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On August 26, 2020, realtor.com® announced a new property listing feature called Flood Factor™, an online flood risk visualization tool developed by the First Street Foundation. The feature enables consumers to access comprehensive flood data for each listing, including the FEMA flood zone and a risk score between 1 (minimal risk) and 10 (extreme risk), and to search based on flood risk preference in addition to other filters (e.g., schools, noise, and crime).

Flood Factor™ supports NAR policy to provide more accurate flood mapping with full transparency and disclosure. Because FEMA maps are often outdated and don’t cover most of the United States, many consumers have been buying homes before learning of the risk, resulting in flood-related lawsuits and undermining confidence in home purchases. Flood Factor™ can help by providing consumers with another credible flood risk tool while filling in the gaps on FEMA maps.

If you receive Flood Factor™ questions from customers:  

  • Real estate professionals are a source of property information, and not flood experts.
  • You can share the facts that every home in the U.S. has some flood risk and many in FEMA “low risks” zones receive disaster aid and flood insurance claims each year.
  • You may also hand the client this brochurepdf, which NAR developed in collaboration with FEMA.
  • As always, avoid making statements beyond your license and training or discouraging customers from considering flood data or insurance.
  • Flood Factor™ is a credible diagnostic tool that can help detect high-risk homes but can only provide a strong indication and not proof of flooding issues with a property.
  • In order to determine if there are property-specific issues, clients should consult a qualified professional, such as their local floodplain manager or a licensed surveyor/engineer.
  • While flood risk assessment is outside the real estate license and training, you can be ready to identify insurance agents, home inspectors and other flood risk professionals who can answer property-specific questions and/or identify options to mitigate risk.
  • Consumers may also submit more specific questions to realtor.com®’s Customer Care team at 877-909-6640 or floodfeedback@realtor.com.

NAR has developed a detailed set of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) below, including how to talk with customers about the Flood Factor™ data.

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