Welcome back to Real Estate News You Can Use. I'm Michelle Camaioni with RE/MAX Closers.
Today I’m standing on the bank of the Potomac River in Piney Point Maryland on St. George Island and the Potomac River is very busy this morning. There are white caps behind me and the wind is brisk.
This week we are talking about
flood insurance. So, when you buy a waterfront home, it's very likely that you
will have to purchase flood insurance. Not always, once in a while you're high enough
off the waterway that flood insurance isn't required.
But if you do live in an area that floods like I do, you're going to want to make sure that your property is protected. There are a lot of different nuances to flood insurance. Many things that flood insurance covers and many things that it does not cover, so you're going to want to really dig into this with your insurance agent to fully understand the coverage that you need and the coverage that you have.
There's also something called an elevation certificate that you may choose to have performed prior to your sale. That elevation certificate will tell you how far above your home sits in relationship to the flood tide zone and depending on how low your property is, that will also have something to do with the amount that you'll pay annually for your flood insurance.
Now, an elevation certificate can be a double-edged sword. Sometimes it proves that your property is low and your flood insurance is higher. And sometimes it proves that your property is higher, therefore your flood insurance will be lower. So, you'll want to talk this over with your survey company prior to determining whether you want to add an elevation certificate to your house location, drawing or to your boundary survey that you might be having done prior to your purchase. Two people you need to get to know very well. Your surveyor and your insurance agent.
I hope you found this information helpful and if you need more information and want to talk it through, feel free to reach out to me to talk about flood insurance, waterfront property or any other real estate related questions you may have.