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LETTER OF MAP DETERMINATION DOCUMENT (REMOVAL)

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A few months ago I was notified by Bank of America that my house is now in a FEMA Flood Zone AE which is a Special Flood Hazard Area and thus I had to have flood insurance.  I already had flood insurance because, well, because it’s smart.  But my house is not in Zone AE. Zone AE goes through my front yard but my house is in Zone X and this is what is securing the loan, what flood insurance insures, and what is rated for flood insurance purposes. I just couldn’t get Bank of America or my insurance agent to look at darn FIRM map and follow the logic outlined in the FEMA Flood Insurance Manual.  BTW, both Bank of America and my insurance agent use  a company called CoreLogic to issue what is called a ‘STANDARD FLOOD HAZARD DETERMINATION FORM’ but they don’t even look at Elevation Certificates prepared by a surveyor even if you have one ready for them.  The only thing they will consider is a Letter of Map Amendment/Revision from FEMA which by definition is a change to the FIRM Map.  Anyway, not being deterred by the process I made a Letter of Map Change (LOMC) application.  I did this on-line but in retrospect I should have mailed them a hard copy version of the form.  If I had then I could have had a surveyor fill out a portion of that form and that would have sufficed.

Since my property was built prior to the FIRM Map being adopted in my town there was NO APPLICATION FEE for the LOMC.  I applied and sent in pictures of my property and a plot plan and all kinds of supporting documents which truly should have resulted in an ‘out as shown’ determination but FEMA wanted an F-053_EC_May2017_RE_rev or an MT-1 Form 2 – Elevation Information Form prepared by a Professional Engineer or Land Surveyor.  For starters the Elevation Form is not even on the FEMA web site but they sent it to me after I called in.  Looking at this I decided I may as well just get an EC so I initially hired Target Surveying.  The crew they sent out seemed OK but wow was the EC form just all kinds of wrong.  We parted ways and I would NOT recommend them.  I then hired Legacy Surveying in Tequesta.  The qualifier there is a Greg Tucker whom I spoke to at length and he is a VERY knowledgeable person.  I submitted the EC to FEMA and inside of a few days they issued a LETTER OF MAP AMENDMENT DETERMINATION (REMOVAL).  This shows the insured building is located in FEMA Zone X and thus is NOT in a Special Flood Hazard Area.  I have sent this along to Bank of America, Core Logic and my insurance agent.

18-04-1479A-120217

Now, a few things I learned:

  • Try to determine what the Lowest Adjacent Grade (LAG) of  the house is and ONLY apply if you know this is HIGHER than the Base Flood Elevation or BFE shown on the current FIRM Map.  For my property the LAG was 6.5′ and the BFE is 6′ where both are by the 1988 datum.
  • If your property was built before the FIRM Maps were adopted then the LOMC process is FREE.
  • If your property WAS NOT initially identified as being in a Special Flood Hazard Area on the Initial Flood Boundary Map then your house is NOT on ‘FILL‘ as defined by FEMA.  This matters in what FEMA application to choose.
  • If your property WAS initially identified as being in a Special Flood Hazard Area on the Initial Flood Boundary Map then your house MAY be on ‘FILL‘ if fill was added to the land AFTER the date on the Initial Flood Boundary Map.  This matters in what FEMA application to choose.
  • If I had used the mail in form to apply for the Letter of Map Change from FEMA and had the surveyor fill in a few numbers then I could have forgone the request for an EC from FEMA and I would have essentially KNOWN the outcome of the LOMC request.  If the LAG is higher than the BFE then the LOMC request should be approved.

Palm Beach County Flood Insurance for Real Estate – 2018

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OK, the new Flood Maps are out and effective and I had the ‘opportunity’ recently to learn much more than I ever thought I would want to about flood insurance.  First, for those of us in Palm Beach County, start here (https://maps.co.palm-beach.fl.us/cwgis/?app=floodzones) to determine what flood zone you MIGHT be in.  Flood insurance is based on your building, specifically the lowest floor elevation of the living space, NOT your land.  The problem is that most computer programs, like the one used by the County, can only ‘see’ where a flood zone contour crosses your property line.  If the building is within the aqua colored dotted area or the aqua colored line around this area crosses through your building then at first look your ARE in the Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) – Zones: A, AE, AH, AO.

If the contour passes close to your building or you think the map is wrong or your lender/insurer refuses to apply the logic outlined in the FEMA Flood Insurance Manual (FIM) on classifying the building (NOT THE LAND) you can apply to FEMA for a Letter of Map Change and ask for a Letter of Map Amendment.  FEMA will tell you what the official determination is.  The process is easy and it’s free if your house was built pre FIRM.

CLICK HERE for my post on how to determine if your house is pre or post FIRM

IF you are in a SFHA, or the line goes through your building or touches it or basically IF YOU ARE GETTING ANYTHING OTHER THAN A ‘PREFERRED RATE’ FLOOD POLICY then you should hire a Land Surveyor to prepare an Elevation Certificate and it all has to do with something called Freeboard.  Freeboard is the distance between the Base Flood Elevation and your finished floor elevation.  In pre FIRM construction all that matters to get the best rates is for the Lowest Adjacent Grade to the building to be higher than the Base Flood Elevation or BFE.  In my area the BFE is shown on the maps as say ‘BFE 6′, which is to say that the Base Flood Elevation has been determined to be 6’ above the 1988 datum or baseline.  I am in Zone X but the zone AE (BFE 6) goes in front of my house.  Let’s look at this and the difference in insurance costs for a Zone X and a Zone AE.  Remember Zone AE is in the SFHA.

FOR POST-FIRM CONSTRUCTION

If you have an elevation certificate (weather your house was pre or post FIRM construction) then you should be able to use the ‘Post FIRM’ Zone AE insurance rates found in the FIM which account for freeboard and are significantly lower.  For comparison.  A pre FIRM (pre 1974) building in Zone B,C,X,AR and A99 pays $344 for a preferred risk policy as a flat rate for 250k of building coverage.  A pre FIRM building in Zone AE, where the AE zone contour goes through your house, is $2,304.  BUT, if you have an elevation certificate and the finished floor inside your house is just 1′ above the 6′ elevation (BFE) then you pay $769 for 250k of coverage.  If your interior floor is 2′ above the 6′ Base Flood Elevation defining this AE Zone then you pay $453 for 250k of building coverage.  I paid $250 for an elevation certificate from Legacy Surveying ([email protected]) in Tequesta.

NOTE FOR PRE-FIRM CONSTRUCTIONhttps://MAIL TO: [email protected]

If you in a pre firm constructed house then you may use the method outlined above OR you may apply for a Letter of Map Amendment with FEMA.  You will need an Elevation Certificate  F-053_EC_May2017_RE_rev an Elevation Form MT-1 Form 2 – Elevation Information Form to do this.  If you are in a pre FIRM constructed house then basically you don’t need much freeboard to get the preferred risk policy rates.  All that is required is that the Lowest Adjacent Grade to your structure be higher than the Base Flood Elevation.  So in my neighborhood most houses are pre FIRM and the Base Flood Elevation is 6′ measured from the 1988 datum and all the houses are the standard slab on grade.  So if the Lowest Adjacent Grade to the house is greater than 6′ then you should apply for a Letter of Map Amendment from FEMA.  This sounds like a big deal but really it’s not.  Here’s a little trick I found.  In my rush for fame and glory I applied through the on line system at the FEMA web site.  They came back and said I needed an Elevation Certificate.  NO reasoning with the bureaucrats on this so I got one. BUT IF I HAD USED THERE PAPER FORM THERE IS PLACE ON IT WHERE A SURVEYOR CAN CERTIFY THE LOWEST ADJACENT GRADE IS ABOVE THE BASE FLOOD ELEVATION.  That’s it. No more documentation should be required.

I APPLIED FOR A LETTER OF MAP REVISION AND I GOT ONE.  CLICK HERE TO READ ALL ABOUT IT.

An Elevation Certificate is well worth it.

Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA). An area having special flood, mudflow or flood-related erosion hazards and shown on a Flood Hazard Boundary Map (FHBM) or a Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) Zone A, AO, A1-A30, AE, A99, AH, AR, AR/A, AR/AE, AR/AH, AR/AO, AR/A1-A30, V1-V30, VE or V. For the purpose of determining Community Rating System (CRS) premium discounts, all AR and A99 zones are treated as non-SFHAs.

Shaded Zone X is a moderate risk areas within the 0.2-percent-annual-chance floodplain, areas of 1-percent-annual-chance flooding where average depths are less than 1 foot, areas of 1-percent-annual-chance flooding where the contributing drainage area is less than 1 square mile, and areas protected from the 1-percent-annual-chance flood by a levee. No BFEs or base flood depths are shown within these zones. (Zone X (shaded) is used on new and revised maps in place of Zone B.)

Why we live near the water…

FEMA Letter F after new maps issued for North Palm Beach

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So we all know that the FEMA FIRM maps were recently changed and many of us living in northern Palm Beach County may have been affected.  I’ve spoken before about storm surge and the area around the Loxahatchee River is very susceptible to this.  I personally had an interesting turn of events.  The new map shows a tiny sliver of land in my front yard in what is now a Flood Zone AE.  I called the Village of North Palm Beach and they were very helpful and I was told that literally 3 (yes 3) square feet of my front yard is now in the Flood Zone AE.  The maps are compiled based upon  survey records and aerial surveys which may not be 100% accurate down to this level so I was preparing to have a topographical survey done so as to request a Letter of Map Amendment or LOMA from FEMA.  It appears that according to the lenders that if any portion of your property is inside the flood zone then you are lumped intobeing required to have flood insurance and this is what started to happen to us.  My lender sent us a letter stating at first that we were now in a Special Flood Hazard Area, then they sent us a letter stating that since we were now in a SFHA that we would need to prove to them that we have coverage in the correct  levels or they would place the policy for us and that would cost, ready for it, $3,707.17

The funny thing is that on the same date that they sent the letter telling us that we needed flood insurance FEMA sent us a letter (Letter F)..

FEMA_Ltr_F_CMR

Which states that the rated flood zone is a B and the current flood zone is a B.  I looked up what this all means and found this Lenders Guidance Letter on the FEMA site.  The RATED FLOOD ZONE is the flood zone on which your current flood policy is based.  For myself this is a Zone B.  The CURRENT FLOOD ZONE is the flood zone you are currently in ACCORDING TO THE CURRENT FEMA FIRM MAPS.  On this same Lenders Guidance Letter it states in part…

“There is no requirement for the lender to investigate or resolve the difference between the “Current Flood Zone” and the “Flood Risk/Rated Zone”.

LOOK OUT!!!!

First, my initial search of the web said that if any portion of a property is (now) shown in a flood zone then the structure is rated for that flood zone.  This is what the banks do.  The banks use a flood zone determination company to tell them if the property is in a flood zone.  If the flood plain touches any portion of your property then these folks add you to the list of those required to obtain flood insurance.  The bank then generates a letter with a  BIG number quote to force a flood policy on you. They send out the letter that I mentioned above and they are under no obligation to fix anything and they make BIG money in doing all this.  This is where the LOMA comes in because the description for same is: “For a LOMA to be issued by FEMA to remove one or more structures from the SFHA, the NFIP regulations require that the lowest adjacent grade (the lowest ground touching the structure) be at or above the BFE.”  BFE is the Base Flood Elevation.  The Lowest Adjacent Grade is “the lowest point of the ground level immediately next to a building.”  It is up to you to pay attention.  Read these letters and understand them.  I had to send a fax with the FEMA Letter F to my lender.  I also submitted it on line to the bank.  AND I sent it to my Insurance Agent.  YOU CAN REQUEST FEMA TO SEND A LETTER TO YOU WITH THE FLOOD DETERMINATION ON IT FOR A FEE OR $80.  Do this as the first item if you do not think your property (remember, the lowest adjacent grade to the insured structure) is located.

A few things to remember.  I have flood insurance because I choose to.  If I do not speak up then the bank places the property in a flood zone where coverage is required for a conforming loan.  This costs myself and any potential property buyer money and adversely affects the property value.  Also, if I choose to carry insurance that’s my decision but at some time in the future I may foolishly decide to end coverage.  Finally, There’s a big difference in premiums for Zone B properties and Zone AE today and in the future when subsidies are removed and it affects the ability and cost to re-build.

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