If you are looking for homes in the Tampa area you know that their proximity to water is close. Not only that but hurricanes can be an issue with causing floods. So, should flooding be a worry while you are house shopping? Let’s just say that you should keep it as a checkbox on the list of items to consider.
Intercoastal or beachfront properties
For the most part it’s obvious that there are lots of coastal properties that need flood insurance. If you’re beachfront or a bay intercoastal front property then yes, you’ll most likely need flood insurance. There are also inland areas that have the potential for flooding problems in stormy weather due to tidal surges from the Gulf of Mexico or Tampa Bay. However, there are plenty of properties that are high enough that they don’t require flood insurance.
The best way to be sure depends on where the property or properties you are looking at happen to be located. If it’s in Hillsborough County they have a website that will allow you to enter the street address of a home to see where it falls on the flood zone map:
The site also has an explanation of which zones require what
Pinellas County doesn’t have that, but you can get an idea from the FEMA website, which has flood zone lists for every state.
In Pasco County their county property appraiser has included flood zone/flood insurance requirement information with each property appraisal. The cool thing with this is that you can view a particular property and have the computer “paint” in any flood zones that might exist.
Go to http://pascopa.com and click on record search, enter the street address for the property in question and get the tax id number for the property. At the top of the page you will see a link that says Show Map. Click that and use the drop-down menus to select additional layers and add the layers for FEMA Flood zones.
Why worry when you can find out for sure?