Not every risk on a piece of land is visible when you walk the property. One of the easiest things to overlook, and one of the most expensive to discover after closing, is whether the parcel sits in a flood zone. Flood zone status affects more than whether the land occasionally gets wet. It can determine whether you're required to carry flood insurance, how much it costs, what it takes to get a building permit, and even whether a lender will finance the purchase at all. Here'