How exposed is this area to flooding?
Enter a ZIP code and see the modelled flood risk for the homes in it — the average Flood Factor, how many score severe, and how many sit in a FEMA high-risk zone where a lender will require insurance. Built from 1,005,479 scored listings across 10,440 ZIP codes. No signup.
Want us to check a specific address?
Tell us the address you're weighing up and we'll come back with its flood picture, what insurance is likely to cost, and what that does to the loan.
Prefer to talk now? Call or text Chad: 858-353-8331.
About flood risk
What is a Flood Factor?
A 1–10 score for how exposed a property is to flooding, modelled forward rather than drawn from history — it accounts for rainfall, storm surge and sea-level rise. 1 is minimal, 10 is extreme. It is a model's opinion, not a legal designation, and it is not what decides whether your lender requires insurance.
How is that different from a FEMA flood zone?
FEMA zones are the regulatory map, and they're the ones that cost you money: if a property sits in a Special Flood Hazard Area — any zone starting with A or V — flood insurance is mandatory on a federally-backed mortgage. FEMA maps are also frequently out of date, which is why an area can show low FEMA exposure and high modelled risk at the same time. This tool shows both figures rather than blending them, because they answer different questions.
Why show a percentage as well as an average?
Because an average hides the shape. A ZIP averaging 5 might be every home at moderate risk, or half at 1 and half at 10 — completely different propositions. So you also see the share of homes scoring severe (7+) and extreme (9–10). Even then it's an area figure: two homes on the same street can differ on elevation alone.
Does flood risk affect the loan?
Directly. Where insurance is required, the premium is part of the monthly payment you have to qualify for — so it lowers what you can borrow, and on a rental it comes straight off the cash flow and the DSCR. In some coastal markets it's the single largest carrying cost after the mortgage itself. It's worth pricing before you write an offer, not after.
Where does the data come from, and how current is it?
From the flood scores and FEMA zones attached to active listings in our own database — 1,005,479 scored listings across 10,440 ZIP codes in the 47 states we lend in, refreshed weekly and current as of August 2026. A ZIP with fewer than 20 scored listings falls back to its county and tells you it did.
Can you check one specific address?
Yes — the Instant Property Report returns that property's own Flood Factor and FEMA zone alongside its price, taxes, insurance and projected rental income. Use this page to size up an area, that one to check a house.
Find out before you write the offer.
Where it's mandatory, the premium is part of the payment you qualify for — and it comes straight off a rental's cash flow. We'll price it with you.