How to sell a Flood Analysis to homebuyers

FREA's Flood Analysis will set you apart from the competition.

Whether you incorporate it directly into your standard inspection report or offer it as an optional add-on service, our Flood Analysis will help build your business and increase your profits. These simple selling points can help you maximize your Flood Analysis sales.

A Flood Analysis helps complete the picture of the buyer's prospective new home.

The more information consumers obtain about the home they're considering buying, the better informed their final decision will be. The important flood risk information in a Flood Analysis helps the prospective buyer gain a more complete picture of their new home.

According to a national survey, 60% of repeat homebuyers say what they want most from their realtors is help finding the right house. Your delivery of a Flood Analysis will provide additional information to help homebuyers decide whether the home is right for them.

Flood waters don't care about lines on a map.

A home may be technically mapped outside the nearest high-risk flood zone, but only be a few feet away. A Flood Analysis provides the details needed to accurately depict the property's flood status and risk.

A flood map change may have altered the property's flood status.

If the applicable flood map has been revised, a buyer may be unaware that the home's previous flood zone status may not be accurate today. A Flood Analysis provides the most current information available.

Deciding to purchase flood insurance now, based on a Flood Analysis, could pay off in major savings later.

Even for properties in zones where flood insurance isn't required, obtaining coverage at the time of the home purchase could prevent devastating financial losses later if a flood occurs.

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How to overcome consumers' objections to purchasing a Flood Analysis

A key to selling the Flood Analysis is responding effectively to customers' objections.

Here are some potential points of resistance and ways to overcome them:

• "My lender will supply a flood zone determination free of charge."

  The buyer will not receive this determination until the closing, which may be too late. Advise your customers that it's essential to be informed of a property's flood risk as early in the home buying process as possible, rather than after they're contractually committed to purchasing the home.

• "The seller informed me that the home is not in a flood zone."

  Encourage the buyer to validate this informal statement with a Flood Analysis. Taking the word of the seller without concrete proof is risky, and the flood zone designation may even have changed, making the seller's information obsolete.

• "My real estate agent is providing a determination for free."

  Real estate agents can obtain flood zone determinations from other sources, but the quality and accuracy are unlikely to equal that of a Flood Analysis from FREA.

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How to discuss the Flood Analysis with realtors

Build positive relationships with real estate agents by educating them about the value-added benefits of a Flood Analysis.

Some real estate agents may feel that flood risk information could jeopardize the sale of a home. To avoid being viewed as a "deal breaker," you can explain the ways a Flood Analysis can benefit the agent.

Remind the agent that a Flood Analysis can help avoid unpleasant surprises at closing.

Knowing a property's flood risk in advance reduces the chance of a costly surprise at closing and an unhappy homebuyer afterwards. Delivering a Flood Analysis with the home inspection can help protect the real estate agent.

Point out that a satisfied buyer means repeat business.

It's in the agent's best interest to see that customers are fully informed about the details of their prospective properties early in the home buying process. Those customers are more likely to feel confident about the purchase they're making. And a confident, satisfied homebuyer is the realtor's best advertisement.

Explain that offering a Flood Analysis is part of your commitment to delivering exceptional value and service.

Providing a Flood Analysis demonstrates that you deliver service beyond routine home inspections. Exceeding customers' expectations reflects positively on both you and the agent.

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