[rsibole]

Home owner’s insurance does not cover damage caused by any water coming from the ground up . . . . flood, rain water runoff, swimming pool overflow, none. Only flood insurance covers damage caused by ground water.

[Pairadocs]

Originally Posted by John_W

What was your flood factor? Mine was a 5, which it said there is a chance it might flood at least once in the next 38 years. I'm nowhere near a pond or water. I didn't get a mortgage but my homeowners insurance never asked about it.

Just type in your address.

Find Your Home'''s Flood Risk | Flood Factor

On the Sumter County Flood Zone Map my area is in the white, which is good, so I'm not worried. South of 44 looks like a lot of the area is flood zone.

FEMA Flood Hazard Areas Map of Sumter County, FL | PropertyShark.com

Thank you for this link. I typed in our villages address and it was "1", minimal risk.

[tvbound]

Although this issue is on our list to research before buying, I thank the OP and respondents, as it reinforces the importance of doing a thorough job of due diligence before purchasing and not just depending on what sales people say - or don't say.

[Velvet]

Originally Posted by KRM0614

There are many things buyers here are not aware of, flood zones, sinkholes, potholes, sewer,quarry vibrations, house cracks when new, Coleman prison, unlimited amenity increase,bond interest rate, portion of bond never goes away and increase in value is overstated or a lie. You have to pay for a newspaper to find out what’s going on you have to pay for a service for tee time reservations, many of the house contractors the villages have an equity stake in, etc.

Yes, a buyer must do their own research and not expect someone to look after their personal interest. (They will be disappointed!) Or hire a professional who will do it for them. If you don’t look into it, don’t be surprised you bought swamp land, or high risk sink hole area etc. Caveat emptor.

As to fees for tee time, newspaper etc my first response is that services are never free. Who works for nothing? Of course you have to pay for them one way or another. ‘There is no such thing as a free lunch.’

Originally Posted by cj1040

No one disclosed to us when we selected a pond lot in Chitty Chatty that this could be an issue. After our planning meetings, payment of 20 % we spoke with the bank about a mortgage and were told that we would have to carry flood insurance which DOUBLES our home insurance cost. We are very angry about this. We could have chosen a different lot if we had known. We were told that in a couple of years the area may be resurveyed and that FEMA would send a letter if it is no longer classified this way. Then we have to fight with the mortgage company to have this requirement dismissed. As for now it states "for the life of the loan ". Watch out if you are purchasing a pond lot. Has anyone else had this experience?

Get an Elevation Certificate from a surveyor. We did that on our waterfront home in NJ and it significantly reduced our flood insurance premium. You have our sympathy though as that is an unpleasant surprise.

[TNLAKEPANDA]

I was in the flood insurance claims business for over 25 years. You don’t have to be near water to get flooded. Find out what zone you are in first. My guess it’s an X zone which is underestimated since it’s a new area. You only need to insure the house. The mortgage company doesn’t care about your contents. The maximum insurance you can get on a home is $250k. Just get enough to satisfy the mortgage company. It should not be too expensive. Your HO insurance will not cover anything damaged by FLOOD. A broken water pipe that floods your hose is covered by HO insurance not Flood insurance.

[Olsenfiber]

Every current and potential homeowner should check floodfactor.com to see the prediction for future flooding of their property.

[kstew43]

we heard that info from our realtor months ago. there was a delay in build due to some sort of flood zone issue the developer was dealing with.

[Patzy]

7 yrs ago we placed an offer on a modular in the Historic section that is on the large water feature that had the island and waterfalls facing 27/441. During negotiations, we were checking the insurance and sure enough, that was considered a flood zone. Not only was the insurance higher due to modular, but excessive due to the "flood zone". Ridiculous. Man-made, villages controlled but still required.
Since then we get all the costs before we negotiate.

[tonihanc]

2080 Aber lane, villages

[Girlcopper]

Originally Posted by cj1040

No one disclosed to us when we selected a pond lot in Chitty Chatty that this could be an issue. After our planning meetings, payment of 20 % we spoke with the bank about a mortgage and were told that we would have to carry flood insurance which DOUBLES our home insurance cost. We are very angry about this. We could have chosen a different lot if we had known. We were told that in a couple of years the area may be resurveyed and that FEMA would send a letter if it is no longer classified this way. Then we have to fight with the mortgage company to have this requirement dismissed. As for now it states "for the life of the loan ". Watch out if you are purchasing a pond lot. Has anyone else had this experience?

Simple answer. “Buyer beware”

[jimbo2012]

I'm on a pond in CC we asked before hand, not in flood zone, insurance is same as prior home not near any water.

What street R U on

[justjim]

The Villages does what is required by law. This is not their “first rodeo” and they have lawyers to make sure they do what is required by Florida law. That said, if you think more should be disclosed to buyers of property, regarding flood and sinkhole potential, then you should contact your Legislators and Governor to get laws changed in Florida. Understand up front the changes will not come easy. Regardless, due diligence when purchasing property is always the best thing to do.

[cj1040]

Too bad we never saw that as we dont currently live there and were not aware of talk of TV then...

[cj1040]

We did not find out about the flood situation until after the house was already planned and the deposit of 20% paid. Now that we have to get insurance for the closing we find out that our premiums will double in cost