 | Welcome to the Flood Zone is a nationally distributed resource for those interested in flood zone issues, land surveying, real estate, history, and educational opportunities. This newsletter has been proudly featured by the Association of State Floodplain Managers, the National Society of Professional Surveyors, and the Maine and New Hampshire Floodplain Management Programs. Please feel free to share with your friends and colleagues! If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, simply click the unsubscribe link in the footer of this message. | In this Issue of Welcome to the Flood Zone: Message from Jim
Education: New Course Offering! "Understanding Land Surveying & Deed Descriptions"
In the News: "States Brace for Long-Term Flood Fight as Damages Mount", "Lack of Flood Risk Disclosure Law Leaves Homebuyers at Risk" and "September is National Preparedness Month!"
Resources: "Beyond the Basics" and "History of Levees"
NFIP Guidance: "How much will I get from NFIP after my building or contents are damaged by a flood?"
Real Estate Corner: "How Emergency Flood Plans Can Help Keep Restaurants Afloat Through Nature’s Worst" and "Florida Wants to Buy Hurricane Irma-flooded Homes in the Keys. Is it the Start of a Retreat from Sea Rise?" Banner Image: A field in Illinois where the normal crop of corn has been greatly diminished by the overwhelming flooding this season. National Geographic has reported that farmers can expect to pay more for corn that they use to feed livestock and consumers will likely pay more for corn and soy products as well. Image by Chris Magnuson and featured in "Extreme Flooding Across Midwest 'Exactly In Line' With Scientific Warnings of Climate Crisis: Experts". (June, 2019) | Message from Jim Flood has been the “elephant in the room” in the real estate industry for a long time. Unlike heating, electrical, or roof shingle age, flood risk is a concern few want to discuss or have “actual knowledge” of. Lack of both education and required disclosure contribute to the perception that flood is not a significant factor in real estate. Thankfully, reforms such as the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012 (BW-12) and the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act of 2014 (HFIAA 2014), though not well received due to concerns about the impact on insurance rates and property value, continue to bring a healthy change to the real estate industry by garnering much needed attention to flood risk, both inside and outside Special Flood Hazard Areas. Increasing insurance rates and potentially lower resale values due to higher flood risk are very real concerns, but there are other factors real estate professionals should be aware of when dealing with flood in a transaction. The National Association of Realtors published a helpful document entitled, “NAR Legal Guidance: Disclosure of Flood Insurance Requirements, Rates, and Rate Increases by Brokers and Agents” for assistance with marketing and selling property for which flood insurance may be required, or that is located in areas where the purchase of flood insurance may be prudent. Click here to view the NAR Legal Guidance document. Enhanced flood disclosure, on a national level, can minimize the impact of flood issues in real estate, or at a minimum, expose them earlier in a real estate transaction, allowing the parties to explore available options and make more informed decisions. Bring awareness to potential problems and make recommendations to clients to speak with a qualified professional pertinent to such concerns. Real estate licensees are not qualified to make flood zone determinations, or required to perform independent investigations to learn about a property’s flood risk, but they can be a great resource to their clients by understanding the flood zone determination process, the benefits of an Elevation Certificate, lender requirements, and options to challenge a flood zone determination. Having such knowledge would also strengthen the program immensely by enhancing consumer education and awareness to remove the elephant from the room. | Education We are pleased to announce two continuing education classes we have coming up this month. Understanding Land Surveying and Deed Descriptions Please contact us if you are interested in taking this class and we will forward the registration link when it becomes available! September 16, 2019, 12-3 PM, Keller Williams Training Center, Portland, ME
Instructors: Jim Nadeau and Tom Coward
Hosted by: Keller Williams Realty
3 CE Hours for Real Estate Licensees
Cost: Free Land Surveying, Flood Zones, and Real Estate - SOLD OUT September 17, 2019, 1-4 PM, York Public Library, York, ME
Instructor: Jim Nadeau
Hosted by: Virginia Frost with Keller WIlliams Coastal Realty
Sponsored by: Patrick Afthim with Atlas-Heritage Title & Darcy Bastarache with Mortgage Network | In the News States Brace for Long-Term Flood Fight as Damages Mount By David A. Lieb, The Insurance Journal, August 19, 2019 For years, states have relied heavily on the Federal Emergency Management Agency to pay the bulk of recovery efforts for damaged public infrastructure. While that remains the case, more states have been debating ways to supplement federal dollars with their own money dedicated not just to rebuilding but also to avoiding future flood damage. Those efforts may include relocating homes, elevating roads and bridges, strengthening levees and creating natural wetlands that could divert floodwaters from the places where people live and work. Read more! | Lack of Flood Risk Disclosure Law Leaves Homebuyers at Risk By Laura Lightbody, Pew Charitable Trusts, June 25, 2019 Currently, there is no federal requirement for sellers to disclose flood risk and history, and state laws vary. Some states have acted—Texas just updated its requirements and now has some of the more expansive disclosure laws in the country—while others, including populous, flood-prone states such as Florida and Missouri, lack clear requirements for sellers to share the flood history of their property. This puts potential homeowners at risk of unknowingly buying a flood-prone home—an unacceptable scenario for what is most families’ largest investment. Read more! | September is National Preparedness Month! National Preparedness Month is recognized each September to promote family and community disaster and emergency planning now and throughout the year. The 2019 theme is "Prepared, Not Scared". Ready.gov and FEMA team up to produce web resources, social media posts and toolkits to share with the public each week of September. The weekly themes are: ▪ Week 1: Save Early for Disaster Costs
▪ Week 2: Make a Plan
▪ Week 3: Youth Preparedness
▪ Week 4: Get Involved in Your Community's Preparedness
| ▪ | Week 1: Save Early for Disaster Costs | | ▪ | Week 3: Youth Preparedness | | ▪ | Week 4: Get Involved in Your Community's Preparedness | Learn more! | Beyond the Basics Beyond the Basics is a resource designed to help local governments prepare a new, or update an existing, hazard mitigation plan. It was developed as part of a multi-year research study funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Coastal Resilience Center and led by the Center for Sustainable Community Design within the Institute for the Environment at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the Institute for Sustainable Coastal Communities at Texas A&M University. It is based largely on FEMA’s "Local Mitigation Planning Handbook" (2013), but features additional examples of best practices drawn from local hazard mitigation plans in the U.S. Either FEMA’s handbook or this website can be used to prepare a high quality local hazard mitigation plan. Learn more about Beyond the Basics! | History of Levees This FEMA Fact Sheet offers a glimpse into the history of levees as flood control measures in the U.S., applicable legislation and reforms, and links to additional resources. FEMA, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and the National Committee on Levee Safety (NCLS) work together to review flood hazard studies, make recommendations, and execute strategic plans to continue protecting levee-affected areas. Click here to view the Fact Sheet! | NFIP Guidance How much will I get from the NFIP after my building or contents are damaged by a flood? There are some misconceptions about the amount a policyholder will receive following flood-caused damage. While a policy may state it covers losses up to a certain amount: ▪ The amount paid to the policyholder on a homeowner’s flood insurance policy will cover the replacement cost of your home or the actual cash value of damages up to the policy limit.
▪ The amount paid on contents will cover only actual losses caused by the flood.
▪ The amount paid to businesses covered for structure and contents will be only for actual losses by the flood.
| ▪ | The amount paid to the policyholder on a homeowner’s flood insurance policy will cover the replacement cost of your home or the actual cash value of damages up to the policy limit. | | ▪ | The amount paid on contents will cover only actual losses caused by the flood. | | ▪ | The amount paid to businesses covered for structure and contents will be only for actual losses by the flood. | From: "Think You Don't Need Flood Insurance? Think Again", (FEMA, 2019) | Real Estate Corner How Emergency Flood Plans Can Help Keep Restaurants Afloat Through Nature’s Worst By Justin Reese, Modern Restaurant Management, August 14, 2019 Serious and worsening flooding has almost become the norm across the United States (and the world, for that matter). It’s become pervasive enough that even restaurants not located in traditional flood risk areas are well-advised to protect themselves from the costs by developing a comprehensive Flood Emergency Response Plan (FERP) – and keeping it well within reach. Read more! |  Big Pine Key after Hurricane Irma. Image by Mike Stocker/South Florida Sun-Sentinel via AP | Florida Wants to Buy Hurricane Irma-flooded Homes in the Keys. Is it the Start of a Retreat from Sea Rise? By: Alex Harris, Miami Herald, August 19, 2019 Some communities — North Miami, for instance — have bought out flood-prone properties in the past, but this is the first time the state has managed a program of this size that removes once-valuable real estate from the market. Permanently. The threat of rising seas in the most vulnerable state in the nation is only going to increase demand for government buyouts — currently a last-resort option that climate adaption managers, mindful of political push back, call “relocation”. Many activists put it more plainly. They call it retreat from land not worth the cost of saving, or simply beyond saving. “This is retreat. This is not only an acknowledgment, it’s putting some real money in it”, said South Miami Mayor Philip Stoddard, perhaps the most outspoken climate advocate among South Florida elected officials. “It’s a tip of the hat toward acknowledging reality — that it’s a better idea to have people out of the way than in vulnerable properties”. Read more! |  Image by Signe Wilkinson, 2011. | | | |
