Lake Livingston Waterfront Home ~ Flood Insurance Information
Waterfront properties, purchased with a mortgage, that have ANY portion of land in the flood plain are now 
required to have flood insurance. It does not matter if the house is located a mile up the road and at the top of the hill. If ANY of the property that is part of the mortgage is in the flood plain, the mortgage companies are now requiring the buyer to purchase flood insurance.
We used to be able to pay for the elevation to be shot and 
noted on the survey. If the house was clearly out of the flood plain, we were able to forgo flood insurance. This is no longer the case! However, it is still to your benefit to pay the extra fee to have the elevation noted on the survey as it can help your flood insurance premium to be considerably lower.
I spoke with Susan Bryant from The Mortgage Corner today and she had a client who was going to have to pay $1000.00 for flood insurance. The home that they were purchasing was not located in the flood plain however a small corner of their lot was. With the elevation noted on the survey the buyers were able to get their flood insurance for $300.00.
So... with the new FEMA flood maps out, we might find delays in closings as people are surprised to find that they are required to have flood insurance. Our seller’s disclosures ask if the home is located in the 100 year flood plain. While the answer may have been no when the seller purchased it, it MAY be yes now!
Lake Livingston Waterfront Home Seller’s: It is your responsibility to properly state whether or not the property is in a flood plain. If you do not have a mortgage, you need to check and see if any of the land that is sold with the home falls in the flood plain.
Lake Livingston Waterfront Home Buyers: during the option period, please check with your insurance company to see if ANY portion of the land falls in the flood plain - the seller’s disclosure could be wrong! If it does, and you decide to purchase it anyway, ask your insurance agent about having the elevation noted on the survey in order to reduce the insurance costs.
Local insurance agencies that know the market area are great about this. Some out of area agents can not seem to get this done. Another great reason to use local a local agency and NOT the one that has your home in Houston.
There is an additional fee to have the surveyor shoot the elevation and note it on the survey, but it will pay for itself after the first year in insurance savings!
Not only am I a REALTOR®, I am a waterfront homeowner. I am familiar with all of the little quirks that come up with waterfront and other rural property purchases.
Before you buy or sell a waterfront home on Lake Livingston, call Joni Staples! Joni knows Lake Livingston! (936) 650-9017
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