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Some waterfront property owners in the area are being hit with another expense - flood insurance.
Although some have lived in their homes for years with never a worry about flooding, these homeowners are now receiving notifications from their mortgage lenders that they are in a flood zone and need to purchase flood insurance.
Unsure of what to do, some residents are calling their township or city halls and asking for help. Thomas Broecker, operations manager/deputy clerk for Fenton Township said several residents have called inquiring about these notifications.
The township, in turn, is providing a copy of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) new floodplain map and advises the homeowner to consult with a surveyor and/or floodplain expert.
Karol Grove, a licensed professional land surveyor who owns Alpine Land Surveying, Inc. in Highland, said homeowners do have options, if they receive one of these notifications. Grove is also on the board of directors with the Michigan Society of Professional Surveyors.
She said FEMA updated its floodplain maps in September, which the federal government created back in the ‘70s. Since that time, mortgage lenders were to require clients to purchase flood insurance.
"Nobody carried flood insurance, " said Grove.
Then, Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005. It was at that point that flood insurance became a hot topic. Now that the maps have been updated, a federal lending requirement of banks is to require flood insurance on homes, within 45 days, near the newly identified flood zones unless the owner can prove their home is not in the flood zone.
Laurie Smith-Kuypers, a spokesperson for FEMA, in its Chicago office, said lenders are using the FEMA flood maps, which were created with scientific data. She said these maps, "can’t get every nook and cranny, obviously, and some hills don’t get picked up. " With the help of local surveyors, some homes might be removed from the flood zone.
Smith-Kuypers added that despite some homeowners providing a letter to their financial lender, stating that they are not in a flood zone, she said a lender could still require flood insurance as a condition of a loan. The good news on this is that it would be a less expensive plan.
"There are all sorts of intricacies to the program, " said Smith-Kuypers.
Grove worries that this forced flood insurance is becoming an oftentimes, unnecessary burden to the residents of Michigan, especially the elderly who are on fixed incomes.
"I can lift people out (of flood zones), " said Grove. Licensed land surveyors would take care of the paperwork, which the homeowner would then submit to their mortgage lender.
"A lot of people are already paying flood insurance, " she said. If the home is determined to be outside of the flood zone, Grove said, by law, the homeowner must be refunded what they paid last year in flood insurance, as well as the current year, if the proper paperwork is turned in by February.
Matt Housey, 38, of Argentine Township, was elated when his home was lifted out of the flood zone. He purchased the Lobdell Lake home in 2005, and learned two days before he was to close on it, that it was in the flood zone and flood insurance was required. He’s been paying $3,481 annually in flood insurance.
Unlike some local residents who recently got a letter from their bank indicating they lived in a flood zone, Housey believed all along he was not in the flood zone and has been fighting it ever since. He heard about Grove from a friend, and she was able to confirm with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) that his home was not in the floodplain after the property was recalculated with the updated maps. He said, "1.8 feet put me out of the flood zone. "
Housey has been spreading the word about his situation and how he was no longer required to pay for flood insurance. His letter from the DEQ was forwarded to his bank to prove he did not need the extra insurance.
Another happy resident is Bob Harris. He, too, owns a home on Lobdell Lake. He said Grove is a water and flood expert and worked with the government to have the flood zone on Lobdell Lake updated. He began paying $1,250 annually in flood insurance 11/2 years ago when he took out a loan. "She did a big favor for us, " Harris said.
Locally, Field To Finish, Inc. in Fenton Township provides this full engineering and surveying service to residents with its licensed professional engineers and surveyors.
Brian Shaltz, of Field To Finish, said the local company is registered and participating in FEMA eLOMA.
eLOMA is a web-based application within the Mapping Information Platform that provides licensed land surveyors and professional engineers (Licensed Professionals) with a system to submit simple Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) requests to FEMA.
Homeowners who have been paying for flood insurance or who have been notified by their bank that they need flood insurance could save themselves thousands of dollars in flood insurance by contacting a licensed surveyor to have the experts determine whether their home is or is not in a flood zone.
Sharon Stone
Source: Tri-County Times
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