Is it difficult to sell your home if it is in a flood zone?

Is it difficult to sell you home if it is in a flood zone? 
Selling a house in a flood zone isn’t impossible. Flood zones are not necessarily a deal breaker for home buyers. This of course depends if your home Is located in the bottom of a spillway or simply backing up to a creek. As always, being informed is the best strategy. Each sale will have its own quirks and particularities.

How many homes are in flood zones? FEMA identifies a flood zone by “having a 1-percent chance of being equaled or exceeded in any given year”, which applies to roughly 13 million homes in the US.

FEMA has a great resource on flood insurance and prevention here. You can learn about your specific flood zone and the National Flood Insurance Program.

What are the chances of actual flooding? If you live in a high-risk flood zone, you have at least a 1 in 4 chance of flooding over the course of a 30 year mortgage. Homes in these areas are required to have flood insurance. Sometimes lenders also require flood insurance for homes in moderate-risk flood zones.

How much does flood insurance cost? Flood insurance costs roughly $595 per year in Texas. Homes that are closer to waterways and coasts may see higher premiums. 

Insurance companies and mortgage lenders will sometimes ask for an elevation certificate. This is just what it sounds like: a formal inspection that demonstrates that should a flood occur, the home is high enough off the ground that it won’t be in danger. 

What does this mean for the pricing of my house? Houses in a flood zone will need to be priced lower; they are worth less than a house in a non-flood zone and they will require flood insurance as an extra cost for the homeowner. 

Sounds like nobody wants a house in a flood zone. Not true! If you’ve never had to tap into your flood insurance, this can be reassuring to a buyer. There are things you can do to keep your home safe like installing flood vents to keep water flowing (should your home actually experience a flood) or relocating your home utilities to the second floor or attic.