Fla. County Reaches FEMA Flood Accord.(Monroe County, Federal Emergency Management Agency, compliance with National Flood Insurance Program)(Brief Article)

Monroe County has reached an agreement with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to initiate a plan that will bring the county back into compliance with the National Flood Insurance Program.

The county, which lays primarily in the Florida Keys (an area of the state known for frequent flooding) has had an explosion over the last decade of illegal habitable enclosures constructed under elevated homes and buildings, according to FEMA data.

"People can have an enclosure below the flood level as long as it is used for parking vehicles, building access or limited storage," said Brad Loar, chief of the mitigation programs branch at the FEMA regional office in Atlanta.

Buildings with these habitable enclosures are in violation of the NFIP and are subject to having their flood policies cancelled from mortgages. The loans then lose compliance with federal law and the lenders are subject to penalties.

Among the most recent cases, in late April, the Federal Reserve Board fined Community Bank of Granbury, Texas, civil penalties totaling $10,000 for alleged violations of the NFIP. Federal law requires a maximum civil penalty of up to $350 for each violation. The bank while admitting no wrongdoing, has consented to comply with the order.

Lenders caught off guard in servicing Monroe County loans may face similar fines.

Alan Robbins, senior vice president of residential lending for Metro Bank, Miami, Fla., who is also the immediate past president of the Mortgage Bankers Association of Florida, Winter Park, believes that lenders servicing the area should aware of the situation.