Do you think the U.S. Senate even knows the NFIP is part of this bill? I doubt it. They need to remember that April showers bring more than just May flowers. It brings serious flooding as well and there will be no coverage for those that really need it.
Back to Flood 101 for you! No, you can’t “bind” a flood policy and never could. You don’t have binding authority for flood and never have. You can submit an application and show proof of that application with proof of payment, but it is not bound.
Thank you astounded. What’s more, there is a 30 day wait under normal circumstances and only, if there is a lender requirement, will the coverage be in effect on closing of the loan.
We’re ALL in a ZONE!!! Right?
Congress is in a zone of it’s own. It’s called the twilight zone and they haven’t a clue how to escape.
To: Johnathan Rausch: There is no binding with flood insurance, regardless of the NFIP hiatus. You may still complete applications, collect premium and remit to the writing company. During the hiatus, the writing company must hold, in abeyance, any premium received on or after the first day of the hiatus. There are two FEMA bulletins that give detailed information regarding guidance for lenders and guidance for writing companies. http://bsa.nfipstat.com/wyobull/w-09068.pdf and http://bsa.nfipstat.com/wyobull/w-10031.pdf
“Do you think the U.S. Senate even knows the NFIP is part of this bill? I doubt it.”
BobR, I doubt it also. Two realities about “bills” in D.C.: 1) They are not written by Congress, they are written by lawyers for special interest groups, and by lobbyists; 2) Congressmen do not read the bills; would you read a bill that’s as thick as the New York City phone book? Congressmen and women are too busy getting bribes from lobbyists to have time for these trivial matters.
This whole thing is insane. How do you leave for a 2 week vacation with something so LARGE unresolved??? These are the idiots we have in charge, come on! I was scheduled to close on a house March 31st but have been anable to do so. Congress get off your *** and do something!!! This is no way to stimulate our economy.
And that definitely includes extending welfare, I mean unemployement benefits. I have a friend who’s been on it for two years; unemployement that is. I’ve given him numerous job opportunities. He always has an excuse for not following up. “Well I’m driving out of town to my GF’s.” “Well that’s not the job I want.” “I bet there will be alot of people applying.” “I tried to look it up and it didn’t look like the right web site.” Even though I tried to help him with it, he didn’t want to be bothered. Now grant it, these are similiar jobs he did before, but he had other priorities. Well I’ll tell you this, if his unemployement were to get cut, he’d have a job within a month. There are jobs out there. Maybe not the perfect job, but they are out there. And yes there probably are alot of people applying, but you won’t know if you don’t try. We used to be people of survival, now we are a people of lazyness.
Where is the Line Item Veto?? As a term, “Line Item Veto” it makes a great campaign tool. But, in reality it never get’s anywhere. This is true whether we have a Republican or Democratic majority in the House, Senate, or White House?
Will it ever happen or is this too sensible of a concept for the House and Senate comprehend?
Your lender should not hold up your closing just because of the hiatus. Three regulatory bodies, Freddie Mac, Office of Thrift Supervision and Federal Reserve have given guidance to the lenders under their jurisdiction. The guidance indicates that as long as the lender receives a copy of the completed application and proof of payment, this is acceptable to proceed with closing, despite the hiatus. The lender is supposed to follow up after the hiatus is lifted to make sure the policy was issued. FEMA issued the following bulletin that mentions this issue: http://bsa.nfipstat.com/wyobull/w-10031.pdf
I have not taken the time to read all of these posted but did read one where someone is awaiting a home closing.
Our agency has found access to flood coverage through Lloyds of London policy. We are brokering it through Burn and Wilcox although I am certain other brokers can access it as well. As an agency that specializes in Homebuilders and Construction in general we had to come up with an alternative and this is the best we have found.
I hope this helps Lord knows our government won’t!
Hey Baxtor. You may be on to something. I consider myself pretty compassionate and I know the guy you describe does not describe everyone. But, this kind of “tough love” is an interesting concept. We would really find out where the jobs are if the UM bennies went away wouldn’t we? It’s easy for me to say because I am employed. I would rather see some teeth put into the UM system. Sure, you have to prove you are looking for a job. But, that is an easy sharade to pull off. The UM offices need to toughen up.
Why do we need term limits legislated? What happended to the power of the VOTE? If we the people keep putting the same idiots back in office, then we only have ourselves to blame for Washington’s disater. Ex. How does Barney Frank keep getting re elected????????????
November: Show the true power of the vote and vote out EVERY incumbent up for reelection! The best option is electing the opponet with ABSOLUTELY NO POLITICAL EXPERIENCE. Of course the lobbyist will have a field day “breaking in” the newbies, but how much worse can it get?
While you’re voting out all of the career politicians, don’t forget to vote out our Commander in Chief at the end of his reign. He needs to be slapped for allowing this recess at a critical time for many. I hope no one in the Northeast became a victim of not getting their flood policy during the horrific rains a few weeks ago because of all of the greedy people in Washington.
Look here Nancy, I have first dib’s on the “Big fat 200 seat jet”. I have important meetings with the Fredie Mac people to get to this weekend in the Cayman Islands. And i need the extra seats for a few of my special friends.
Linda: The President has nothing to do with this one. This is a day in the life of the Congress and Senate. He really has no control over when they take a recess. Congress and Senate has taken receses many crucial times over the past 50 years and no Republican or Democratic President has the power to stop them. It’s called checks and balances.
Can someone explain to me what “checks and balances” means? I have the checks and I seem to walk without falling over. Now, it’s off to solving the nuclear waste problems of the world.
You can get insurance thru Chubb in most cases. The normal NFIP cost is around $300-$400 where as Chubb is around $2000.00 You make the choice…
Congress needs to seperate the NFIP from the Cobra ect…. Another reason to go to the FREE MARKET PLACE for insurance instead of a GOVERNMENT run program
Sorry but SCOTUS ruled that the line item veto was unconstitutional.
Too bad that the Republicans who voted for it today: Scott Brown, Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins and George Voinovich wouldn’t stand up to Tom Colburn a couple weeks ago.
If we really wanted to make a statement as a voting block who wants to get Washington’s attention through “our” pocketbook and MAKE politicians stop spending OUR money, consider not pay IRS Income taxes along with the interest that will be tacked on! Are there enough IRS agents to apprehend 15-20 million non-taxpayers?
You should give your loan officer to read the Federal Reserve bulletion CA10-3 issued on March 29, 2010. The Fed instructs the lenders not to hold up any loan closings over this NFIP hiatus.
Been out of work since last spring. Have applied for hundreds of jobs; interviewed for about 10. When prospective employers insist on knowing the year of your birth
or year of college graduation as part of the initial application process, it is for one reason: to immediately disqualify a person due to their age. Age discrimination is rampant. One prospective employer said he would get back to me, “Dear.”
As if I were his sweet little auntie.
We had a buyer for our home and Buyer refused a loan as an edge of our property requires flood insurance (which we have). Due to the pending legislation the area banks will NOT consider any loan on home/land/commercial that requires flood insurance. Thank you politicians!
These are the same guys/gals that refuse unemployment extension while holding jobs and voting themselves a pay increase.
The only problem is that you will be cutting the pay checks of our military and police/fire fighters. Why should they suffer because the government doesn’t seem to know how to balance it’s checkbook.
Remember:
Red ink = BAD
Black ink = GOOD
Hopefully the Senate will vote quickly, the NFIP will be reauthorized and you will be able to close. If not, I would continue to go up the chain of command at your lender and press the issue. Try to find out which regulatory body (Freddie Mac, Federal Reserve, etc) your lender reports to. Once you know that, you may be able to contact a representative of the agency and get somewhere.
Wrong! There are provision for lenders who CHOOSE to close loans during the hiatus. Most signficant in the Federal Reserves “Guidance” statement is this (and I quote):Lenders may determine that the risk of loss is sufficient to justify postponing closing the loan until such time as the NFIP has been reauthorized. My bet is most lenders (mine included!) have chosen to invoke this “right” rather than become entangled with the “mess” and risks to both themselves and the mortgagee of closing during the hiatus…
Here is an option that came to me today from a client whose LENDER told her to try this. MOST residential NFIP policies are transferable. If the current homeowner has a current policy and it is not up for renewal you could try to obtain coverage that way. I have done this for a client years and years ago so they could pick up a “grandfathered zone”. The one she is obtaining happens to have come from State Farm and is written through State Farm not but we all know that the NFIP backs them all. Not sure if that will help anyone but that is what my client is doing that is closing on a new home this week and it worked!
Where are you getting your information? We are waiting to close on our loan for a home in Texas. I just talked to Chubb and they advise ALL their flood policies are NFIP policies, so this is NO help at all. They further advised (and this may apply to Texas only…) there is not an insurance company issuing any flood policies as they are ALL dependent on the NFIP. Hope this saves others from a “wild goose chase” for flood insurance…
This WILL work providing the policy you are assuming is large enough to cover the lender requirement and the policy has enough time before renewal deadline to satisfy the lender.
Chris,
If you are in Texas and know an insurance broker, not a captive agent (such as Stat Farm) ask them to call one of their brokers or to call Burns and Wilcox for a Lloyd of London quote if you can not wait for the hiatus to end. Our agency has contacted them and they are able to write. This is surplus coverage and is expensive I am sure. It is NOT through the NFIP as all others are.
Otherwise, if the home you are purchasing has an existing policy as your lender if they would accept your assignment or assumption of the current policy covering the property as I said in an earlier post. This is exactly what a client of mine is doing that closes on a new property this week that is right on the water.
I just went to look at the date on the policy my client is assuming and was shocked to see that it renews 9/18/10. I figured they would require at least six months but apparently not. And this home is in an A15 zone. I guess they figure that the hiatus will SURELY be over by then. I am truly surprised at how trusting they appear.
Chris, all I can say is that I work for a National Bank that is federally chartered and WE ARE NOT HOLDING UP ANY LOAN CLOSINGS due to the NFIP hiatus.
So if anyone’s lenders are giving them a hard time, perhaps you chose the wrong lender.
Maybe you should buy a house in a non flood zone area, so that my hard earned dollars do not have to be taken from me by the government to protect your house.
Personal Income Tax only accounts for 20% of total Federal Taxes collected. A taxpayer revolt would require Congress to prioritize spending on essential services and agencies (Military and interstate commerce regulation) getting rid of non essential spending.
I was supposed to close on my house on Tuesday; April 13, 2010. The sellers and I are at a standstill because the house is in a flood zone and I can not get a flood insurance policy. I think it is high time congress stop combining bills. This bill is tied in with the unemployment extension and that has a lot of people uptight. Please everyone do all you can to help get the flood insurance bill passed so I can close on my new house and so the sellers can get on with their lives in a new state. This is horrible for all who are stuck in the middle. No flood policies have been issued since March 29, 2010. From what I am told once congress approves this it is still going to be about a week before we will be able to close because everyone needs to review the policy; processor, underwriter, bank & then the title company; unbelieveable!
Sorry to tell you this, but all of the US is a flood zone. If it rains there, there is always the potential for a flood. Some areas are more prone to floosing then others.
WELL WHATS THE WORD? 13 APRIL 2010
So, can we or can’t we bind a new flood insurance policy?
I’m reading that we are close to resolving this issue but I find the information to be very difficult to navigate and get a definitive answer.
– Jon D Rausch
Alexander Insurance
Boca Raton, FL
561-584-0732
Do you think the U.S. Senate even knows the NFIP is part of this bill? I doubt it. They need to remember that April showers bring more than just May flowers. It brings serious flooding as well and there will be no coverage for those that really need it.
You cannot bind new or renewal business until this bill has passed.
Back to Flood 101 for you! No, you can’t “bind” a flood policy and never could. You don’t have binding authority for flood and never have. You can submit an application and show proof of that application with proof of payment, but it is not bound.
Thank you astounded. What’s more, there is a 30 day wait under normal circumstances and only, if there is a lender requirement, will the coverage be in effect on closing of the loan.
We’re ALL in a ZONE!!! Right?
Congress is in a zone of it’s own. It’s called the twilight zone and they haven’t a clue how to escape.
You can get many answers to your coverage status questions on FEMA’s April 1st bulletin. The bulletin number is W-10036.
To: Johnathan Rausch: There is no binding with flood insurance, regardless of the NFIP hiatus. You may still complete applications, collect premium and remit to the writing company. During the hiatus, the writing company must hold, in abeyance, any premium received on or after the first day of the hiatus. There are two FEMA bulletins that give detailed information regarding guidance for lenders and guidance for writing companies. http://bsa.nfipstat.com/wyobull/w-09068.pdf and http://bsa.nfipstat.com/wyobull/w-10031.pdf
Nancy –
Thank you.
– Jonathan
“Do you think the U.S. Senate even knows the NFIP is part of this bill? I doubt it.”
BobR, I doubt it also. Two realities about “bills” in D.C.: 1) They are not written by Congress, they are written by lawyers for special interest groups, and by lobbyists; 2) Congressmen do not read the bills; would you read a bill that’s as thick as the New York City phone book? Congressmen and women are too busy getting bribes from lobbyists to have time for these trivial matters.
This whole thing is insane. How do you leave for a 2 week vacation with something so LARGE unresolved??? These are the idiots we have in charge, come on! I was scheduled to close on a house March 31st but have been anable to do so. Congress get off your *** and do something!!! This is no way to stimulate our economy.
It used to be billions now we are talking about Trillions. When will this madness end.
Stop spending money you do not have!
This is holding up my loan to purchase a home. How long will it be before my flood policy be bound?
VOTE MOST OF THEM OUT
And that definitely includes extending welfare, I mean unemployement benefits. I have a friend who’s been on it for two years; unemployement that is. I’ve given him numerous job opportunities. He always has an excuse for not following up. “Well I’m driving out of town to my GF’s.” “Well that’s not the job I want.” “I bet there will be alot of people applying.” “I tried to look it up and it didn’t look like the right web site.” Even though I tried to help him with it, he didn’t want to be bothered. Now grant it, these are similiar jobs he did before, but he had other priorities. Well I’ll tell you this, if his unemployement were to get cut, he’d have a job within a month. There are jobs out there. Maybe not the perfect job, but they are out there. And yes there probably are alot of people applying, but you won’t know if you don’t try. We used to be people of survival, now we are a people of lazyness.
Where is the Line Item Veto?? As a term, “Line Item Veto” it makes a great campaign tool. But, in reality it never get’s anywhere. This is true whether we have a Republican or Democratic majority in the House, Senate, or White House?
Will it ever happen or is this too sensible of a concept for the House and Senate comprehend?
Your lender should not hold up your closing just because of the hiatus. Three regulatory bodies, Freddie Mac, Office of Thrift Supervision and Federal Reserve have given guidance to the lenders under their jurisdiction. The guidance indicates that as long as the lender receives a copy of the completed application and proof of payment, this is acceptable to proceed with closing, despite the hiatus. The lender is supposed to follow up after the hiatus is lifted to make sure the policy was issued. FEMA issued the following bulletin that mentions this issue: http://bsa.nfipstat.com/wyobull/w-10031.pdf
I have not taken the time to read all of these posted but did read one where someone is awaiting a home closing.
Our agency has found access to flood coverage through Lloyds of London policy. We are brokering it through Burn and Wilcox although I am certain other brokers can access it as well. As an agency that specializes in Homebuilders and Construction in general we had to come up with an alternative and this is the best we have found.
I hope this helps Lord knows our government won’t!
Hey Baxtor. You may be on to something. I consider myself pretty compassionate and I know the guy you describe does not describe everyone. But, this kind of “tough love” is an interesting concept. We would really find out where the jobs are if the UM bennies went away wouldn’t we? It’s easy for me to say because I am employed. I would rather see some teeth put into the UM system. Sure, you have to prove you are looking for a job. But, that is an easy sharade to pull off. The UM offices need to toughen up.
is what we need. Time for another American Revolution people – VOTE in November to oust whoever is in now…
Look, I don’t have time for this nonsense. Just pay the bill. I just want my “Big Fat 200 seat jet” back.
Why do we need term limits legislated? What happended to the power of the VOTE? If we the people keep putting the same idiots back in office, then we only have ourselves to blame for Washington’s disater. Ex. How does Barney Frank keep getting re elected????????????
November: Show the true power of the vote and vote out EVERY incumbent up for reelection! The best option is electing the opponet with ABSOLUTELY NO POLITICAL EXPERIENCE. Of course the lobbyist will have a field day “breaking in” the newbies, but how much worse can it get?
Thanks for your comment re: Lloyds of London. So far I have been given 9 different phone numbers with no help.
Frustrated in California as well.
While you’re voting out all of the career politicians, don’t forget to vote out our Commander in Chief at the end of his reign. He needs to be slapped for allowing this recess at a critical time for many. I hope no one in the Northeast became a victim of not getting their flood policy during the horrific rains a few weeks ago because of all of the greedy people in Washington.
Look here Nancy, I have first dib’s on the “Big fat 200 seat jet”. I have important meetings with the Fredie Mac people to get to this weekend in the Cayman Islands. And i need the extra seats for a few of my special friends.
Linda: The President has nothing to do with this one. This is a day in the life of the Congress and Senate. He really has no control over when they take a recess. Congress and Senate has taken receses many crucial times over the past 50 years and no Republican or Democratic President has the power to stop them. It’s called checks and balances.
Can someone explain to me what “checks and balances” means? I have the checks and I seem to walk without falling over. Now, it’s off to solving the nuclear waste problems of the world.
You can get insurance thru Chubb in most cases. The normal NFIP cost is around $300-$400 where as Chubb is around $2000.00 You make the choice…
Congress needs to seperate the NFIP from the Cobra ect…. Another reason to go to the FREE MARKET PLACE for insurance instead of a GOVERNMENT run program
Amen Sean, we need to VOTE out anyone who is currently in office now! Imagine the message that would send.
Sorry but SCOTUS ruled that the line item veto was unconstitutional.
Too bad that the Republicans who voted for it today: Scott Brown, Olympia Snowe, Susan Collins and George Voinovich wouldn’t stand up to Tom Colburn a couple weeks ago.
If we really wanted to make a statement as a voting block who wants to get Washington’s attention through “our” pocketbook and MAKE politicians stop spending OUR money, consider not pay IRS Income taxes along with the interest that will be tacked on! Are there enough IRS agents to apprehend 15-20 million non-taxpayers?
Just a thought.
Sean,
You first. The rest of us will be right behind you, we promise.
Harry Reid says you don’t HAVE to pay taxes, it’s stricly voluntary! It’s on YouTube, him saying just that.
It is one of those hypothetical thoughts that get into one’s brian. Not to act on just to ponder.
Thank you for your response but my lender still won’t accept just the application.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7mRSI8yWwg
You should give your loan officer to read the Federal Reserve bulletion CA10-3 issued on March 29, 2010. The Fed instructs the lenders not to hold up any loan closings over this NFIP hiatus.
http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/caletters/2010/1003/caltr1003.htm
Been out of work since last spring. Have applied for hundreds of jobs; interviewed for about 10. When prospective employers insist on knowing the year of your birth
or year of college graduation as part of the initial application process, it is for one reason: to immediately disqualify a person due to their age. Age discrimination is rampant. One prospective employer said he would get back to me, “Dear.”
As if I were his sweet little auntie.
We had a buyer for our home and Buyer refused a loan as an edge of our property requires flood insurance (which we have). Due to the pending legislation the area banks will NOT consider any loan on home/land/commercial that requires flood insurance. Thank you politicians!
These are the same guys/gals that refuse unemployment extension while holding jobs and voting themselves a pay increase.
I posted this in response in an earlier posting, but perhaps it needs to have it’s own posting.
The Federal Reserve has issued instructiosn to banks not to hold up closings while NFIP is on hiatus.
Here is a link to the bulletin.
http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/caletters/2010/1003/caltr1003.htm
Thanks – I will forward this information to our realtor for the next time.
I like the idea. Just prefer not to be the first.
The only problem is that you will be cutting the pay checks of our military and police/fire fighters. Why should they suffer because the government doesn’t seem to know how to balance it’s checkbook.
Remember:
Red ink = BAD
Black ink = GOOD
Hopefully the Senate will vote quickly, the NFIP will be reauthorized and you will be able to close. If not, I would continue to go up the chain of command at your lender and press the issue. Try to find out which regulatory body (Freddie Mac, Federal Reserve, etc) your lender reports to. Once you know that, you may be able to contact a representative of the agency and get somewhere.
Wrong! There are provision for lenders who CHOOSE to close loans during the hiatus. Most signficant in the Federal Reserves “Guidance” statement is this (and I quote):Lenders may determine that the risk of loss is sufficient to justify postponing closing the loan until such time as the NFIP has been reauthorized. My bet is most lenders (mine included!) have chosen to invoke this “right” rather than become entangled with the “mess” and risks to both themselves and the mortgagee of closing during the hiatus…
Here is an option that came to me today from a client whose LENDER told her to try this. MOST residential NFIP policies are transferable. If the current homeowner has a current policy and it is not up for renewal you could try to obtain coverage that way. I have done this for a client years and years ago so they could pick up a “grandfathered zone”. The one she is obtaining happens to have come from State Farm and is written through State Farm not but we all know that the NFIP backs them all. Not sure if that will help anyone but that is what my client is doing that is closing on a new home this week and it worked!
Where are you getting your information? We are waiting to close on our loan for a home in Texas. I just talked to Chubb and they advise ALL their flood policies are NFIP policies, so this is NO help at all. They further advised (and this may apply to Texas only…) there is not an insurance company issuing any flood policies as they are ALL dependent on the NFIP. Hope this saves others from a “wild goose chase” for flood insurance…
This WILL work providing the policy you are assuming is large enough to cover the lender requirement and the policy has enough time before renewal deadline to satisfy the lender.
Chris,
If you are in Texas and know an insurance broker, not a captive agent (such as Stat Farm) ask them to call one of their brokers or to call Burns and Wilcox for a Lloyd of London quote if you can not wait for the hiatus to end. Our agency has contacted them and they are able to write. This is surplus coverage and is expensive I am sure. It is NOT through the NFIP as all others are.
Otherwise, if the home you are purchasing has an existing policy as your lender if they would accept your assignment or assumption of the current policy covering the property as I said in an earlier post. This is exactly what a client of mine is doing that closes on a new property this week that is right on the water.
Good Luck!
I just went to look at the date on the policy my client is assuming and was shocked to see that it renews 9/18/10. I figured they would require at least six months but apparently not. And this home is in an A15 zone. I guess they figure that the hiatus will SURELY be over by then. I am truly surprised at how trusting they appear.
Chris, all I can say is that I work for a National Bank that is federally chartered and WE ARE NOT HOLDING UP ANY LOAN CLOSINGS due to the NFIP hiatus.
So if anyone’s lenders are giving them a hard time, perhaps you chose the wrong lender.
Maybe you should buy a house in a non flood zone area, so that my hard earned dollars do not have to be taken from me by the government to protect your house.
Personal Income Tax only accounts for 20% of total Federal Taxes collected. A taxpayer revolt would require Congress to prioritize spending on essential services and agencies (Military and interstate commerce regulation) getting rid of non essential spending.
I was supposed to close on my house on Tuesday; April 13, 2010. The sellers and I are at a standstill because the house is in a flood zone and I can not get a flood insurance policy. I think it is high time congress stop combining bills. This bill is tied in with the unemployment extension and that has a lot of people uptight. Please everyone do all you can to help get the flood insurance bill passed so I can close on my new house and so the sellers can get on with their lives in a new state. This is horrible for all who are stuck in the middle. No flood policies have been issued since March 29, 2010. From what I am told once congress approves this it is still going to be about a week before we will be able to close because everyone needs to review the policy; processor, underwriter, bank & then the title company; unbelieveable!
Sorry to tell you this, but all of the US is a flood zone. If it rains there, there is always the potential for a flood. Some areas are more prone to floosing then others.
I know that everywhere has the potential for flooding, but I don’t know what the risk of floosing is. But it sounds like floosing might be fun.