Tips for Selling a House That’s in a Flood Zone

Homeowners in flood zones face challenges when it's time to sell. After all, living through a flooding event can be one of the most difficult experiences a person can have. Buyers are apprehensive about properties in flood zones because they worry about extra insurance costs, mold issues from previous floods, and the extra maintenance involved in managing moisture issues. However, all of this doesn't have to mean that your home is unsellable. People knowingly move into flood zones every day. In fact, research shows that up to 41 million Americans currently live within a 100-year floodplain. It all comes down to finding the right buyer. Here are some tips for selling a house in a flood zone.

Provide Full Disclosure About Your Home's Flood Designation

Being honest and transparent is essential when trying to sell a house in a flood zone. As the seller, it's your responsibility to inform potential buyers about your property's flood-zone tier based on FEMA standards. If you're unsure about your property's designation, use FEMA flood maps.

Price the Property Accordingly

Work with an agent with an understanding of how to buy and sell properties in flood zones. Yes, this means adjusting for the fact that your home is located in what could be considered an undesirable spot. You'll need to find a sweet spot for your listing price that reflects the extra costs a buyer will need to put into flood insurance. By offering a more competitive price, you may sway buyers to choose your property over ones they aren't located in flood zones simply because you're offering more land, a bigger house, or better features for a better cost. For many buyers, the ability to get a better deal on a home can be worth the risk of living in a place where there's an elevated risk for flooding.

Offer to Cover the Rest of the Year's Flood Insurance Premium

Consider offering your buyer the option to have reduced flood insurance by paying the premium for the rest of the year. You can also extend the offer to cover part of the next year. This offer gives them some wiggle room to begin preparing for upcoming flood insurance costs without feeling overwhelmed by the premium while they are in the midst of buying a home and paying for moving costs. Your buyer will need flood insurance to be in place when they take possession of the home if they are financing the purchase using a mortgage.

Demonstrate That the Risk for Flooding Is Low

If your home hasn't been flooded even though it's in a flood-risk zone, you can use this information to reassure buyers. Offer to cover the cost of an inspection that can prove that your home has not sustained water damage. Remember that even homes in 100-year floodplains have just a 1% chance of flooding any given year. Of course, flood risks in places like Florida are actually becoming bigger than anyone imagined.

Stay Current With Your Flood Insurance

If your home is at risk for flooding, make sure you're staying protected by keeping current with your flood insurance premiums. You may not be able to sell your home if it's damaged while your coverage is inactive because you won't have a way to get it in proper condition to be approved for a mortgage. Millions of homeowners in flood zones have flood insurance through the FEMA-operated National Flood Insurance Program.

Challenge Your Home's Designation

This one could be a bit of a long shot. However, it's possible that you could actually have a flood zone designation removed from your property. Only consider this option if you believe that your home was incorrectly categorized as a high-risk property by FEMA. You can submit a formal appeal through FEMA to have the designation removed. Most homeowners hear back with a decision within 30 to 60 days. Here's a link to the portal for submitting your appeal.

Upgrade Your Home With Waterproof Walls

Waterproofing your home is a big selling point for buyers. Consider upgrading your gutter system and drainage, sealing your basement floors, or changing the grading of your landscaping to ensure that water flows away from your home if you live in a flood zone. You can also impress buyers by swapping your ordinary drywall for waterproof drywall. After a flooding event, tearing down and replacing drywall is one of the most expensive and time-consuming tasks homeowners need to take on. Drywall needs to be removed after flooding because it absorbs moisture. If left in place, soaked drywall will eventually begin to crumple and form dangerous mold. This is the imagery many potential buyers have in their minds when they think of buying a home in a flood zone. Change what they see when they think about buying your home by upgrading to waterproof drywall!

EnduraFlood's waterproof drywall is 100% resistant to water. It dries out after flooding to ensure that you never need to replace drywall again. Our drywall panels open up to let you air out your walls. While people with ordinary drywall take months to restore their homes, EnduraFlood customers get back to normal after at a pace of one room per day. Our durable, easy-to-clean wall panels are also architecturally attractive.

With flood risks from record storms in Florida and the Southeast looming, it's time for builders and homeowners to rethink the building materials they're using in homes. Standard drywall is made of gypsum that soaks up moisture and easily attracts mold. This is why it falls apart when soaked. EnduraFlood's waterproof walls are meant to endure flooding. That's why our customers who have lived through recent hurricanes and storms predict that everyone in Florida will have EnduraFlood eventually. Get ahead of the curve to impress your potential buyers with waterproof walls! Just imagine what saying you have waterproof walls in your listing will do for interested buyers. Learn more about EnduraFlood today.