Is a Flood Letter Sent to the Borrower Sufficient?

Answered by:

Question:

We have a loan with a property that was not in a special flood hazard area at the time it closed. Subsequently, ten years later, as a result of the flood map changes by FEMA, the property now lies in a SFHA. We were notified by our flood provider and we sent out a letter and the flood notice to the borrower. In this scenario, is it required that a signed copy of the notice be on file or would the letter alone be sufficient?

Answer:

From page 30 of the Mandatory Purchase of Flood Insurance Guidelines book:

The regulations require the lender to retain a record or evidence of the borrower's receipt of the notice throughout the period the lender owns the loan. This record can be the borrower's statement or initials that the notice was received directly, or the U.S. Postal Service return receipt in either hard copy or electronic format. The lender need not retain a hard copy version of the notice to the borrower and loan servicer.

First published on BankersOnline.com 7/30/07