Flood Vents Must Be Certified.......

If you do not have certified flood vents your rates are subject to rise.

FEMA released a guide for identifying the lowest floor for rating buildings being considered for coverage under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The NFIP created specific requirements regarding the installation of openings or vents for allowing water to flow through the enclosed space beneath an elevated building during a flood. These requirements are codified in Title 44 of the Code of Federal Regulations (44 CFR).

The presence of adequate openings or vents in the enclosure beneath an elevated structure is an important factor in rating an NFIP policy and can, therefore, have a significant impact on the cost of flood insurance coverage for the building.

There are 3 ways to have your flood vents certified.

Certification by an Engineer or Architect
Flood openings must be designed to automatically equalize hydrostatic flood forces on exterior walls by allowing for the entry and exit of flood waters. This certification is required by community officials.

Documentation by a Community Building Official
The community building official can submit a letter or other written evidence explaining the flood openings have been accepted by the community as an alternative to the openings requirement in the International Building Code or the local ordinance based on the issuance of an Evaluation Report on openings by the International Code Council Evalution Service (ICC-ES), Inc. ICC-ES Evaluation Report

The third acceptable alternative to the 1 inch for every square foot opening requirement is an Evaluation Report issued by the ICC-ES which states the automatic flood vents meet the code requirement. This report provides the specification on the number of flood vents required for a defined square footage of enclosed area below the BFE.

Here is a guide to flood vents.

USDA Funding Areas - New Maps a Disgrace for New Jersey Homebuyers

When I saw these maps, all I could think of was Ocean & Monmouth County and what they mean for our area and its continued recovery after super storm sandy. I see so many vacant homes, not only from the storm but from the shadow inventory out there that have not been foreclosed on and then think of Fannie Mae who holds out for higher sale prices " Killing deal after deal" while homes sit and rot away.

The New USDA maps indicate that Ocean and Monmouth County are basically no longer qualified. Only parts of Waretown, Plumsted and Upper Freehold Township still have eligible areas.

I believe some people are not watching what's happening around them. Two county's and for that matter a large part of the state no longer qualifies for the USDA federally funded mortgage program. 

"Look for yourself"  On the map below the yellow areas on the left will no longer qualify for funding. And look at New Jersey qualified areas overall.

Is New Jersey being penalized for something? Why? What is going on? 

Something is not quite right here.

This is just one more issue that our representatives need to speak up about.

Your freeholders need to hear from you, Your senators and congressmen need to hear from you......

Interesting Facts:
United States Census (2000 census) defines rural areas as comprising open
country and settlements with fewer than 2,500 residents (population/administrative-based); areas designated as rural can have population densities as high as 999 per square mile or as low as 1 person
per square mile (population/land use-based).

United States Department of Agriculture (2002 farm bill) defines rural
areas as any area other than (1) a city or town that has a population of
greater than 50,000 inhabitants, and (2) the urbanized areas contiguous
and adjacent to such a city or town.

United States Office of Management and Budget defines a Metropolitan
Statistical Area as consisting of (1) central counties with one or more
urbanized areas (as defined by the Census Bureau) and (2) outlying
counties that are economically tied to the core counties as measured by
worker commuting data (i.e. if 25% of workers living there commute to the
core counties, or if 25% of the employment in the county consists of workers coming from the central counties). Non-metro counties (rural counties) are outside the boundaries of metro areas.

The beautiful Jersey Shore.. We are on our way to recovery..