GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KKCO) - Many home owners got quite a surprise this month when they found out their property had been reclassified as a flood plain. Now many of them are required to buy flood insurance costing them thousands of dollars a year.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency or FEMA, is the organization responsible for designating areas as a flood plains.

They recently surveyed Mesa County and reclassified at least five drainage areas. Anyone in these areas with a mortgage payment will now be required by their lender to carry flood insurance. But as some people are finding out, there are a few things you can do to drop that monthly payment.

For Wendy Ortiz, moving after nine years was the last thing she and her family wanted to do but finding out she needed flood insurance gave her second thoughts. "We didn't have the money we are going to be considering putting our house on market because of this," says Ortiz.

In July, FEMA completed a five year project in Mesa County, re–mapping old flood plains. Something they hadn't done since the early 80s. The project stemmed from funding through Congress to help get states up to speed on current flood maps.

This effort started before the Katrina disaster. Here in Mesa County the new plans changed the Ortiz’s designation to flood plain, their mortgage company now required flood insurance.

Ortiz recounts her first thoughts. "Oh my goodness, what is this going to cost me, where do I get it, how do I go about this process?" So she contacted her insurance agent Carma Brown with Home Loan Investment.

Brown says for anyone in this situation, "First, immediately call your lender." This will help you find out what your options are. Brown says find out how much coverage your lender actually requires and how much of a deductible you can take. "What is the minimum I can buy and then I will determine how much higher I want to go than that, but what's my parameters?" says Brown.

In this case Ortiz opted for the highest deductible. "Five thousand dollars, the minimum coverage on the dwelling and no content coverage," says Ortiz. No content means just the home is covered not your possessions. But it did drop the original quote down $1,000.

Another thing Ortiz did was get a certificate of elevation that proved her home sat above the designated flood plain. Ortiz says, "So we are a foot above the base flood. That however, is not enough to get you out of paying insurance."

But before you go out and pay for an elevation evaluation you might want to stop by the County's planning building at 750 Main. If your house was built after 1982 there could be a chance they have yours on file already. Having that certificate dropped Ortiz’s quote again. Brown says, "And it lowered her rate this specific example rate to $608. It was a $4,000 saving."

Ortiz’s payments are now around $50 a month and that changes everything. Ortiz says,"We love this house and we are raising our kids here and this is the house they've known so we don't want to move, we want to work this out and be able to afford it."

A certificate of elevation may not work for everyone. Even next door neighbors could have different results but it is something to consider when trying to cut that quote down.

FEMA says Mesa County has a CRS rating of nine which means anyone in the county applying for flood insurance should get a five percent discount. Mesa County says last year they sent out information to people who could be affected by the new flood maps, helping them get prepared for the changes.