Channel 5 Eyewitness News recently did a story about the inaccuracy of FEMA’s Flood Maps.  The maps are from the 70s and 80s and are broad in scope.  In the story they interviewed a property owner who had paid $36,000 in premiums over the last 23 years because they were shown in the flood zone.  When they went to sell their home, a new survey discovered their home should never have been identified as being on a flood plain.  

Many properties are incorrectly shown within the flood zone on the FEMA map.  To find out whether your house is one of them, a Land Surveyor can prepare a FEMA Elevation Certificate for your house.  This involves researching the location of the property on the FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map and finding the nearest point of known elevation (or benchmark). The surveyor will go out to the property and transfer an elevation from the benchmark to the building in question.  He will also take other elevations and pictures as required by FEMA.

If the flood boundary was inaccurately shown on the FEMA map, the property owner can request a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) from FEMA.  A licensed Professional Land Surveyor can assist the property owner with this process.

In most cases, the cost for this work isless than one year’s flood insurance premium.  So far this year we have assisted 5 homeowners in eliminating the need for paying flood insurance.

If you or your lender is questioning the need for flood insurance, you should talk to a Land Surveyor who is familiar with the FEMA regulations.