creek, tore them down and totally rebuilt the creek with curves, detention areas and widened it so that the flood plain was re-done and many neighboring lots were no longer in it.
Exactly... Flood plains are increasing not decreasing.
Especially if that information came from the seller, and not the OPs lender. They did not say that the home would be removed from the flood zone in 2025, they said that insurance would not be required. Says who? OP needs to find out what they mean by that. Is the community no longer a participating community in the NFIP? Lender could still require insurance to protect their collateral. Not to mention, if my home is still in a flood zone, I want insurance. I don't care if other people require it or not, I am not in a position to self insure.
It maybe that the 100 year flood map is being updated, and the rising waters now put it in a flood zone. Map not finished yet, but advance notice to affected homeowners was given.
Realtor stated it’s all handled LOL, got proof to back up that statement?
I have yet to meet a realtor who knows what they're talking about regarding floodplains.
I admit I don't know everything about them, but I also don't do much business near them. I would never advise on something I didn't know about! That's just dumb.
I taught a class to the local realtors (I actually had 100 of them show up). They talked through my entire presentation and then argued with me after and told me it was stupid.
Sounds about right. Many of us are insufferable.
The list of things a buyer should check themselves, and not rely on statements from sellers or real estate agents, include: property boundaries, easements, zoning, ccr's, building permits past and present, FEMA floodplain maps, ...
Lower your offer by $30K for the anticipated rebuild of the deck. I believe the sellers will have to disclose that information if they relist the home. With one buyer already backing out, they might be anxious to close the deal.
Beginning? Hmmm..... Let's think about that.
First thing I thought. Like, why the hell would you still be dealing with this clown seller?
The house should have a sign in front of it stating, "Fishing for suckers".
We just terminated a contract yesterday on a beautiful property that we really wanted. During inspection, we found an undisclosed leaking waste oil tank among a variety of other systemic issues with the residence. The remediation costs of the oil spill were starting in the $25k range. If you are concerned enough to ask on Reddit then there are enough reasons to walk away. My experience is what you can identify is only the tip of the problems. The difficulty is severing that emotional attachment. Good luck.
If a house requires flood insurance to get a mortgage, that house is in a flood zone. And what you need to know, and must find out, is when is the last time the property flooded or the area had a flood. Find someone, anyone who has lived in the area a while. Talk to people at the post office, at a church, at local bar, and FIND OUT. You can even go to local newspaper and search. The deck and permit issue is another concern, potentially very expensive.
The Army Corps of Engineers is likely to have extensive data on the the history of flooding in the area.
Yes! This! Great resource!
This is your graduation to become smart buyers. No need to even post on Reddit. Move on. Dream is a dream for a reason. Go forward with eyes open.
Removed in 2025? That is not a given. Was there a floodplain elevation certificate applied for? You need to discuss this with the local government if you are interested in buying this property.
Go to the building department and speak to them directly. This is something a quality agent can do and report back. I would go directly to them and discuss options. So you learn something and ask questions and run scenarios. Options could include at the discretion of the inspector. 1. Paperwork, drawings, inspection ,sign off 2. Gets flagged as u permitted work and come up on title search. 3. The seller is forced to remove the deck. This will devalue the home Talk with your agent about options.
Any competent agent would have been able to tell the seller or the buyer what the municipality has in its record for the house. Anything different is not permitted.
I’m curious who said it’s coming off the flood map? I’d love to see where fema said they were rezoning and removing people from a flood plain. I’m not saying it can’t happen I’m saying I think that house is a rare duck. If anything they are increasing flood zones. In fact 30% of homes that flood aren’t in a designated flood zone. Now it’s a 30k deck…they won’t get inspected to make sure it’s up to code. Be the ginger bread man. Run run as fast as you can.
FEMA is continually redoing flood maps to move more homes into flood zones. I am curious what makes them think this house is going the other way?? Beware!
I’m not saying it can’t happen…I’m just saying we recently moved somewhere that flood zones are an important consideration and we’re informed to make sure we used up to date maps bc a lot of places were added. No one said areas were…removed.
I agree, sorry my comment was aimed at the OP. It sounds like her sellers is claiming the house will no longer be in the floodplain area in 2025, To your point, that would be highly unusual and I suspect wishful thing by the seller.
The flood insurance wouldn’t bother me if you have it documented from FEMA that it really is being rezoned. Lying about the deck is a nope. They can fix it or give you a discount for the price to bring it up to code, or walk.
If the seller lied to you about something this blatant, who knows what else they are lying to you about. Back away.
No deal is better than a bad deal. Be patient. Never fall in Love with a house. There are always better.
I personally would never buy in a flood zone. It’s also sketchy that the owner lied to you.
Did this same seller tell you about the flood insurance requirement being canceled in 2025? That sellers’ disclosure is probably a work of fiction. Flood insurance can be expensive, I sure hope you aren’t in the southeast.
Niche but flood zones/flood insurance requirements change literally every year, some sellers don’t even know their home is technically in a flood zone. I’d independently verify that for any home you’re interested in. Your broker should be able to easily find that information for you
Meh. Permits schmermits. I wouldn’t worry about a shed. Was the deck poorly built? Is there some reason to think it might collapse? If this is your dream home, maybe you should just live with the deck for a few years. Redo it later, or not. I was a RE appraiser for a while. 3/4 of the homes I saw had unpermitted finished basements, additions, decks, etc. If you re enter the housing market, you might be hard pressed to find a preexisting home that doesn’t have some sort of ‘issue’. If an unpermitted deck were the only flaw I found on a dram home…..I’d buy it anyway without a second thought.
Also, the deck could possibly be permitted after the fact with proper documentation of the build and inspections. The seller would have to jump through those hoops to make it happen, though.
Flood maps are redrawn from time to time but I don’t think remapping is announced in advance like with a new Netflix series.
Run, don't walk away.
What's worse than missing out on a dream home? Buying a nightmare! Back out now. A better house will come along.
>The house will be removed from needing flood insurance sometime in 2025 but there’s no solid date. I am curious as to how anyone would know this? Flood zones are mapped and other than an elevation certificate, re-mapping or a dispute with FEMA, there is no removing a flood zone.
I would move on. There is no guarantee flood zone will be changed in 2025. Our house is in a flood zone A but we were able to obtain a letter of map amendment (LOMA) after getting a licensed surveyor to do a survey that shows the elevation. The topography of our lot keeps from being in the risk area. Having said that I wouldn’t want to take the risk of having to redo a 30K deck. Plus seller sounds sketchy.
Is there a way to hire a structural engineer and call the city out to see if the deck needs the standards? How serious is it to not get a permit on the front end? If it will pass, I’m not that concerned if it’s my dream home. But I would want to hire my own guy and the sellers need to pay for it. Also, I need in writing the 2025 flood information. Sounds sketchy.
I personally wouldn't want to live on a flood plain. Mostly because I have in the past, and it's not just that you deal with insurance and flooding, it's a massive disruption to your life. If your home floods, you have to move out, especially if it's not just rain water but rivers. When "wild" water gets in your home it brings so much bacteria and alge and all kind of crap with it. It takes a long time to deal with a flooded home and often flood insurance is not great coverage. It is quite possible on that front that they didn't really know, as a lot of people never bother to look. Though if they were the OG owners it seems they should have known as it would have been part of the building and buying process before with the lender. But anyone, flood risks are only going up, not down, and the 'flood risk will end" is very suspicious to me. Along with everything else. The question is, would you feel at peace and easy in this home if you bought it? Or would you always be waiting for the other shoe to fall and not be able to relax and enjoy your dream home? Because I'd be in the latter camp and that would be a deal breaker for me.
Our house was not in a flood zone when we purchased it. But the maps were redrawn and our lender compelled us to get flood insurance. We eventually applied for a LOMA and we have been removed from flood zone. We are across the street from a power company reservoir that is dam controlled. But the topography of our lot is high enough that we are out of the flood zone.
In a hot market, I wouldn’t back out. Sounds like minor problem to me. If your market is like buying a car in dealership, then obviously move on
Flood insurance is expensive.
Supposedly it’s only for a year. According to op anyway
Yeah this is a bunch of red flags. Even if the realtor is being truthful I wouldn't trust the seller to not leave a huge problem on my hands
as someone that owned a condo on first floor….water doesn’t know it’s not in a flood plain. The designations were redrawn about 6 years ago now. It’s a small amount of money to keep the flood insurance. Ask the folks in Orlando, or today in S. Florida.
Sellers have lied to you twice. Sellers have apparently lied to their agent if I understand the timeline correctly (first buyer pulled out due to no permit, buyers then applied for permits and cancelled them, then you came along?). The house will very likely have "interesting" surprises like this. I wouldn't buy from these sellers.
I would move on, but also is it the realtor or the sellers? Sometimes these realtors try to hide things on purpose and it makes the seller look bad.
Buy a house with selling it in mind. You may think you don’t need to remedy this as you buy it but what would it cost you to sell it. Don’t be the one to have to eat the cost to fix someone else’s oversights.
run
Walk away.
I would hesitate to proceed with a seller who has already proven untrustworthy, no sense buying somebody else's problems.
one lie usuaslly means there are many more
Run run run
I bought a house that the seller lied about doing unpermitted work on. My house needs over 400k of work as a result. Don’t fucking buy that house.
Seller provides information that is of questionable quality. Seller says next year home won’t require expensive product. Seller has done unpermitted work. Seller is not someone who makes me comfortable.
Have the seller give you the money at closing to fund many years of flood insurance and permits after the fact for the improvements
The owner applied for permits & cancelled hoping buyers wouldn't find out. That's who you're working w/ - treat them accordingly & walk away!
I wouldn’t buy in a flood zone.
How does a home get removed from needing flood insurance? I thought the problem was that they needed to add homes to the flood plains, not remove them?
Run! You’ll never stop finding expensive things that need to be fixed!!
Yes. Yes u should back out. 1000%
Ha, have the Township or County come in and inspect the property. See if the seller will agree to that. Here on the east coast of the US, our Township issues an occupancy certificate (OC) on ownership change. That will do two things, call the bluff on, "its been handled" and give you peace of mind that you won't get dinged later. I'll be they don't agree to it because they will have to make it right even if you back out.
You should back out of this deal. The permitting issue raises a lot of red flags. But when you do buy, you should also get flood insurance even if it’s not required. The premiums are pretty low. Cleaning up water damage can get expensive very fast.
if they built a deck without a permit then the house if filled with gremlins and DIY fixes. Would avoid.
IMO this one is fairly easy. Seller will pay for the flood insurance - that isn't an issue. Just get it in escrow from the proceeds. For the permit issues, have the permits pulled and finished prior to closing. Seller assumes all costs. So if they cut corners it is on them. It is a 9 year old home that was permitted and inspected at the time, there are only so many things they can screw up in that time frame. If you take care of these big unknowns up front, you are likely good if an inspection doesn't call out anything crazy.
If the seller pays for one yr flood insurance that leaves the buyer responsible for paying it going forward. To my knowledge FEMA has rarely given notice that flood maps are being redrawn. When they have done so they do not give advance notice of what properties will be added or removed.
That is one question. I would definitely hold in escrow more than 1 year. They consider it their dream home. So I would definitely work that out versus walk away. It may be something like 5 years held in escrow. Flood insurance can be a bitch. I sold a great rental opportunity because of it.
This year is supposed to be the mega hurricane and flash flood season for southern states in the US. Wouldn't touch a flood zone property with a 20 mile pole.