Yeah, the reason we were in a flood plane and not any longer is they raised the ground level. For my house I have a ~6' retaining wall behind the house in front of the preserve area. So they raised the elevation to avoid the flood issue. Not sure what they did to get the maps redone.

This area is generally 75 +/- 10ft above sea level. Earth they removed from the retention areas is used to raise the homes to that level where necessary.

You can measure with your smart phone:

What is my altitude?

Google Maps;
Elevation – shown on Google Maps


Or use Google Earth

Find imagery dates, altitude & coordinates - Computer - Google Earth Help.

Map apps which may not be up to date for areas redeveloped.

Sugarloaf Mountain, not far from here is the most prominent point in the U.S. state of Florida. At 312 feet (95.0976 m) above sea level it is also the highest point on the geographic Florida Peninsula.

The area makes for a nice senic to Mt Dora.

Sugarloaf Mountain (Florida) - Wikipedia.

For those not aware, here's some (2018) info on the storm water management system inn the Villages.

https://www.districtgov.org/PdfUpload/Storm%20Water.pdf

Wait till the rest do this.
 

Don't live in a Flood zone? You may still be required to buy flood insurance if you have a homeowners policy from Citizens Property Insurance Corp. Citizens is the state-funded insurer of last resort. A recent state law requires anyone with a residential Citizens policy that includes wind coverage to buy flood insurance by the following deadlines:
Effective date
Which policies are affected
July 1, 2023
All existing Citizens policyholders living in a Special Flood Hazard Area.
Jan. 1, 2024
Homes with dwelling coverage of $600,000 or more.
Jan. 1, 2025
Homes with dwelling coverage of $500,000 or more.
Jan. 1, 2026
Homes with dwelling coverage of $400,000 or more.
Jan. 1, 2027
All other insured homes.

This is a fairly good representation of the elevations in TV.

The Villages topographic map, elevation, terrain

I think we're generally around 75' above sea level.

Sky View golf course reaches about 260' and Southern Hills Plantation course reaches about 250'. When playing either one of those, you feel like you're on top of the Florida world.

According to the topographical maps, our house is 75' above sea level...

So, once upon a time I worked for a town engineer, and had to learn about FEMA maps.

EVERYONE is in a flood zone. The entire country is mapped out - and there are several different zones. All land falls into one zone or another, including "undetermined" flood risk areas. The phrase "I'm not in a flood zone" is basically a misunderstanding of flood zones.

A floodplain is a flat area of land next to a river or stream. It has nothing to do with how many feet above sea level you are. If a river runs through a mountain, and you live at the top of the mountain, and the river is next to your property, then you might be in a hazardous floodplain and need insurance, even though your property is over a thousand feet above sea level.

The actual zone letters are what FEMA uses to determine the risk of flood hazard.

The above is very basic, "explain it to me like I'm 11 years old" language, and there's a lot more technical stuff behind it, and insurance adds more layers of nuance.

You can see a more complete explanation here: FEMA Flood Maps and Zones Explained | FEMA.gov

and you can click on the links on that webpage for details on specifics.

Your points are very good, when IRMA hit there were areas where we live (80 feet above sea level) where streets were flooded and very close to some houses. I also recall some areas in or very close to the historic area that had flooding problems. I had not thought about your points above. I did see water in locations that i have never seen before or after, and several golf courses were closed for several weeks due to excessive water. So it may not be as easy as I was thinking........

I'm from Houston. Same topology as Florida. Same risk of hurricanes and tropical storms. Same distance from the ocean. Anybody remember tropical storm Harvey from the news a few years ago? My house and 2 acre property was in no flood plain whatsoever, but the border of the 100-year plain was across the street. Problem is, floods don't read maps.

Fortunately my builder was smart enough to berm that house against 48" of rain, anyway. I was stuck in that house for a week because that house became an island, 2" above a giant lake that extended a mile to the nearest creek. I didn't feel foolish for buying flood insurance that day. But I helped a lot of neighbors clean up who didn't think they needed it. If it had been a 50" day, I would have needed mine.

$325 for flood insurance and you live next to a flood plain? Don't be a fool. Pay the man!

I handled Flood Claims for many years before retirement. The page posted from the FEMA site is correct. It is up to you to do it and pay the expense. I have no idea what it would cost now a days. You need to know exactly what your elevation is at. Just because FEMA sets an elevation for a 100 or 500 year flood does not mean that you will never get flooded. I have seen hundreds of homes flooded that should not have been flooded.

Here is an options for insurance. The mortgage company is going to require flood insurance but you do not have to take the maximum of $250,000. You can take less but you will not qualify for Replacement Cost coverage. Chances are that if you ever did get flooded it would be minimal damage to flooring maybe a few inches at most. Since the house is new depreciating would be minimal.