so we just got hit with at the very least a 100 Year flood, possibly a 500 year. Why is fema being allowed to change the maps? My elevation on the water in brick is 8'6 the only damage i had in my 50+ year old ranch besides the insulation in my crawl space were three things not to current code, my furnace which was in the crawl, my hot water heater which was below 8'6 and my air condensor. Please tell me why they are making the new standard 9' AND to qualify for lower flood rates they want 11'. I hope lawyers out there are making notes of this stuff as I will join in on any class action suit against the town, fema and insurance companies over this. I wonder if brick is ready for a mass exodus with keys being left in mailboxes...

FEMA and the insurance companies...for all these years we have paid them, now we need to use it and they want to further screw us....I really hope some lawyers get together....I have no reason to have to raise my house after this storm unless we get one worse. that storm was a freak, too many things came together, almost like the odds of winning the lottery with the different storms joining......this is bs

I have a house on a lagoon in another town. According to the map, FEMA is saying my home should be elevated to 14 ft. It is already on pilings - and suffered no damage during the storm. I can park a tall van under the house and they still want it raised more???? I guess this is one way to keep us in the state because we won't be able to afford to take a hit when we sell.

these lawyers today jump on everything from life saving medicines that may or may not cause adverse reactions to ambulancing chasing crap for those who want to 'get rich quick'. lets find some attorney's who really care about their professions and want to really help some people....we NEED representation...where are they????

Thank Obama for the changes, he signed the bill.

Actually, the mayor is wrong. Pt pleasant has the same meeting before brick

someone correct me if i am wrong. a V zone is is defined as a 1% annual chance of flooding?. Our homes in my neighborhood have been here for 50 years plus and have never flooded prior to Sandy...who gives them the right to just arbitrarily give us these designations? Sorry if i am posting a lot but i would like some answers...

Thinking of packing it in and moving....if you're even able to sell your home ? Can't imagine anyone would even consider buying in Brick now. Ask about the exit tax to leave the state of NJ if you're under 65.

When Brick residents leave their keys on the table and walk away from their homes, the bank will forclose on the property. In order for the banks to market these homes, they will have to follow the FEMA requirements. Where will they get the money to raise the homes that they now own. I bet it will come from the federal government.

anyone still want big government.... they take your money and spend it on what they want and tell you what you want to here -------but at the end of the day you are worst off ........vote them all out in November Republican and Democrat both

Is the base flood elevation the elevation above the ground or sea level?

Bye bye everyone. It's been nice knowing you. Oh wait you mean no one will want to buy you crappy house at the corrupt over inflated Ponzi bubble price that you have paying property taxes on. Your houses are probably not even worth 50% of the assessed value. Ask Acrapolis when will the property taxes be lowered and government be cut. You have been taken advantage of and lied to all these past 20 years but now that there is NO MONEY you are being told the truth. Lets really be honest .....mortgage , property taxes, insurance ...... You are underwater. You can no longer keep up with the increases and the public employees could care less. Its time to get rid of them. More and more people leave this state and its only going to get worse. This state is in big big trouble. Stop listening to Christie. The kick can into the future has ended with Sandy. The future is now hear. We need to RESET.

The American Dream has turned into a nightmare and thanks to the property taxes in NJ , you cannot even wake up.

So above sea level?

The Base Flood Elevation is the height determined by FEMA to be the flood elevation for a storm that has a 1% probability to occur in a given year. It's based on a datum that assumes 0 to be somewhere around the mean high water level, but not necessarily. It's not realities to the elevation of your home. It would be great if the town could have a LIDAR aerial survey done so homeowners could easily determine how much higher their home would need to be raised realities to the existing land on their property.

* relative

Can you imagine if you had a mandatory $10-20k flood insurance policy required for your house, and added to your mortgage payment? 10k per year = $833 EXTRA. That will turn everyone upside down, no doubt, and cause thousands of foreclosures. Foreclosure means that no one is getting paid...town, state, feds, banks. I cannot imagine how anyone in their right mind would not just walk away and start new somewhere else. This area will be a ghost town - what a shame.

Monmouth and Ocean County went Republican in the last election. This explains the difference in response time for aid between Katrina and Sandy. I've been to the area affected by Katrina, no homes on stilts. The same area has been hit two times since Katrina still no homes on stilts. Maybe its time to limited the amount of money sent to Washington and keep our tax money in the state. Washington is broke, there is no reason why we allow Washington to break us. The Sandy Relief Bill waiting to be voted on is a joke. Forty percent of the bill goes to states not affected by Sandy. It is a pay off for the results of the last election.

Well friends of ours went to meeting to ask questions build or move on cause they are in there 60's..Well they got there answers and there moving out of the state to be closer to there kids in N.C. AND THEY GIVE UP...

The housing problem will get worse more people will follow and the foreclose and short sales will just be out of control...Sad times a head ..

?

DOES FEMA HAVE A CRYSTAL BALL OR SOMETHING? IF THERE'S NO MORTGAGE ON YOUR HOME, DO YOU STILL HAVE TO GET FLOOD INS.? SPENT MY WHOLE LIFE TOWARDS PAYING OFF MY HOME, FINALLY DID, NOW I'LL PROBABLY LOSE IT IF I HAVE TO GET FLOOD INS. THANKS FEMA AND OBAMA. DO THEY HAVE A CLUE?

There is No Money......hard to believe that not many people understand this

I left NJ seven years ago as I saw too much corruption resulting in too much taxes and didn't want to take it any more. I moved down to North Carolina (Charlotte area). The real estate market was just starting to experience the bursting of the bubble when we were lucky enough to sell our NJ house weeks before our NC house was finished being built. We got enough out of our ranch in Howell to almost pay for our NC house. I expected to take a hit salary wise in North Carolina but I was fortunate the move ended up being a lateral move pay wise.

And now I see a lot of ppl seemingly trapped in horrendous situations in NJ (even before Sandy). The response to Sandy is just another reason to find ANY POSSIBLE way to get out of the state. This will mean ppl walking away from their houses and having to eventually rebuild their credit. I don't feel a bit sorry for the banks who will have to do something with those homes. For those who do choose to leave I'd have to think in the long run the move will be worth it. I truly feel for the ppl who want to get out but can't.

We are so screwed.If my flood insurance goes up like they say if I cant afford to raise my house.I have choices: No flood insurance, then how could I ever sell my house or I will not have a a dime to spend anywhere else, no shopping, dining out, ect.I will truly be house poor.The affect of this will be felt all over town by local merchants.This affect will not only be felt in Brick but every other town hit by this new change by Fema.We can thank congress and the President for this.

You people who voted for any liberal Democrat get exactly what you deserved in this new go around. This is about pulling back from the shore, turning the enviorment over to nature and making it impossible for the great many of you to live where you want.

We..the liberal Democrats will decide where you will live and soon how you will live. That is exactly wha this is about.

Did they do this to the poor special interest blacks of New Orleans, answer no.

You get just what you bargained for voting for this regime and any Democrat, who by the way is now controling FEMA.

We need to have better codes, I agree, but this is about leaving the coast do not think otherwise. Some of this will do good for our town and cause some of these bungalow shacks to be destroyed and clean up the Drum Point Rd area. Next is Mantolooking Rd we need to clean up. There is plenty of homes and towns that need to be "reset" as you stated so take the money and head inland.

And where was the Red Cross? I don't know of anyone in jersey that got one ounce of help from them!!! Where is all the money they raised? Hey United States...you are better off sending a gift card to any address at the Jersey shore than thinking your donation to the Red Cross got to any of us!

Hello, Brick Patch people? I posted a comment on another story that keep popping up on this page about Fozman, and that gets posted ASAP. My posts on this page are still "waiting approval" for over 3 house. What a joke. I am leaving this god-for-saken town once my house is foreclosed upon.

*hours

I grew up on the water in Baywood with my Mom and siblings. 4br 2bath. (Left to use by my father- parents divorced). We thought someday the house would be left to us. We kept it neat and clean an made it affordable for my mom who worked very hard to keep it. After college all the kids were home working and paying rent to help my afford the bills. Sandy hit and ruined everything... We lost all our belongings and sentimentals. The family got split up. Mom and sister renting in Pt. Pleasant. Me in Princeton. My brother in Point Beach. The holidays sucked. Now my mother who is 64 is faced with paying the bills. The companies we worked for let us take time off work to clean and demo. They raised over 5k for her combined. She was lucky, but the money lasted a week. It was just a drop in the bucket. She is falling behind on bills and worried everyday what will happen to her. None of us kids are financially stable enough to take her in or pay the bills for her. All we can do is give what we have left over.

My question is what are her options?! She definitely got the short end of the stick.. Me and my friend did 99% of the cleanup and demo. Because of the regulations she can't fix or get heat electric etc because the codes are not out. I don't think any of us will ever be able to afford to live on the water again. Does she fix it up and hope she can get the money back when she sells? The market is going to crash by us; especially with these taxes. Does she knock it down and sell the land? We are so lost. The money has stopped. Besides the companies we work for and their sandy benefits there has been no help. All these charities, fundraisers, grants, celebrity donations, etc.. Nobody we know saw a dime, got help and/or even offered help. I would love to hear some options or advice. We must be missing something. Thank you all for listening...

The problems arre worse than they expected from the start...I will say Brick is trying to help brick...but Fema and congress and Red cross are failing to keep up with support ..The Mayor seems like he's trying but with no money coming in to help Its worthless..

Fema didn't give me a dime and now they want to make me spend countless dollars on raising my house by 3' despite that they feel it was not damaged enough to contribute to it's repair.

Hypocrites is not a strong enough word.

This is the beginning of the ruination of the town of Brick.

Wait until the homes start falling off the tax roles...then the envy of those who hate the people who live on the water (so called millionaires etc.) will be converted to hatred of the local government who will have to jack the taxes up on the rest of the town to cover the lost revenues.

BTW, I have not received cent one from my flood insurance. Why would I pay some inflated rate on a policy that seems hell bent on not honoring their obligations.

For the first time I realize we are truly on our own in this debacle and the smartest thing may turn out to be taking our losses and starting somewhere else. I had two years of the American dream after saving for twenty to afford them. Pure robbery!

Disgusted at this point is all I can say.

P B if you missed something, I did too.

Even in the 24 days of no electricity and freezing each day and night while cleaning my house, I never saw hide nor hair of a single red cross worker or vehicle. I would advise people to never contribute to that phony organization again. Even my friends on LBI said they got little more than a sandwich and their homes are lost completely.

Hey scott,
tell the people the truth ....they are paying your bloated salary, health and pension benefits on property that is no longer close to its assesed value.......lets take a vote ....how many want to sell their house.....how many people want to buy a house in Brick ?

"We are all in this together". No we're not. I'm saving for my retirement on my own and praying that Social Security will be able to help when I get there. As long as government employees have a wholly separate pension system, with benefits "guaranteed" by state constitutions, they will always be "the privileged elite" in my book. I'll believe we're all in this together when we all have the same retirement options available to us.......and now we are expected to pay for insurance increases on top of the highest property taxes in country = IMPOSSIBLE

This is rediculous!!!! I make almost 80k a year. I couldnt even afford to live in Brick if I wanted to. Unless I bought a 800sqft fix me upper. I almost baught a home in Cherry Quay last year...Thank God I didn't!!! I decided to pay off student loans and credit cards while helping my mom with her bills. Now I am scared to even start a family here. Once you live at the beach, living inland is not an option. Especially for a surfer. It's in my blood. Sandy forced me to change directions in my life. I don't like the way we as a society treat each other, animals, nature, etc. We are screwed. Government is bigger than ever and the separation of classes seems to be part of their agenda... Time to suck it up lean Spanish and move to Costa Rica. Maybe there is a chance to get back to the basics,self improve and focus on life itself rather than this rat race we are clearly forced into. I'm not leaving until I have some sound investments but I am definately making and exit plan. I am riding the gravy train at work (401k benefits and stock options) then I am cashing in and heading out. We will see if Carolina's are an option in 5 years or if they jump on the tax bandwagon.

**I apologize for my spelling and grammar. I am writing this from my phone**

My husband and I are so frustrated and don't know if we should rebuild. For the money it will cost us, we will never recoup. This new restriction to raise our home put us over the edge. Insurance has not given us the funds to continue our rebuild, FEMA is nothing but a lot of red tape, you have to call them, e-mail them, go to their office several times and still now answers. This new code is not because of Sandy, it was put in place because the Obama regime is cutting funding to FEMA and water levels are rising. I do believe we need to prepare but I don't agree with the timing which will force many to leave and walk. It's time to see an attorney to find our your rights, every case may be different but when a large percent of people walk, who is going to foot the tax bill? Those who live in Brick left to bear the brunt. So this is not just for the folks on the water, this is a community issue that no one is prepared for.

I certainly will be putting off rebuilding for the year 2013.

For now, my priority is to find a good lawyer to deal with the flood insurance crooks who do not return a call and to examine the FEMA edicts to see if they are even legal and/or should apply to me. (grandfather clauses etc.)

Don't trust the contractors...they will lie to you and run away with you money (yes, already happened to me) and don't trust the town government. They are either in on it or just to stupid to fight it, but either way I see them not as a help but rather a hinderance. They can't seemingly even rebuild a dune (I'm not an engineer, but if I can raise my home they can pile some sand up!) and yet they will issue edicts that will cause some to tear down their home without any significant compensation from anywhere.

We are on our own, but it remains to see if that means staying in Brick or walking away from our life savings and starting again elsewhere? For me, more and more, seems the later and I only owned my home for 2 years before this after saving for a lifetime to get here.

20k for an insurance policy that liked about even it's first payment!!!

VDP
Very sad for all of us. We are all involved and it's a horror. I had no idea it would come to this. My mortgage is higher than my insurance will pay, and so I'll have to lay out cash (if I can get some) just to stop paying a bank for an empty lot (the house was burnt, flooded and completely destroyed). Someone was correct: We need a class action lawsuit. We also need to call Congress and the Pres to get the FEMA subsidies back. It's not Obama's fault. Who do you think put that amendment in the bill so that college students could get lower rates? You know which party---and it doesn't start with D!

imagine $20,000 a year for flood insurance even though you never flooded before a 500 year storm,you have a home that can not be lifted,tried to create anice place to raise your children,paid premiums every year on time and now you cannot get any money for rebuilding,and if you do and dont meet these overinflated new zones,your options are ,pay off mortgage,have no insurance and then never be able to sell your house!maybe our local politicians should stand up for US and not let these new levels be jammed down our throats,and keep us in our biggest investments, OUR HOMES!

The new flood insurance regulations and requirements will drive home prices down rapidly in Bricks waterfront neighborhoods. When can we expect updated/revised appraisals to better reflect the lower property values? Certainly the draconian treatment we are receiving from the Federal government is justification enough to rethink taxes at the local level.

Anyone want to protest at the municipal building or go to the town meeting and raise hell??? A class action lawsuit is probably in the future from the looks of it.... We could all take turns putting up American flags on the JetStar like my buddy Espo did. Hell of a statement. Either way something drastic has to happen.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT...
If you have flood insurance, and your home was impacted by Sandy. READ your Flood Settlement. ASK your adjuster how they came up with the RCV (Replacement Cost Value) - my adjuster told me it was "an arbitrary number." Are you kidding me??!! An "Arbitrary number????" Needless to say, I scrutinized my settlement after that asinine comment. Upon review, the settlement FORGOT TO INCLUDE PART OF THE HOUSE.
AND THEY HAVE A CREATIVE ACCOUNTING METHOD - for example, 6x4=24, NOT 23, as identified on my claim settlement. The math was fudged all over the settlement claim ALL IN AN EFFORT TO KEEP THE SETTLEMENT AT 49%. Not to mention, Homeowners should be receiving 20% additional for O&P (Overhead and Profit) - scrutinize your claim settlement!!
HYPOTHETICAL - if your home's RCV is 100k (according to your flood insurance) and your flood settlement comes in at 45k for repairs. Cost to elevate will be 75k - seems to me that the cost to rebuild far exceeds the settlement cost, putting your home well above the 50% threshold, therefore, it does not make sense to fix your home. You take your data collection information and go back to your Flood Insurance Company, and let the insurance company fight it out with FEMA (in short - amongst themselves). THIS IS SEPARATE FROM ICC (Increase Cost of Compliance). In other words, cost of repairs plus FEMA's new regulations would be 120k (120%) of the RCV.

Anyone who accepts the first offer the insurance company gives is a fool. They will write and try anything.

Obama siged off on this and FEMA does as he directs. If you do not see the connection between liberal Democrts and the fringe enviormental kooks out there then your head is just plain buried in the sand.

What would have been said in the media, liberal oneor not, had George Bush did this to the people of Katrina. And why is there no public debate or reporting about htis nationally.

Grnd

We have been. We also are told you and any other member of the public can raise concerns during the public comment process, which will come after the maps are deemed preliminary. After that the preliminary map becomes FIRM (flood insurance rate map). We are also told that there is not a great likelyhood that these maps will change drastically because 60 years worth of data from storms up and down the coast has been utilized to create this advisory map.

All of this increase in insurance , is not to protect you , it's to protect the banksters. The foreign banksters who are here to foreclose on the American people. Thomas Jefferson warned us what would happen. Well its happening now. Wake Up ! Fight back !!!!
As for the property tax theft , well that just so Pezzaras and Acrapolis and their cronies can live off your hard work and keep you as serfs. Nothing but a bunch of paper pushers who do nothing but cost us money.

What about us folks that were not required to have flood insurance, but with the new maps, do? And their houses are below the new BFE, and will need to have it raised, or else pay a crazy premium? We do not even qualify for grandfathering because of this new law. We cannot just stand by and let this happen. We are all in the same boat...this is a travesty of epic proportions for the people in this area. Work hard, save for a house, fix it up and take care of it, pay your taxes like a good citizen, and now, get kicked in the teeth and be forced to walk away from what you have worked so hard for all of your life? Who can afford those types of premiums?? If I could afford to pay that much as an insurance premium in addition to my mortgage payment, I would not be living here - that's for sure. Now, we are stuck until the bank forecloses on the house once the new premiums take effect - can't sell - who would buy? Sad. And are our elected officials sticking up for us?

Chief,

You win we were all better off without government. No police protection, everyone purchases weapons and protect themselves and their personal property. No trash pickup, everyone buries it on their property, no social security, medicaire, medicaire part D or maintaining of infrastructure (roadways, bridges, parks). Do you believe that would be a utopian society? Who would have contracted out to remove 300,000 cy's of debris from the streets of Brick without the "paper pushers", the residents?

If you have all the answers you should run for office and try to be productive. Put your name out there, instead of hiding behind a fictitious screen name, stirring the pot. But you won't, you would rather stay anonymous and continue to be a nay sayer instead of trying to help the community move forward.

My parents are in Seaview village, a senior community. A bunch of those seniors were flooded out, including my folks. They are all on fixed incomes and their houses are on slabs. They will not be raise their houses and they can't avoid astronomical flood insurance rates. What is going to happen to that community?

Will FEMA be offering grants to all of us, like they did for Katrina folks, to raise our houses? Or are they so in the red that they can't? Maybe the township should fight for THAT for their citizens...would be in their best interest if they want to keep property values up, the local economy in tact, and more importantly for them...tax revenues coming in? Like people have said - this is not just for people living in the flood zones. This is for every resident of Brick who pays taxes and wants to maintain the value of their home. With all of the potential for lost tax revenue, who do you think they will look to to make it up? Even heard this from the mayor himself...concerned about the loss of tax revenue from the barrier island homes, while we were fighting with JCP&L and the township just to get our power turned back on (meetings at Hibbard Park).

Dave

I don't disagree with that statement.

Red tape & people that like to listen to themselves talk... Sorry but FEMA has NOT been a help at all to us or many other people, The only help we can depend on are ourselves & IF we are lucky enough neighbors ( that are in the same situation) helping each other out

I've been hearing some strange info about who is actually getting helped. A friend's home that suffered 80,000 worth of damage isn't being offered anything but a large loan. Another friend who has homeowner's/and flood insurance is getting a new roof paid for by FEMA. WTH is going on? It doesn't make any sense at all.

Anyone know if Point Pleasant, like Brick, will be applying for HMGP (hazard mitigation grant program) funding?

Just wait until you learn you have asbestos shingles, and other issues with your half destroyed homes that can't be raised without incurring more costs.

Obama owns this. just like Bush owned Katrina. What happened to the warm and fuzzy feeling you all had when this was happening.

If we get that HMGP for Brick, is their a process for homeowners to apply for a piece of it? With all of us going through this for the first time, I hope the township provides some sort of guidance on how we can have access to this type of funding to help cushion the blow of having to raise our houses or get huge insurance premiums. It could make a difference with respect to people being able to live here.

If you all think they are even telling you a little bit how bad things are going to get financially , you have not been paying attention.

Underwater mortgages + increase in highest property taxes in country + flood insurance red tape = Collapse

You would think there would be a BA around here who could do simple math.

The market is going down back below 700. For the 200,000+ including benefits the taxpayers are paying you , you can do the math and know the answer. I am sure you have done the work backwards as you public paper pushers love to do. I guess even working backwards will not even help you get to the right number you need.
When you announce it's time for you to spend more time with the family , I will know its time to panic.

Chief

If the market falls below 700 we have more to worry about than peoples salaries, How do you come up wit that number? It wasn't at that level after the Jimmy Carter days when I was there.

Oh, and I always want to spend more time with the family.

God this is all really depressing. I am going to go out tomorrow and ask a neighboring homeowner if he would like me to pick up the broken brush lying around his property. Assuming I am allowed to do so, I am then going to call the town and ask them to pick it up. We have so very many downed tree branches that still have not been picked up. For a while there I did see some subcontracted trucks, but I haven't seen any in a long while, does anyone know the deal with that? Do I just call public works?

<<imagine $20,000 a year for flood insurance even though you never flooded before a 500 year storm,you have a home that can not be lifted,tried to create anice place to raise your children,paid premiums every year on time and now you cannot get any money for rebuilding>>

Imagine? I don't need to...living this reality right now.

BTW, you need to throw in...though you paid your premiums, you have not received cent one from your insurance company even though you were promised an advance and have been laying down money hand over fist.

We along with our neighbors were having a very difficult time with this new information. So we talked to two different Real Estate and Tax Attorneys and found out that the compliance to raise your home according to the new maps from FEMA is only if your damage was more than 50% of the assessed appraisal of your home. That means that those who were under 50 % would not be required to comply at this time. If you sell your home in the future and the new owner wants to renovate and the appraisal is assessed for the renovation to be more that 50% of the assessed value, than the new owner would have to comply to the new codes. Or if you as the homeowner at some point also renovate as described above you would be required to comply. Either way insurance costs will be higher but not at the astronomical amounts given. They may go up 20-25%. So if you pay $1800 you will pay maybe $2160. And I see there is already information of predictiions of taxes going up. All not good, but raising your house and that huge expense would not be required if you fall into the category of less than 50 %. If anyone else has confirmed what I just received, please comment.

Dolores, This is what I thought...but where did you confirm this? I have been able to find little in writing that we would not be forced to comply with under 51% of damage.

What I did find is that the $30k ICC grant would not be given to raise your house unless you were OVER this 51% substantial damage amount.

The hard part is getting an answer from the flood people...

God help us

Everyone should be contacting Govenor Christie's office @ 609-292-6000, Runyan @ (732) 279-6013, Senators Lautenberg @ (202) 224-3224 and Menendez @ (202) 224-4744 to voice your concerns over the "perfect storm" of new FEMA ABFE's , the Biggert Waters Act of 2012 and what it means to our middle class families. The municipalities do not have the power to change anything. But you can bet if there are hundreds of calls into your representatives office- they will take notice.

Toms River is challenging FEMA ABFE"s. Why isn't Brick also raising questions?

Most, or many, of the posters here are talking about leaving Brick. That is certinly an option...many people won't be able to stay because of huge cost increases. FEMA is a government agency. and as such will then take over the homes that are deserted by the owners. They will then put people in those houses, making them "affordable" housing. "Affordable" is a code word for the hood.

NJ helped elect Obama...and now NJ is going to provide "affordable" housing for hoodrats. The Asbury Park Press will deny it, but wait and see what happens

To not read a newspaper is to be uninformed

To read the Asbury Park Press is to be misinformed.

Feel free. We need as many voices as we can get!

I agree with Joe we need to understand and challenge the new V codes. We are not in a Velocity zone.

Unfortunately, Brick is not from what I understood challenging any of this. We had someone who knows our mayor well call and we were told from him that we have to raise our homes. UGH!!!

Dolores

We understand that changes need to be made, but why not gradually? We live in the Baywood section of Brick and FEMA wants to make us a V zone! That says that we get 3 to 6 foot waves! Where and when? Our house is on a lagoon protected. Raise our house, yes, but to devalue our homes, no!

I live in the Baywood section of Brick. Our neighborhood flooded, and it came all the way up to our subfloor, which sits at 5'1" above the ground elevation. So, in theory, the flooding was 5' on our block. The whole reason why our neighborhood flooded was due to the breaches by Mantoloking, which would have been prevented if only we had some protection through dunes/beach replenishment. If only the homeowners would have signed the easements to allow for the project to be performed, we would not have had the devastation in our neighborhood. Oh, and they said the new ABFE would have been 9' and the data was collected prior to Sandy. So, tell me how the data was collected and how it was determined that a new level of 9 feet would be mandatory when this was a once in 100, or even 500, year storm and we had flooding of 5 feet without having the dune/beach replenishment protection? Sounds like a true shakedown to me, and yes - all because FEMA is in the red. That is why they passed the bill in July 2012 so they could charge unsuspecting homeowners insane premiums. What a shame...losing faith in anyone and everyone.

The V zone is the issue here, the BFE should have been raised long ago, as much as it was I'm not convinced. The new ABFE's including zone changes can be challenged, however your challenged has to be backed and supported by scientific and technical data. OK so a first step is to know how FEMA came to the determination of where the new BFE should be for both the 100 and 500 year storm. Also, what data was used to determine that a home on a lagoon should now be considered a V zone. My feeling from looking over the entire state's remapping is that topographical data drove both the BFE and the zone change to a V zone. Is there technical data that supports the potential for wave damage to someone living on a lagoon? I have been looking for it but have not been able to find it.
Towns on the water all over the state are in the same situation. Why are we not acting as a group in addressing this? Lets face it, the NFIP is broken in a number of ways, just because it has not been run properly the knee jerk reaction is to make sweeping changes that have as much a catastrophic affect on homeowners as did the storm? There must be some intelligent people out there that have some knowledge and experience in this? A licensed Surveyor or Hydrolic Engineer perhaps?

Well, I don't know how we are going to be able to afford to live here anymore if this is going to be the rule. If they were looking for a shakedown to drum up funds, how will they get paid when homeowners will be forced to walk away, and the house is foreclosed on? No one gets paid then, and no one would want to even live here if they had to pay that much extra a month in a flood insurance premium. In order to make it affordable, you would have to elevate the houses. It won't be on our backs...that's for sure, if I am going to be charged a minimum of $5k per year for flood insurance WITH the elevation. $5k x 28 years (what is left on our mortgage) = $140k. $140k + my mortgage + cost to elevate = highway robbery for a modest ranch like this. You can take that money and get more house/land out of the flood zone (which is a moving target, it seems), or out of state where taxes are lower and you do not need a permit to go to the bathroom. It would make sense for us to walk away, financially, if these are the new mandates and this is the projected outcome.

I cannot imagine that we are the only ones in this same situation...THIS IS EXTORTION.

My home is 7'6" according to last elevation certificate and somehow I don't see where the new numbers of 9'/11' come from either.

My question is, since I was one of the higher homes in the community...how are the very few companies that raise homes going to deal with now THOUSANDS of homes that will fall below the new flood maps.

The old number was 6' for my house and the builder (previous owners) went a foot and a half above that. Even with the seas rising 1" per year (debatable, but lets assume that) the new numbers seem out of line. The V rating also seems strange to me as even in Sandy we really did not see high velocity waves...just rising sea surge.

Anyway, I am still embittered that not only did FEMA not give me a cent...and I'm waiting on even a first check from my Flood Insurance...but now they may require me to raise my home for many tens of thousands of dollars and without a hint on where the people are who can accomplish this for so many homes!

And they are going to RAISE our taxes? lol My house is worth 1/4 what it was at best.

I find it funny that they also give a 2 year window to accomplish the work if you did qualify for a 30k ICC grant. The chance of all who need to raise their homes being able to do this in 2 year is ZERO. What a dog pile this is going to be!

While I have loved my two years in Brick...I really am wondering if I need to just take my losses and leave. Seems like fighting a losing battle

Jaime,
sad to say but there are already realtors who have folks lined up to buy your house and others. level it and build a home on pilings and they wont be paying $5K for flood insurance. They know they will have leverage in the buy because most cant afford the investment now to make these changes. The same people bought the million dollar shacks on the water for a 50% discount when the bottom fell out. cant guarantee how we will end up with the FEMA changes but I can guarantee that water front property will remain a premium and there will be someone waiting to buy it once the opportunity fits their financial position.
Lets hope the V zone gets successfully challenged and our cost to raise the house becomes more affordable. I love living on the water, worked 45 years to get to a place where I could afford it and not giving up just yet. Good luck to us all.

Current claims of insured homeowners should be settled before there is any talk of these major changes. If the houses are raised and/or the 200k coverage is paid for, what guarantee is being offered by the flood insurance program that the funds will be available to pay the insureds' claims from the next storm they are protecting themselves from? Did insurance premiums from Northeast insured homeowners fund payments to the uninsured of Gulf Coast without keeping enough on reserve to meet the fiduciary obligations made when those premiums were received by the insurers? There are changes needed but they not from the insured homeowners!

I received a newsletter from my insurance broker (he finds policies for those in high risk areas). The letter stated that even for those who are not in the new zoned areas and haven't had any damage, we should expect to see changes. The first being higher deductibles and also higher rates. The point I’m trying to make is to people like ap. In order to cover the damage done to your home or others in the area, we all end up paying for it.

Boy-O-Boy...a lot of misinformation out here regarding Sandy and FEMA. Take the time and go to the FEMA site and get your questions answered. As for another source, read the Biggert-Waters Flood Act. Both have information that people on here are writing about...

Buy a house with your own money. Don't get insurance if you don't think you need it. Enjoy living on the beach.

i have an idea. lets just not do anything they tell us to do. problem solved. then maybe we will be heard. my coping mechanism is to pretend that fema, new taxes, flodd insurance through the roof,etc. don't exist. they can't take everything away from us. let's just not do what they tell us we have to do. maybe their egos will burst and realize that we resent, not respect, them and most of all don't trust them!

sorry, but i have one more thought.. we, as the working middle class are sh*t on by the ones we work for, and then we are sh*t on by the ones who supposedly work for us. we're getting it from both sides! we really need to take a stand...after all, our employers really do need us (but they won't admit it), and the people who supposedly work for us, (local, state, federal) really do need us too (but they won't admit it either) let's remind all of them how much they really do need us! now i'll leave everyone alone. thanks for listening.

Go on this website and read this artical is says it all. Basically the government does not want Americans to live on the water anymore. If you do they are making it very difficult to do it.
http://www.climatesciencewatch.org/2012/12/16/flood-insurance-reform-act-could-promote-better-climate-preparedness/

hard working sucker;

Yes, FEMA & Obama do have a clue...they just don't care. Obama got your votes...you will probably never see him again.

We have explored all our options, gone to township meetings, including the seminar. We are overwhelmed with a losing financial proposition and will be taking a different course of action. It is a hard reality that your home is a losing business and it does not make any more sense to throw more money at a lost investment. It comes down to what is the best decision out of the dismal ones at this point. We were going along just fine until the new flood maps and the requirements to raise your home. The change to a "v" zone is just too costly, and we would be out of our home with our children for a long time. We also have no place to put the home once it is lifted from the foundation. Tack the financial loss and the inconvenience of not being able to live in your home for a much longer time frame, and the decision is made for us. We are forced into a short sale. If you know anyone who is looking to buy a home "as is" on a nice parcel of property on the Meteconk, let me know. They will certainly be getting a bargain off of our misfortune.
Too bad an agency and government body that is supposed to help during a flood, just forced us out of our home. Thank you FEMA!

I've been reading all of the heart felt stories and I to am piss off. I built two years ago on pilings and block foundation and now they want to change to a V zone. I say don't put up with this. We all have to start writing letters to all our representatives, Congressmen, Senators, Governor. Tell them your stories and the heart break your suffering. I'm not going down with out a fight. I started my letter campaign and if they don't work for us then let them know will vote the bastards out.

Hey, lot of interesting comments. I'm from Breezy Point and and am also concerned the spike in rates and lack of subsidies will destroy our community. The biggest catastrophe we face now is not storm surge, but the raising of rates by the National Flood Insurance Program. Does anyone know if the grandfathering provisions for post FIRM primary homeowners was eliminated by the Biggert Waters Act? Uncertain of this and it would be worth some research.