FEMA Appraisal in Bal Harbour

If you are renovating or making repairs to your Bal Harbour home or commercial property, you will need to consider the FEMA 50% Rule if it lies in a flood zone. Bringing a structure up to current floodplain management levels could become costly, particularly if you are looking at renovations to an older home that was constructed pre-hurricane and flood regulations.

Today in Bal Harbour, the city and county work with the 50% Rule established by FEMA. The purpose of this was to rebuild to safer, flood-resistant standards. But in many cases, homeowners and commercial property owners are saddled with large costs to comply with these FEMA regulations that require that the building be brought up to all current flood management standards.

National Flood Insurance and FEMA

When the National Flood Insurance Program was implemented, counties and communities agreed to adhere to FEMA regulations. One of the more significant of these is the 50% rule.

Basically, the 50% rule states that if your building lies within a designated flood zone, any improvements that are made to that structure, whether voluntary renovations or repairs due to storm damage, must fall below a certain cap. If the improvements are equal or in excess of 50% of the actual cash value of a structure, it requires the owner to bring the base floor to above Base Flood Elevation.

We Understand the Requirements

At Dade Appraisals, we understand FEMA regulations and the 50% Rule. We have helped property owners understand their exposure by conducting a Bal Harbour substantial improvement appraisal in order to determine the market value of their property before construction takes place. This enables an owner to have all the information necessary before embarking on a costly construction project.

Understanding Your Cash Value

The best way to get a comprehensive cash value for your property is to get a Bal Harbour 50% FEMA rule appraisal done. At Dade Appraisals, we know exactly what is needed to prove the cost value of your building in order for you to understand your responsibilities under FEMA regulations.

In order to quantify the cash value of your property, FEMA will take the county appraiser’s improved value and add 20% to that number. Then the cost of your improvements must be under 50% of that number, otherwise, the structure must be brought up to current flood elevation standards. The only way to overrule this is with a Bal Harbour FEMA appraisal.

In order to ascertain whether your improvements fall within the criteria for the 50% rule, a professional appraiser will conduct a FEMA actual cash value appraisal in Bal Harbour. This is important information for property owners to have in order to be compliant with regulations.

In this case, your appraiser will conduct an onsite evaluation of the property and will make adjustments for many improvements that can be added or subtracted from the value of the property instead of just adding a standard 20%. This can mean thousands of dollars of market value that would mean a higher threshold for you to work against in your 50% calculation.

At Dade Appraisals, over our nearly two decades in business, we have provided our clients with

• Easy to read and understand reports
• Accurate and consistent information
• Extensive knowledge of FEMA regulations and criteria
• Appraisals by licensed appraisers with diverse experience

Before embarking on a renovation or repair in Bal Harbour, call the team at Dade Appraisals at 305-595-1312 to understand your responsibilities when it comes to FEMA regulations.