Buying a House in a Flood Zone

In Oshkosh, WI properties in Flood zone are not all too common. Of course it depends upon the location, but in most cases you can be safe to say the property IS NOT in a flood zone. However, there are a few niche areas throughout the city that you need to be careful of.

When looking for a house in Oshkosh, WI you may have a particular neighborhood that is appealing to you. My recommendation is to do a bit of research on the area before writing an offer. Especially if you are worried about flood insurance cost, I would recommend going onto the FEMA website to research if the neighborhood is in a flood zone.

In some Oshkosh neighborhood the homeowners have had great success getting their houses removed from the Flood zone as the elevation has changed for the requirements. I would again, do the research ahead of time to see if this is possible prior to writing an offer.

The worst part about buying a house in a Flood Zone is the cost of the flood insurance (only required if you have a mortgage). Most of the flood zones in Oshkosh are either a 100-year flood plain or 500-year flood plain. Meaning, that there is either a 1/100 chance of it flooding or 1/500 chance of flooding. So, when all things are considered it is very rare & the flood insurance cost can sometimes be $2000-$3500 a year.

If you need help finding or selling a house in a flood zone please reach out to us at 920-215-4201.