Is your property located in a flood zone? This is something that you should know when building a new home or commercial structure, you may face certain flood risks as a result of your building’s location. You may also be required to obtain special flood insurance for your property if you are located within a flood zone, so it’s important for you to get access to a Federal Emergency Management Agency flood certificate for your home upon moving into it.
Often times, lenders will not give out loans to someone buying a property or looking to start construction until a FEMA flood certificate – also more commonly called an elevation certificate, as the agency notes – is obtained.
A flood certificate is a record that indicates the elevation of the lowest point of your home. In some cases, you can obtain this certificate from the builder of an existing property or from your local city or town hall since it’s usually kept on file. According to FEMA, this certificate “must be prepared and certified by a licensed land surveyor, registered professional engineer or registered architect” who has been trained to gather and certify the elevations of homes properly. Certificates can then be used by property owners when assessing flood risk or working with their insurance companies to get flood insurance. Elevation information can also be used to make improvements that will increase the elevation statistics or flood resistance of newly built structures.
BLAZE Design, owned by David E. Spurr, has been helping homeowners obtain flood certificates and completing a full range of surveying services for more than 30 years now in both Vermont and New York. Whether you are in the process of building a new home or business or planning to move into an existing property, we can send a licensed surveyor to gather the information necessary to complete the requirements of a flood certificate. Reach out to us today by calling 802-442-2892 and learn more about what a flood certificate is and why it’s an essential part of your buying or building process.