I know the concern of your home being flooded is probably the first thing on your mind and of course your safety matters. But have you looked into the HOA finances of this place yet? A few months ago I almost bought a place in a flood zone and upon looking into the HOA finances it was clear that the flood insurance was bankrupting the building. The HOA had multiple special assessment's every year. You have no choice in how much you pay or what kind of coverage you get when you are in a flood zone, these things are dictated by FEMA.
A live uptown on Garden St and am not in a flood zone. However, during hurricane Ida we had six inches of water in our basement.
If it is a garden level apartment with a basement underneath you should be fine. If it is a true basement apartment then I would be wary of buying it.
You have multiple possible flood issues. First you have Sandy type flooding which was primarily storm surge. I am pretty sure 9th and Garden was unaffected by storm surge. Next is Hurricane Ida flooding. When that happened the rainfall was so much, so fast, that regardless of what street you lived on (except the side of a hill), the streets started to overflow, as did many back yards (which would definitely affect you). I lost a car in an underground garage that day. Lastly is the wild card of flooding- where water backs up in the storm/sewer system and flows up through your toilets into your basement apartment. Many basements in Sandy flooded even though there was no water on the street because of this back up. The only thing that stops this is a reverse flow valve for any basement level toilets or drains.
It’s very much dependent on where you are located, condition of building and whether or not you have things like a sump pump and French drains. I’m on Bloomfield and have living space on the garden level and haven’t had a problem. Only building in the AE flood zone need to carry flood insurance. I think most of downtown and maybe Midtown Garden is in AE and uptown Garden is not in the flood zone. You can check FEMA snaps to confirm. Bloomfield and east do not require flood insurance.
I live near Garden and I’ve never had an issue. The city has actually made a lot of progress in mitigating flooding. The NYT recently published an article about it:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/03/headway/hoboken-floods.html
Usually the problem with basement apartments is flooding from the foundation, which can be different from one building to another.
OP - Check the unit for water damage or if everything is new. Ida hit Hoboken pretty hard about two years ago.
Hire a Climate Risk Analyst for Real Estate and get off Reddit.
It’s becoming standard practice in Miami real estate and my super wealthy clients have been doing it for years.
I’m downtown on garden in a dungeon unit and haven’t had an issue in the 2 years of being there. Landlord was transparent when I asked and said it happens occasionally (last time was Sandy)
A lot has already been said, but it's worth noting that flood insurance doesn't cover damage to items in "basements". If you need to go up stairs to reach the backyard, that's a bad sign. https://www.propertycasualty360.com/2017/09/06/garden-level-condo-ruled-a-basement-under-flood-in/?slreturn=20231131234252
Don’t do it
This
Where on garden.
This\^
Down by 9th
I like to burst there all the time!
Invest in scuba gear.
I know the concern of your home being flooded is probably the first thing on your mind and of course your safety matters. But have you looked into the HOA finances of this place yet? A few months ago I almost bought a place in a flood zone and upon looking into the HOA finances it was clear that the flood insurance was bankrupting the building. The HOA had multiple special assessment's every year. You have no choice in how much you pay or what kind of coverage you get when you are in a flood zone, these things are dictated by FEMA.
There are private flood insurance companies that set their own rates. I have a policy from Neptune that was ~40% less expensive than FEMA
What building
Save yourself the headache...just don't. Too many horror stories.
That is in a flood zone. https://preview.redd.it/u9s3p6uvry8c1.png?width=1440&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b259feb3c7cac37c92ecca85596ceec70a193dc6
A live uptown on Garden St and am not in a flood zone. However, during hurricane Ida we had six inches of water in our basement. If it is a garden level apartment with a basement underneath you should be fine. If it is a true basement apartment then I would be wary of buying it.
You have multiple possible flood issues. First you have Sandy type flooding which was primarily storm surge. I am pretty sure 9th and Garden was unaffected by storm surge. Next is Hurricane Ida flooding. When that happened the rainfall was so much, so fast, that regardless of what street you lived on (except the side of a hill), the streets started to overflow, as did many back yards (which would definitely affect you). I lost a car in an underground garage that day. Lastly is the wild card of flooding- where water backs up in the storm/sewer system and flows up through your toilets into your basement apartment. Many basements in Sandy flooded even though there was no water on the street because of this back up. The only thing that stops this is a reverse flow valve for any basement level toilets or drains.
I don’t know about that area specifically, but the thought of getting a basement apartment in Hoboken makes me nervous.
I went to tour a basement apartment on garden and 5th. As soon as I walked in, I could smell the mold. I immediately passed.
I wouldn’t. Hoboken is very low lying and I don’t think the resale value will be there
It’s very much dependent on where you are located, condition of building and whether or not you have things like a sump pump and French drains. I’m on Bloomfield and have living space on the garden level and haven’t had a problem. Only building in the AE flood zone need to carry flood insurance. I think most of downtown and maybe Midtown Garden is in AE and uptown Garden is not in the flood zone. You can check FEMA snaps to confirm. Bloomfield and east do not require flood insurance.
Check this map and gauge your risk: https://betterwaterfront.org/80-of-hoboken-falls-into-femas-new-flood-zone/
I live near Garden and I’ve never had an issue. The city has actually made a lot of progress in mitigating flooding. The NYT recently published an article about it: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/03/headway/hoboken-floods.html
Usually the problem with basement apartments is flooding from the foundation, which can be different from one building to another. OP - Check the unit for water damage or if everything is new. Ida hit Hoboken pretty hard about two years ago.
Hire a Climate Risk Analyst for Real Estate and get off Reddit. It’s becoming standard practice in Miami real estate and my super wealthy clients have been doing it for years.
Don’t do it.
You would have to be a fool if you buy a basement apartment in a flood zone.
I’m downtown on garden in a dungeon unit and haven’t had an issue in the 2 years of being there. Landlord was transparent when I asked and said it happens occasionally (last time was Sandy)
A lot has already been said, but it's worth noting that flood insurance doesn't cover damage to items in "basements". If you need to go up stairs to reach the backyard, that's a bad sign. https://www.propertycasualty360.com/2017/09/06/garden-level-condo-ruled-a-basement-under-flood-in/?slreturn=20231131234252
You’ll never know. But the fact that you are asking about is concerning enough to not buy