Nathan Colmer | Van Dyk Group
C: 609.290.4293 | O: 609.492.1511
Beach Haven West suffered a direct impact on Hurricane Sandy the end of October 2012. While the considerable amount of time has passed since the storm made landfall, the area still is dealing with issues caused by the storm. One of these lingering issues is flood insurance. All flood insurance has for a long time been required in coastal areas, it was not until the re-mapping of areas and an overhaul of the national flood insurance program that it became such a concern for older homes. The overhaul flood insurance coincidentally occurred in September 2012, one month before Hurricane Sandy made landfall. Beach Haven West flood insurance is important for all to understand as it has a direct impact on property values in the local economy.
Flood insurance plays a major role determining the value of a home in the Beach Haven West real estate market. Homes with a higher cost of insurance will typically have to see an adjustment in their price to compensate for the higher cost of insurance. Make no mistake, all homes in Beach Haven West are eligible for flood insurance, however the rates may make it unaffordable to do so in extreme circumstances
In order to determine the cost of flood insurance in Beach Haven West, one needs an elevation certificate. An elevation certificate, which can be obtained from an engineer, is a document that outlines the specific criteria used to evaluate the risk level of a particular home. This criteria is factored into a predetermined set of rules which translates to flood insurance premium. Specifically, a flood elevation certificate will tell insurance company:
The methods of construction and their level of compliance to the guidelines established by the national flood insurance program
In order to obtain an elevation certificate, a homeowner, or a buyer, or any other interested parties may contact a qualified engineer who will conduct field work at the property and a assemble the elevation certificate. Once an elevation certificate has been obtained, and a reputable insurance company can give you a quote. The cost of insurance should be fairly universal, regardless of which agency you work with, as the race establishing flood insurance are set by the federal government.
An elevation certificate is a document supplied by an engineer that will tell the following information.
The number of flood vents, and other metrics used to determine the cost of flood insurance
An elevation certificate will be provided by an engineer after that engineer has completed field work on the property. The engineer will take a series of measurements that will determine the various elevation points for a home in Beach Haven West. This data will be computed and an elevation certificate will be produced. This elevation certificate can be taken to any insurance agent and that agent will be able to give an exact cost of flood insurance. The elevation certificate is an essential component to any real estate transaction in Beach Haven West.
FEMA’s flood maps that they need certain areas to be in a special flood hazard zone, and then further delineate the flood zone in which a home is located. There are some important differences between the A and V flood zone.
In order for a property to be classified as a V zone, the home must be at risk of a sustained wave impact of 3 feet or greater. These homes are considered to be more risky, and will typically see a higher cost of flood insurance. The good news is, the majority of Beach Haven West is located in the A flood zone which offers more manageable costs and less stringent building guidelines.
As mentioned above, homes that are located in the V zone also have different building guidelines. For example, foundations must be pilings or columns rather than a solid block foundation and garage slab’s must be thinner (no more than 4 inches) and not pilings supported.
Since the national flood insurance program is a federal agency, flood insurance rules are regulated. Rate increases, and in some cases rate decreases, are determined by a specified of criteria that a surprisingly easy to understand and determine the cost of flood insurance. Determining who will pay more for flood insurance in Beach Haven West comes down to the specific property and its attributes. For example, homes are risk of seeing and increased cost of insurance if they have:
The first for elevation below base flood
The most widely publicized metric to determine the cost of flood insurance is the first floor elevation and whether this first floor is above or below the new base flood elevations. While this is an important number, there are many other metrics that are used to determine the cost of insurance. For example, many people are unaware that the cost of a single-story home, for example a ranch style home, is significantly less than a two or three story dwelling. In addition, the use of the home determines the cost of insurance. Secondary homes or vacation properties will see a higher rate than if a property is occupied full-time. Individuals who are at a greater risk for increased insurance costs may find it beneficial to obtain a flood elevation certificate and see if there are ways that can limit the increases.