![]() ![]() To an extent, though, buying a home in a known flood zone is a roll of the dice. The average homeowner sells their home every 13 years, so they’re not necessarily concerned about how climate change will impact their property 20 or 30 years from now. One of the reasons homes located in high-risk areas for flooding have continued to sell is that homeowners typically don’t plan on living in their homes forever. Should I Worry About How Flooding Impacts My Property Value? Overall, while 's metrics may not be perfect, they can give you an idea of overall risk for the local area, and also help you predict what sort of flood insurance you’ll want (or be required to have). ![]() After all, the average homeowner only stays in their home for 13 years - so they could manage to live in a "flood prone" area without ever seeing a flood, by this metric. Part of the reason the scoring may seem "off" to some people is that it doesn't predict what will happen in a single year, but rather, the likelihood of it happening over many years. ![]() We never know when there will be heavy rainfall.” Anecdotally, it is not a good predictor of a home’s vulnerability to flooding. The Flood Factor™ scoring system ranges from 1 (minimal risk) to 10 (extreme risk) - as determined by the cumulative likelihood and potential depth of flooding over the next 15-30 years.Ĭharles Leduc, Chief Operations Officer at Mold Busters, a company that deals with mold that occurs after flooding, observes that “We have had several customers mention the inaccuracy of ’s Flood Factor assessments to us while performing mold remediations. In other words, Flood Factor won't account for any efforts prior homeowners have made to flood-proof their home. Similar to FEMA's projection, though, Flood Factor only evaluates the likelihood of water reaching the building footprint, not its interior. Here is more information on FEMA flood zones and what they mean.įlood Factor™, on the other hand, uses data from the First Street Foundation Flood Model, a nationwide flood model that calculates the likelihood of a flood based on a location’s history and geographic information - including elevation, changes in the environment, climate, and proximity to water. Flood zones are identified by letters (such as V, which indicates a high-risk coastal zone). An area that has been labeled 1/10 risk may have actually experienced numerous floods over the past several years. ![]() How a property's flood information appears on įEMA’s flood zone information is also in need of an update - a 2017 report found that many of their maps were out of date due to budget concerns, and only 42% of their flood maps currently reflected accurate flood risk projections. This means that, although a home might be located in a fairly high-risk area for flooding, it’s possible that its current owners have taken steps to mitigate the threat (such as creating a slope away from the home) or that the home was built to withstand flooding in the first place (such as a stilt foundation). The FEMA flood zone score is accurate for the area, not for the individual home. offers two scores, and one might prove more reliable than the other. Scientists and climate experts are predicting that flooding will increase over the next several decades as climate change causes more extreme weather conditions and rising sea levels - so it’s a risk worth paying attention to. “So, whether you’re buying or selling a home, understanding a property’s potential risk for flooding is important for making informed real estate decisions.” Even smaller events can have a devastating impact,” notes the web site. “Floods are among the most common and costly natural disasters in the United States, and the truth is, they can strike anywhere. Flooding can be the result of low elevation/high water table/proximity to a body of water, or it can be the result of a major event, such as Hurricane Sandy. It can have devastating consequences both for an individual property, as well as an overall neighborhood if flooding is persistent. ’s goal in adding the flood assessment score is to give homebuyers an additional diagnostic tool when it comes to evaluating their potential home for future risks.įlooding represents a huge risk to homes. Why Does Tell Home Buyers About Flooding? Here’s what homeowners need to know about this new site metric. Homes can score from 1/10 (lowest risk) to 10/10 (high risk) and two different measurements are given: an estimate of a home’s FEMA flood zone, as well as Flood Factor™. While looking at homes for sale, you may have noticed that has recently added a flood risk assessment to their property listings. ![]()
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