SAN MARCOS, Texas (KXAN) — Several San Marcos homeowners said they were blindsided after learning they were required to purchase flood insurance following a FEMA update to flood insurance rate maps, which did not consider flood remediation efforts around the neighborhood.
Victoria Meza bought a home in the Blanco Vista subdivision near the Blanco River in 2021. In early 2025, Meza received a notice from her mortgage company, telling her she had 45 days to buy a flood insurance policy or the lender would purchase one for her.
“My neighbor said to me, she's like, ‘Is this a joke?’ Because we have a huge greenbelt behind us that was built as flood remediation,” Meza said. “They've raised all of the ground under our foundations. There's drainage that was put in, and we were never told.”
Drains and a berm were part of flood remediation elements added to a San Marcos neighborhood to reduce flood risk after FEMA conducted its Flood Insurance Study. (KXAN Photo)“You don’t buy a home knowing it’s going to be designated in a floodplain,” Meza said. “It costs you extra insurance money, makes it harder to sell, and devalues your home. I wouldn’t have done it if I had known.”
After the destructive 2015 Wimberley floods, FEMA conducted a Flood Insurance Study for San Marcos and Hays County. The city of San Marcos said the Blanco Vista developer was still designing the neighborhood when FEMA had completed its study. KXAN reached out to developer Pacesetter for this story but has not been able to connect.
To reduce flood risk and remove the subdivision from the floodplain, the developer added flood remediation design elements, such as berms and drains, around the neighborhood.
“The new FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Maps became effective on January 17, 2025. As a result of the updated maps, some properties not previously located in a floodplain are now shown within one, and mortgage lenders may require flood insurance for these properties. A portion of the Blanco Vista Subdivision has been most impacted. This section was still under design and construction when FEMA finalized the maps, so recent changes that would have excluded it from the floodplain were not reflected,” according to a statement from the city of San Marcos.
While San Marcos does not consider Meza’s address to be in a special flood zone, Meza said she is going forward with a special request to remove it from the FEMA flood maps. She said this will cost her $1,800.
Texas law requires a “Seller’s Disclosure Notice,” which includes divulging whether a property is in a floodplain. The updated FEMA flood maps didn’t take effect until 2025, after Meza had already purchased her home.
“This is not a wealthy neighborhood with money just to throw around,” Meza said. “It feels like a bait and switch.”
A FEMA spokesperson told KXAN that FEMA received a map revision request to have the subdivision removed in April, and the organization would complete its initial review of the request within 90 days.
A spokesperson from the Insurance Information Institute said only 14% of Texas homes and 6% of U.S. homes are covered with flood insurance.
“You don't want to be forced into it, with the floodplain designation,” said Mark Friedlander with the Insurance Information Institute. “But still, everybody should really consider it.”
Friedlander said destructive floods are happening more frequently across the U.S. and Texas, but still, people often forgo flood insurance.
“We've seen severe flood events not only in the Austin area, but across the Lone Star State for the past several years,” he said. “Everybody should really consider it, because you're really not fully financially protected from the wrath of Mother Nature without flood insurance.”
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