Although as a company we do not see a lot of business in providing Elevation Certificates, we do provide that service. As a Licensed Land Surveyor, Philip C. Wootton has completed hundreds of Elevation Certificates. Most of the time, Elevation Certificates are required by residential lenders when buying or selling a home that is located in what FEMA has determined to be at risk of a “100-year” flood event. House remodels and additions sometimes trigger this request from a lender. Municipalities will sometimes request a Certificate for commercial projects when building or expanding in flood-prone areas. Often times homeowners are simply tired of paying the high cost of flood insurance premiums and would like to see if they qualify for a discounted insurance rate, or even removal from a flood zone based on the elevation of their residence in relation to the flood zone. Elevation Certificates are generally fairly simple to perform, requiring only a survey-grade level, level rod and a measuring tape. The elevation data is then transferred to a FEMA Elevation Certificate, certified by a Licensed Land Surveyor and given to the client for their use in approaching the lender to try to reduce the premiums. While not all Elevation Certificates have outcomes favorable to the client, Philip has helped some homeowners save tens of thousands of dollars over the lifetime of their mortgage.