FROLICH MEADOWS

May 7, 2009

Frolich Meadows Residents

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

RE: ELIMINATING THE REQUIREMENT FOR

FLOOD INSURANCE ON YOUR HOME

Dear Homeowners:

My name is Mark Ritchie and I am a professional engineer and land surveyor doing work in your subdivision. I recently assisted one of your neighboring homeowners in removing the requirement for flood insurance on their home. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) shows many of the homes in your area are located in the 100-year floodplain. It is possible for this insurance requirement to be removed from your home if I prove to FEMA that your home would not be flooded by the 100-year storm. I prove this by surveying the elevation of your home and comparing it to the corresponding 100-year flood elevation of Crutcho Creek.

As you likely know, flood insurance can be very expensive so removing it can result in a substantial savings each month. In some cases, flood insurance premiums are paid through your escrow account and you may not fully appreciate how expensive they are. Lenders require flood insurance on all federally backed mortgages.

Even if you don’t have a mortgage on your home, when it comes time to sell most buyers will have a mortgage and will be faced with paying for flood insurance. This could be the deciding factor in whether prospective buyers choose to buy your home or a different home.

IT IS POSSIBLE FOR INSURANCE PREMIUMS TO BE REFUNDED TO HOMEOWNERS WHO QUALIFY TO HAVE THE INSURANCE REQUIREMENT REMOVED.

If you are interested, please contact me by e-mail at ( cds-ok@cox.net ) or by phone at ( 405-795-3610 ). You can also review additional information that I’ve placed on my website www.CDSOK.com .

Thank you for your time.

************* Additional Information ***********************

If you were required to obtain flood insurance as a condition of a loan and you were later determined to be removed from the Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) by a Letter of Map Change (LOMC) (includes Letter of Map Amendment, Letter of Map Revision - based on Fill or Letter of Map Revision), you may request a refund. However, the lender is not required to waive your flood insurance requirement; the lender may decide that flood insurance coverage is still required as a condition of the loan.

To receive a refund, submit the LOMC to the lender and ask that the lender waive the insurance requirement. Present the written waiver from the lender, along with a copy of the LOMC, to the insurance agent that sold you the policy and request a refund. Refunds are not available if a claim has been made or is pending against the policy.

If a lending institution is federally regulated or making federally-backed loans, it must review the NFIP maps to determine if the building is located in a Special Flood Hazard Area. The SFHA is the area that is expected to be inundated by a 1% annual chance flood. If the bank makes such a determination, it must require the borrower to purchase flood insurance. Please note, these determinations are purely in/out and do not involve the vertical elevation of the structure. If you disagree with the lending institution's determination, you may request that FEMA review the lender's determination. FEMA will then review the information that the lending institution used, and issue a letter that states whether we agree with the determination. Your request must be postmarked no later than 45 days after the lending institution notifies you of the flood insurance requirement and the submittal must be complete. The request must include all of the information and fees listed in the Letter of Determination Review (LODR) information sheet. If your request is postmarked after the 45-day limit has expired, or if we do not receive all of the information within the 45-day limit, we will not be able to review the determination and the flood insurance requirement stands. FEMA's responses to these requests are called LODRs, and offer two basic dispositions: (1) the lender's determination stands or (2)it is overturned. FEMA's determination is based on the technical data submitted. If the lender's evidence is inconclusive or the request is incomplete FEMA can disagree with the lender's determination. FEMA's response does not amend or revise the NFIP map for your community. It only states that FEMA agrees or disagrees with your lender's determination. Occasionally a lending institution may require insurance if it determines that a part of your lot is in the SFHA. The NFIP does not insure land. However, even if you submit evidence that your building is out of the floodplain, the bank may still decide to require insurance on your building.

To be removed the floodplain shown on the Flood Insurance Rate Map, a structure must be on land that is not subject to flooding by the 1% annual chance flood. Remember, more severe floods can and do happen, so even if your home is found to be on high ground, it may still be damaged by an extreme flood event. If your lot or building site is on natural ground that is higher than the Base Flood Elevation shown on the FIRM, then you may request a Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA). To support your request, you will have to get a surveyor to determine the elevation of the ground next to your building and complete an Elevation Certificate. If the ground is higher than the Base Flood Elevation, then FEMA will issue a LOMA. With a LOMA, your lender may choose to not require flood insurance. If your home was built on fill that was placed after the FIRM was prepared, you may request a Letter of Map Revision Based on Fill (LOMR-F). As with a LOMA, you will need to get an Elevation Certificate completed by a land surveyor. If the filled ground is higher than the Base Flood Elevation, and if you do not have a basement, then FEMA may issue a LOMR-F, and your lender may choose to not require flood insurance.