Everybody wants to live near the beach, right? So historically, demand for waterfront property has always been high. But President Trump’s 2018 budget proposal calls for a restructuring of user fees for federal flood insurance, and as a result, premiums could start soaring — bringing with them lower property values on waterfront property and far fewer sales, ATTOM Data Solutions reported in April.
Though U.S. single family homes that require flood insurance are worth a market value of $904.6 billion, they only represent 3.9 percent of the combined value of all of the country’s single-family homes.
Wondering how homeowners can continue to finance and insure property that is at risk to more and more changing weather patterns, the 2018 budget proposal says flood-insurance premiums should be increased to the point where the insurance is no longer subsidized by the federal government. Over the past four and a half decades, such storms as the costliest Katrina ($108 billion, 2005), second costliest Sandy ($71.4 billion, 2012) and third costliest Ike ($29.5 billion, 2008) have resulted in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) owing the federal government $24.6 billion, ATTOM Data says.
Among the opponents to the administration’s proposal is Congresswoman Maxine Waters, D-California, who says the NFIP’s $24.6-billion debt should be forgiven and that the program should be given a fresh start. She said:
“Because I am so concerned about the premium costs of this insurance to our constituents. I would love to forgive the whole $24 billion, wipe it out.”
ATTOM Data predicts the flood insurance program will be continued by the time debate on the proposal has cleared, but suggests a number of options, including a higher involvement by the private insurance industry, will be studied during that debate.
Also reports ATTOM in its April issue:
- Mortgages of the future will be decked in digital bells and whistles as the industry becomes mindful of the 15.8 million new homebuyers who have already entered or will enter the housing market between 2015 and 2025. Many of those new buyers have been raised in a digital world, of course, and they want to see and understand mortgage proposals online, “not via lengthy phone conversations with a sales representative,” ATTOM says.
- If you want to pay the lowest property tax in America, call Alabama sweet home, where the average annual tax is $776 — or perhaps call Tennessee your cup of tea and pay $981 in property taxes per year. The highest property taxes assessed are in New Jersey ($8,477 annually) and New Hampshire ($5,935).
- A new way to generate “pre-mover leads” for home sellers more effectively is to look for settlement dates on pre-approval documents for mortgages. When someone sells — or rents — a home and moves out of it, companies are interested because the movers will be in need of such services as moving companies, storage spaces or home renovations and transferring such services as Internet and cable TV. Identifying such pre-mover leads are opportunities to gain or keep business, and luring movers at precisely the right time is key to gaining, keeping — or losing — that business.
