July 23, 2007 Maple Hill, Kansas -- A recent unfortunate series of events has reinforced to the need to do your own research.

A current buyer client reported to me that they were probably going to continue  looking after getting the bad news about the requirement and high price of flood insurance on a property they otherwise considered nearly ideal. The bad new came to them from their prospective lender along with a caution to reconsider based on the high risk flood insurance requirement.

Some independent research on my part with another lender and with a local insurance agency revealed a totally different story. Flood insurance is available on this property because the house is in the NFIP, but the second lender would not require flood insurance. The insurance company confirmed that flood insurance is available but because of the preferred rating of the location would only cost about $20 / month, hardly a deal breaking expense.

Live and learn and don't necessarily accept the first answer you get (favorable or unfavorable) particularly if you gut instinct tells you otherwise. Take the time to confirm the situation that matter.