FEMA Flood Zones and the 100-Year Event February 21, 2009

Expert Article Author

FEMA Flood Zones and the 100-Year Event

Nancy Frye-Swope

Each lot, plot, section or tract of land has a designated flood zone regardless of whether it is located in a hazardous flood area. A flood zone is a geographic area that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has defined according to varying levels of flood risk. Each zone reflects the severity or type of flooding in the area. A floodplain is an area subject to periodic flooding. Floodplains are delineated by the expected frequency of flooding. For example, an annual floodplain is expected to flood once each year.

Even the arid desert southwest can have problems with flooding. In Arizona, the County of Mohave Flood Control Division, says that one of the greatest problems the Flood Control District has is convincing new county residents that flooding is a problem. The District says that floods that create major damage in a desert happen for four reasons:

1. A large population base;
2. Location in a major drainage basin;
3. The chance for large storms with greater than normal precipitation; and
4. Inadequate drainage conveyance. ₁

In rural areas dirt roads and subdivision layouts were often built without taking into account the natural drainage systems of the washes and lands. In the cities, structures, parking lots and asphalt roads do not absorb water like the land as it was prior, resulting in a whole new set of flooding problems.

In the southwest desert areas the most frequent cause of flooding is heavy rain_. Intense thunderstorms with heavy rainfall can cause flash floods, common in the desert monsoon months between July and September. Couple these flash floods with inadequate community drainage systems and there is no place for the local runoff to go. This is why adequate drainage facilities must be accounted for when a preliminary plat is submitted for approval.

FEMA maintains flood plain delineations on a set of maps called Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM). Mortgage companies are required to determine if a property they are financing is located within a 100-year floodplain (any zone designation beginning with the letter A). If so, the mortgage company can require the buyer to obtain flood insurance. This information must be disclosed in most State Subdivision Disclosure Reports.

What is a 100-year flood or event? Contrary to what it sounds like, it is not a flood event that happens once in a hundred years. It is a flood that has a one percent chance (or, 1 in 100) of occurring in any given year. A 5-year event has a 20% odds, a 10-year event has a 10% odds, a 50-year event a 2% odds, and a 500-year event a .2% odds. The few and far between floods tend to result in more deep and forceful water flows. The more frequent floods result in more shallow and less forceful water flows, although damage is still possible. The general rule is that water volume increases as the probability decreases.

A 100-year floodplain is also known as a Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) and if a lender determines that a property is in a SFHA, they must have flood insurance, or apply for a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) or a Letter of Map Revision (LOMR). They may also apply for a Letter of Determination. All of these applications first require the support of an Elevation Certificate. An Elevation Certificate is required in order to properly rate post-FIRM buildings. Post-FIRM buildings are those buildings constructed after the finished flood elevations bring them up out of a flood insurance zone — as in raised house pads. This certificate does not provide a waiver of the flood insurance purchase requirement. Only a LOMA or LOMR from FEMA can amend the FIRM and remove the Federal mandate for a lending institution to require the purchase of flood insurance.

Always determine which flood zone property is located in before you decide to purchase even if the land is located well inland of a body of water. At the very least, you need to know whether flood insurance is going to be a requirement of your lender. In addition, you need to educate yourself as to alternatives that may be available through amending or revising current FEMA maps.

Contact Nancy at nancy@nancysvirtualoffice.com or 928-766-2810 for help in finding flood zone information and other due diligence property research prior to making your purchase.

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14 Steps to Take before You Purchase Land for Development February 16, 2009

Nancy Frye-Swope

DUE DILIGENCE can make the difference between failure and reaching success when it comes to any purchase, but especially when buying property for development. I know you wouldn’t do it, but I am often amazed that some people will purchase acreage with the intention of splitting and making some money, without at least checking on whether the proposed split is feasible or even legal. Never rely on someone else’s say so, even your real estate agent’s, that you can easily split land and turn a profit. Even if the proposed split is legal, a developer must still determine whether a state public report will be required prior to lot sales and what getting one issued will involve. Always exercise due diligence before you make your offer; Failing that, certainly before you close your deal.

1. START by asking your agent if a public report is available. Among others, this is a good reason to use a licensed real estate agent. All licensed real estate professionals are required to receive training on real estate laws and are required to keep up on that training. In addition, an agent can be considered to have acted in concert when selling property if they knew or should have known that the sale they closed required a public report, so an agent has a high motivation to exercise their own due diligence. If you are not using an agent, most states have Department of Real Estate (DRE) websites with disclosure information available. In Arizona, go to the DRE website, located at www.azre.gov/ and access the public information databases to search for and download a public report.
2. ASK your agent for a property profile. A good property profile will include, current ownership and their mailing address, site address, parcel number, census tract, housing tract, lot number, legal description, plat map, property characteristics, including acreage and latitude and longitude, the last transfer date with document recording number, assessment and tax information, transaction history, detailed sales comparables, nearby properties, demographics, public schools, private schools, plat map, flood zone and crime statistics. If you are not using an agent, there are many free sites where you can look up property information yourself such as www.realtor.com and www.zillow.com.
3. REQUEST that your agent give you a copy of the deed and any previously recorded Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs). You don’t have to wait for the contract to be written, the property is in escrow and a title search is done to check out these documents. If you are only buying a portion of an existing subdivision, the existing CC&Rs will be important for you to check out prior to purchasing. If you are developing your own subdivision, you will probably be declaring and recording your own CC&Rs.
4. AFTER you have received your property profile, go to the property and walk the entire site to determine its suitability for what you want to accomplish. While it is no substitute for being there, many counties now have public GIS mapping systems that will bring up the parcel in question in high resolution orthophotography and give you street names, whether roads are county maintained, show railroads and give recorded dimensions. Mohave County has an Interactive Map Viewer found under their services menu at www.co.mohave.az.us.
5. FIND out about the infrastructure – What is in place, are they adjacent or how many feet are they to your farthest proposed lot, can the facilities be extended and what the costs would be to extend to your proposed project. Take measurements from the farthest lot in question to each facility such as electric, telephone, cable, sewer and gas. Then contact the utility companies and find out what the process and fees are to extend service that distance. If you do not know the local utility companies for that area, pull out the local telephone book or contact the local Chamber of Commerce for a list.
   
6. CALL County Planning & Zoning (P & Z) and check on zoning or rezoning potential. Your county P & Z will have a Development Services Department as well, although it may be called another name. Ask to speak to the director about your proposal so they can tell you whether this fits in with the General Plan.
7. ASK for a copy of the General Plan and the Area Plan for your project locale. Besides a community history, a Master Plan tracks development trends and projects growth. It identifies county policies and priorities.
8. DETERMINE what is required by your local government entity for your land division. Many counties and cities have the regulations available on the internet. If they do not, call P & Z that services the area in which you are interested and ask for a copy.
9. FIND more information on flood plains than is listed in your property profile, by pulling up a FEMA map for your area at www.fema.gov. The FEMA website will tell you whether flood insurance is required by lenders for the stated flood plain.
10. ALWAYS Determine whether you will need a state public report as it necessitates additional work and fees beyond your land division project. A general rule is that if your split results in more than 5 lots, you will need one but there are other variables such as common promotional plans and what you may already own within that common promotional plan area; Always determine the rules on this requirement prior to your purchase by calling your DRE Development Department.
11. CONTACT an engineer to find out what the services may cost to accomplish your proposed land usage and the costs of delivering the items required for your public report, certifications from the Department of Environmental Quality and Department of Water Resources and local permitting.
12. FIND out what facilities you will be required to install based on the acreage of your proposed split. Many counties have lot split requirement for 1-acre parcels necessitating some or all of the following:
    1. Private maintained roadway passable by a 2-wheel drive vehicle.
    2. Public maintained roadway (Primary or Tertiary maintenance passable by 2-wd vehicle).
    3. Access to electric service or agreement w/ utility company to extend service at your cost.
    4. Within a fire district.
    5. Direct access to water service pipelines operated by a water company.
    6. Adjacent to a paved through road (collector, arterial) serving the area.
    7. Direct access to paved road.
    8. Direct access to public sewer.
13. DETERMINE ahead of time whether your lender will offer partial release provisions for your deed of trust when you begin financing for your improvements. Once you begin your sales out of your new subdivision you must ensure that each new purchaser will receive his lot free and clear of any blanket encumbrance.
14. IDENTIFY the current builders involved in the surrounding areas and find out what the lots and dwellings are selling for and how fast they are moving. Check the re-sale value in the immediate area because this helps determine the sale prices of new construction in the neighborhood. After all, once you develop your property you want to sell it at a profit

SUMMARY:

These 14 steps should be the minimum of your due diligence investigation and merely represent the key issues that should be addressed prior to investing in development property. The principal reason for due diligence prior to buying and developing land is to determine if the land development would be economically sensible. You can go beyond the above-listed steps and search records for pending divorce, bankruptcy or other life changing events that could affect the amount you want to bid or offer on the property. A pending divorce could mean the principals might be willing to accept less.

Public disclosure reports are meant to protect the public. Among numerous disclosures in a state public report are facilities providers, potential hazards and problems in the area, schools, transportation, hospitals and stores. Property profiles used to only be available through real estate agents and title companies but much of this information is now freely available on the internet. Google “property profile” and you will get numerous hits on where to find this free information. If you cannot find a county website where you can find public recorded documents, call your county recorder and request copies. Once you have gathered all of your information and made the educated decision to purchase your property, make sure you call P & Z to make an appointment for you and your engineer to review your plans for developing. Each area has its own subdivision and development regulations and most are available online.

Nancy Frye-Swope is the founder of Nancy’s Virtual Office, a Virtual Assistance service, based out of her home office in the town of Yucca, Arizona. Nancy provides administrative assistant services for small business owners. She specializes in helping real estate investors, subdividers and developers, project engineers and builders. Nancy’s Virtual Office brings a fresh and innovative approach to the use of traditional administrative assistance. Her goal is to exceed the expectations of every client by offering outstanding customer service, increased flexibility and greater value to optimize their business venture so they can achieve success.

Nancy’s Virtual Office Virtual Assistant Business Launched

Nancy Frye-Swope

For Immediate Release
Company: Nancy’s Virtual Office
Contact: Nancy Frye-Swope
Address: P.O. Box 522, Yucca, Arizona 86438
Phone: 928-766-2810
Email: nancy@nancysvirtualoffice.com
URL: http://www.nancysvirtualoffice.com
Local Mohave County, Arizona Woman Launches Virtual Assistance Business to Help Small Businesses & Real Estate Developers

Nancy Frye-Swope, a Yucca, Arizona entrepreneur, announces the launch of Nancy’s Virtual Office, a Virtual Assistant business. Her practice is devoted to providing small business owners, land developers and the construction industry solutions for handling administrative tasks so they can save money and focus on growing their business and turning profits. Primarily via faxes, the Internet and email, businesses are now able to pass along time-consuming chores without having to hire employees or temporary help.

What is a Virtual Assistant?

A Virtual Assistant (referred to as a “VA”) is an independent contractor who provides administrative support work to other businesses virtually. Nancy explains that VA’s offer resourceful solutions for their clients by developing ongoing relationships with them so they can learn their clients’ needs and challenges in order to provide those solutions.

VA’s Offer Small Businesses A Way to Help Survive the Current Economic Crisis

Nancy believes that in times of economic crisis changes must be made in how business owners manage their business if they intend to succeed. When it comes time to seek administrative or secretarial assistance, Nancy’s Virtual Office is offering top-notch help that a small business owner couldn’t afford to hire by way of a regular employee. VA’s charge for time on task only and there’s no employee expenses to deal with.

Nancy’s background spans over 15 years as an office administrator and administrative assistant. She spent the last 6 years with Chicago Title as their Trust Officer and Builder Services Manager, working with clients to gain subdivision approval from the local level all the way to the issuance of state public reports. Nancy’s entrepreneurial spirit and a desire for a home based business led her to capitalize on her experience and open a virtual office.

An entrepreneurial spirit runs in Nancy’s family.  Kingman Arizona’s premier Health Food Store, Healthy Habits, is owned by her sister, Peggy Dye and Anderson’s Home Repair & Maintenance, based out of Kingman, Arizona  is owned by her son-in-law, Ken Anderson; both were among her first clients. She will continue to work with many of her builder services clients from Chicago Title in addition to consulting for Chicago Title.

When asked what she felt was the major advantage of hiring a VA rather than a regular employee, Nancy said, “In this distressed economy a small business couldn’t ask for a better staffing solution for a tight budget. There’s no need to purchase more office equipment or space and there’s no dealing with the hassles involved when hiring an employee. I can help other business owners with their ventures while doing what I love and what I’m good at. It’s the best line of work I could have imagined!”

Nancy is in the process of forming an organization called Synergy Biz Group, for local small business owners interested in sharing their marketing strategies and referrals to grow their business. Anyone interested in joining should contact her at 928-766-2810 for more information.

To learn more about Virtual Assistants and Nancy’s Virtual Office, check out her website at http://www.nancysvirtualoffice.com or email her at nancy@nancysvirtualoffice.com.

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