Sandy - New Regulations

Zero sympathy. You live in a flood zone.

Not quite accurate. You only have to raise the height of the building if it's rebuilt, not if it's already standing. That would be virtually impossible.

It is also only if a building is in an area that has partnered with FEMA; they will have to change the building codes if they do. However, there are discounts for flood insurance for up-to-code buildings.

And it was always possible to get a government-backed loan with flood insurance - in fact, flood insurance is required if the home is in a designated flood plain.

Steven, all over Fire Island you'll see old houses that are newly jacked up. Usually the reason is to make it an upside-down house, but the same technique can be used without building out the newly-created lower space.

jason - ASSHOLE!!!!!

Steve - not sure you are accurate...i think the article is alluding to both demolished homes and still standing homes.

The Op was not asking your donation of sympathy or money. So, no rude responses please. This board was made to help each other by sharing info. I am sure a lot of people have the same concern after the new FEMA flood map. My interpretation is very similar to what Steve had said. Some of my friends have properties in south Brooklyn that may be affected by this also. Any good info will be greatly appreciated.

Actually, raising a detached building (that is not already falling apart) in not that hard. People move houses miles away. There will be some complexities if you have a basement (which will be lost) and the mechanicals need to be relocated somewhere.

But everything else here is 1/2 right. No one can force you to raise the house. But when the new maps kick in in 2 years flood insurance premiums will be significantly higher if the house is not raised. And, any new or substantially rebuilt house will have to be built above the flood level.

MY parents home was zone b and since a rogue 15 ft tidal wave from the lagoon hit the area its now considered zone a. the basement is half above and half below ground...i cant imagine why you would lose the basement(which in this case has the HVAC and a full 1 bedroom apartment used as a guest suite)....the value of the house would completely plummet...cant imagine nyc and ny state would allow people to lose so much.

asshole or not, I dont want to be the asshole who subsidizes your water view/proximity.

you want water, YOU pay. why should others?

Actually, alan, all the houses on Fire Island were built on stilts from the very beginning but, not surprisingly since it's a giant sand dune, most of Fire Island is higher than many of the NYC flood planes. And a good deal of NYC, especially Manhattan, was built on landfill, meaning basements flood quite frequently, which happened quite a bit in downtown Manhattan, not only from flood waters, but from a rising water table.

In my case all that happened is my air conditioner compressor was destroyed by salt water, as it is on the ground. Otherwise, the building itself is about 15' above sea level, & the first inhabitable floor is 10' above that. Flood insurance paid for that.

No one can force anyone to lift their houses up on stilts. As happened in Florida, current building codes will be changed to prevent building on the ground level. Existing structures are grandfathered in. Communities have to opt into the FEMA mitigation program.

JH, in Florida, under the new building codes, if you're in a flood plain you can't have any residential part of a dwelling at ground level or below (though in FL there is no "below" because there are no basements). So you can have a garage and storage area on ground level, but you can't turn that storage area into living space even if it has windows, and no one is allowed to reside there. If there's a flood and they inspect & find someone was living there, it voids your whole flood insurance policy.

You can find information here:

http://www.fema.gov/protecting-our-communities

you are an asshole also yikes and my parents dont have any water views...like i said...they lived in zone B and now its zone a because an inlet 7 blocks from their home created some 15 ft tidal wave....they never had a flood ever in their hood.....so get a life and go f yourself.

steve - they cant force you but if you are looking to sell(my parents are), its hard for a potential buyer to get a mortgage for homes in these areas unless the home is elevated to standard or pay exhorbitant flood insurance...this is all new...so not sure if it impacts mortgages in the next 6 to 12 months....

JacksonHole:
Sorry to hear about your parents home.
Difficult for them to deal with at this point in their lives.
All the best to them, you and yours.

(Just ignore wbottom/yikes. He has no life and zero chance of getting a life.)

Flood insurance is relatively cheap and subsidized by the government, UNLESS it's a vacation home and then you have to buy private flood insurance which is very expensive.

Never in the history of modern times has it been possible to get a mortgage on a home in a flood plain without flood insurance. In my case the co-op has the insurance policy but the bank sends notification every year and the managing agent has to send a copy of the policy cover sheet, even though the specific unit I'm in will never be flooded as it's 25' in the air. The only real danger is for the units that are close to the ocean; mine is not.

I think you're worrying a lot about not much of anything - it's so common as to be almost hum-drum.

JacksonHole:
stevie can be wrong but he may be correctly informed about this, in the area where your parents own their home.
The best thing is to find out the facts and reassure your parents.

oh, yikes, re "you want water, YOU pay. why should others?"

You will find that properties on the water are a lot more expensive, therefore they pay a lot more property tax. They pay the property tax to support schools, even if the owners have no children.

Why should people who have no children pay property tax to educate other people's children?

You want children, YOU pay. why should others?

ROTFL.

We all subsidize each other, yikes - it's the nature of civilization.

Another story, JH:

http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/176285/mayor-provides-zoning-relief-to-homeowners-rebuilding-after-sandy

Oh, stevie:
wbottom/yikes isn't civilized.
He's just an angry divorced guy with a monthly alimony check that must be sent to the ex-Mrs.wbottom/yikes.

Steve flood insurance was cheap but now the article says that homes in zone a will either have to raise foundation 3 to 6 ft or pay up to 9500 per yr in flood insurance .

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/04/nyregion/cuomo-seeking-home-buyouts-in-flood-zones.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
Cuomo Seeking Home Buyouts in Flood Zones
ALBANY — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is proposing to spend as much as $400 million to purchase homes wrecked by Hurricane Sandy, have them demolished and then preserve the flood-prone land permanently, as undeveloped coastline.
The purchase program, which still requires approval from federal officials, would be among the most ambitious ever undertaken, not only in scale but also in how Mr. Cuomo would be using the money to begin reshaping coastal land use. Residents living in flood plains with homes that were significantly damaged would be offered the pre-storm value of their houses to relocate; those in even more vulnerable areas would be offered a bonus to sell; and in a small number of highly flood-prone areas, the state would double the bonus if an entire block of homeowners agreed to leave.

The land would never be built on again. Some properties could be turned into dunes, wetlands or other natural buffers that would help protect coastal communities from ferocious storms; other parcels could be combined and turned into public parkland.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, which swept through the region on Oct. 29, Mr. Cuomo has adamantly maintained that New York needs to reconsider the way it develops its coast.

http://www.wnyc.org/articles/wnyc-news/2013/feb/05/cuomo-sandy-buyout-proposal-lacking-mayors-support/
Mayor Iffy on Cuomo Sandy Buyout Proposal

Tuesday, February 05, 2013

By Matthew Schuerman : Editor, WNYC

Governor Cuomo's proposal to use federal Sandy aid to buy out Sandy-damaged homes will likely need Mayor Bloomberg's assent. So far, he hasn't given it.

Homeowners like it. Staten Island politicians like it. And New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is making his proposal to buy out Sandy-damaged homeowners a central piece of his approach to rebuild the state better and smarter.

But one person whose approval is key to making the proposal reality—Mayor Michael Bloomberg—has yet to weigh in.

“Buyouts are just one of many potential mitigation strategies that the city, working closely with the communities most impacted by Sandy, will consider,” a spokeswoman for the mayor, Lauren Passalacqua, said in an e-mail.

hfscomm1.

going nuts.

beware of hfscomm1.

"Mayor Bloomberg’s own policies have encouraged development of waterfront areas like Willamsburg and Coney Island—though he’s also pointed out that new construction in those areas would have to comply with building regulations that are far stricter than those in effect when many of the structures damaged by the storm were built."

hfscomm1

again.

the troll.

beware.

cuomos plan is genius. love it

http://gothamist.com/2013/10/24/stunning_side-by-side_photos_show_s.php#photo-1

http://ownyourhome.streeteasy.com/a-tale-of-two-recoveries-a-special-report-on-nyc-real-estate-one-year-after-sandy/