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Re: recommend condo and flood insurance provider
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Home away from home
 
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Here's a link to a PDF on FEMA's website that explains the mandatory flood insurance purchase rules, including for change of loan servicer. Not sure if it answers the specific concerns here, but it's pretty informative overall:
http://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=2954
Posted on: 2012/1/19 15:47
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Re: flood insurance for high rise condo in downtown jc?
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Home away from home
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Can you tell me where you found updated FEMA FIRM maps? The map on the FEMA website for my part of downtown (Map # 34017C0106D) was issued in August of 2006. The property in question is literally on the flood zone line, so I would really like to know if there's an updated map out there somewhere.
Posted on: 2012/1/19 15:26
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Re: recommend condo and flood insurance provider
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Home away from home
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Since there are only 2 units, maybe you can qualify for insurance through NJ Manufacturers (it's non-profit)? You or your employer will need to belong to the NJ Business & Industry Association though in order to qualify. As for flood portion of the insurance, I think the only game in town now is the Federal Govt's program. That program took on huge losses in 2010 thru 2011, which might explain your big increase in rates.
Posted on: 2012/1/18 16:47
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recommend condo and flood insurance provider
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Home away from home
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Can you recommend your condo insurance (building, rather than contents) and flood insurance provider? Our rates jumped significantly (with no explanation) for our 2 unit downtown condo, and we are looking to shop around for a better rate.
Posted on: 2012/1/18 16:10
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Re: flood insurance for high rise condo in downtown jc?
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Newbie
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chiefdahill says that Fannie and Freddie are requiring "an HO6 insurance policy or "content coverage" for all condos and coops. They require a separate policy equal to at least 20% of the appraised value to cover the contents of your unit. Some condos have a limited content coverage under their master ins policy so you may get away with less."
We are under contract for a garden level unit downtown. The NFIP considers it a basement because the floors are all below ground level and will not insure it. Has anyone experienced a problem with this before or have any advice?
Posted on: 2010/3/2 20:31
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Re: flood insurance for high rise condo in downtown jc?
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Home away from home
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also know that the FEMA maps were just redrawn yet again and some former floodzones were rezoned OUT of the critical areas, changing the need for coverage. This happened at my shore condo, we only had the ins in place a few months when we found out it was no longer required from a neighbor who found out from HER mortgage company that is was now optional. (Never heard one word from our company of course, we had to call to tell THEM)
Posted on: 2010/2/2 16:43
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Re: flood insurance for high rise condo in downtown jc?
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Home away from home
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You are correct, they are trying to sell to them and evidently this was the issue. Ridiculous!
Posted on: 2010/2/2 15:05
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Re: flood insurance for high rise condo in downtown jc?
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Home away from home
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I should mention it's $250 MORE than the already significant amount we cover, which is already the value of our unit, +more. However, I have contacted CHASE and they are now telling me it was a clerical error and our insurance is fine. Sigh.
Posted on: 2010/2/2 15:04
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Re: flood insurance for high rise condo in downtown jc?
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Home away from home
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$250k would be coverage for a single unit, not an entire building. What your association probably has is coverage for the replacement cost of the entire building, which would be cheaper than paying for $250k of coverage per unit. However, the bank probably wants $250k coverage for your individual unit. The coverage that your association has probably works out to less than $250k per unit, so they want you to cover the rest. This has been our experience, anyway.
Ask them for something in writing that says that $250k of coverage is required. If they can provide it, I would bet that it also indicates something to the effect that if the entire building's replacement cost is covered, then you do not need to cover anything else. In your situation, you already have the mortgage, so I don't understand how they can change the terms. Have them provide you with the section of the contract requiring flood insurance.
Posted on: 2010/2/2 14:12
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Re: flood insurance for high rise condo in downtown jc?
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Home away from home
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Keep calling them, don't take this lying down. I would also go to a Chase branch and ask to speak with the manager and explain the situation. Dealing with the 800 number is going to go nowhere as you talk to a different person every time. Seriously go to the branch on Columbus and don't take no for an answer. This is my business and they can't force you to pay flood insurance for the whole building. If they F'd up they are going to have to eat it. Looks as though they are trying to sell to either Fannie or Freddie and the loan got kicked back. They will now have to hold it in their portfolio. Portfolio loans are not bound by Fannie/Freddie requirements so tell them to jump in the Hudson and swim back to Manhattan.
Posted on: 2010/2/2 1:37
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Re: flood insurance for high rise condo in downtown jc?
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Home away from home
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We provided all insurance coverage, including our flood insurance certificate for the whole building to the original underwriters. They asked us to up our insurance (at a cost of $490/year) and we obliged. We signed the papers. Closed the mortgage and were done. Chase is asking to see all of our flood insurance information again. I talked to our mortgage broker and they re-sent all the papers that they stated CHASE already had and said it was a mistake by Chase not communicating internally. Then we suddenly receive a request for all of this AGAIN from Chase stating we are $250K short on flood insurance. This would mean they are requiring our unit to pay flood insurance for the ENTIRE COST OF THE WHOLE BUILDING. Not just our unit. But our Condo already has flood insurance for the whole condo. Like I said, this would be an extra $75K out of our pockets over the course of our 30 year mortgage. We cannot ask our Condo Association to front the costs of this. They aren't renegotiating their mortgages and it's not fair to them. I just don't see how we could have signed all the papers, closed the deal and then they can force us to get more insurance. Insurance that essentially is saying we would have to flood all the way up to the third and fourth floor of our condo. Which would essentially mean the entire eastern seaboard would be under water. Is this legal?
Posted on: 2010/2/1 15:13
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Re: flood insurance for high rise condo in downtown jc?
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Home away from home
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We just backed out of a refinancing because we would have had to pay extra for flood insurance (on top of what we already pay through our maintenance). It would have cost us about $100 a month for this additional coverage. No matter that if a drop of flood water ever touched our condo it would mean that the entire eastern seaboard has probably been wiped out.
If Chase bought your mortgage, I do not see how they can change the terms. They should have known about this coverage when they bought it. This would be like them changing the interest rate. Also, asking you to pay for $250k of coverage seems like they do not think you have flood coverage at all. Check with your condo association to see how much flood coverage each unit has. You may only be required to cover the difference between what your association covers and what your bank requires. A $50k policy should run less than $1,000 a year. But I would check with a lawyer to see if Chase can change the terms of an already-existing mortgage.
Posted on: 2010/2/1 14:35
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Re: flood insurance for high rise condo in downtown jc?
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Home away from home
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Let me address some of the posts above.
1. All loan closings need to have a flood cert in the file to close. The lender will tell you if you need flood ins at that time. Condos should have it covered by their master ins policy. Chase is in the wrong here wibbit. If the policy is not enough than your HOA needs to increase coverage. 2. Lenders will at time increase your payments to cover any short fall due to tax increases. 3. In order to waive escrows with any Fannie/Freddie bank aka the big banks they charge .25% to the price of the loan aka you can either pay the .25% at closing or accept a higher rate to absorb that adjustment usually about .125% higher in rate but your broker/lender may be able to absorb it at no cost to you. Some regional lender require escrows and some don't care. Depends on the bank. 4. Recently all Fannie/Freddie lenders are now requiring an HO6 insurance policy or "content coverage" for all condos and coops. They require a separate policy equal to at least 20% of the appraised value to cover the contents of your unit. Some condos have a limited content coverage under their master ins policy so you may get away with less. 5. If you have left over money in your escrow account the lender is required to disburse it to you annually. I actually got Chase to cancel my escrow originally since my HOA was collecting for the taxes. They said no the first 3 times I called but I kept at it and they eventually agreed with me. 6. JC charges you a transaction fee to pay your taxes with a CC so I wouldn't suggest doing that. Mailing it or dropping it off at City Hall will save you money. Email me if you have any specific mortgage/escrow related questions, I've been doing this for 10 years. Adam Dahill adahill (AT) wcslending.com 212-351-8020
Posted on: 2010/2/1 14:30
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Re: flood insurance for high rise condo in downtown jc?
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Home away from home
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I just renegotiated my mortgage a few months ago. Paid a significant amount down to get it in a great place. They scrutinized our Condo and home insurance and required us to get more which cost us about $490 more per year.
They sold the mortgage to CHASE before our first payment was even due. Now CHASE is telling us our flood insurance isn't enough (from my knowledge we pay through the balls for insurance already condo-association wise and personally) and they now say we require an extra $250K worth of insurance. That will be several thousand dollars more per year for us. They tell us if we don't get more insurance within 45 days to the date of the letter they'll charge us for THEIR insurance. Either way, it didn't make this new mortgage worth it now that I'll have $37,500 more insurance costs over the next 15 years? I would have gone with another mortgage or negotiated differently. Is this even legal? What happens if CHASE sells it and the insurance requirements change again? I re-negotiated this mortgage thinking it was the right one for me, upped my insurance PRIOR to signing, knew what I was getting in to, sent the underwriters everything they required to CLOSE the mortgage. They sell it and suddenly I am forced to pay thousands more in insurance that seems unrealistic, unnecessary and with my taxes already increasing - down right impossible?
Posted on: 2010/2/1 14:09
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Re: flood insurance for high rise condo in downtown jc?
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Not too shy to talk
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Yeah, Chase or whichever bank/mortgage company should send the borrower an annual escrow analysis to inform the borrower of actual cost versus projected. They are only allowed to have a minimal cushion.
Check the HUD1 or Loan Closing Statement...it will have an area for hazard insurance or flood insurance reserve if the bank escrows. If the bank did not provide a flood notice to the borrower, I believe you may a case in not obtaining flood insurance coverage; however the mortgage agreement may have a clause regarding required insurance. Let's say, if the flood map changes during the term of your loan, the bank can legally require flood insurance. Mortgage companies are now requiring H01 Policy (Condo Policy) because they want the loans to be conforming according to Freddie/Fannie, which pisses me off since that another extra expense. I know it's good to have just in case, but just that they require it!
Posted on: 2009/12/17 20:43
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Re: flood insurance for high rise condo in downtown jc?
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Home away from home
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Honestly I think it's become more difficult to find banks willing to let you opt out because of the risk. In a foreclosure the city is first in line for back taxes. More and more banks are forcing escrow accounts on consumers to make sure the taxes are paid. I asked my bank about it a couple of times and they wouldn't allow an escrow waiver and I didn't really push the issue after that. Yes I trust myself to pay the taxes, but I can see their point of view. I don't really care that much about the miles and it's one less bill for me to worry about. So I think of it more of a service they provide for the consumer. The only cost is the lost interest I would have if the money were invested which would be minimal or nothing in my case since I'm terrible at picking stocks.
Posted on: 2009/12/17 16:58
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Re: flood insurance for high rise condo in downtown jc?
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Home away from home
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Lenders usually reassess escrow each year and the adjust accordingly. But wouldn't you rather have that money in your own account, possibly earning interest? In addition, you can pay your JC taxes online using a credit card, meaning you can earn cash back or miles or whatever. You are fronting the banks an interest-free cash advance when you pay escrow. Unless you don't trust yourself to pay your taxes timely, you should opt out.
Posted on: 2009/12/17 16:43
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Re: flood insurance for high rise condo in downtown jc?
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Home away from home
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If you can refinance to a different bank I highly recommend GMAC mortgage. I've had them for over 10 years. Only once did they send me a notice about flood insurance and like the previous poster said were giving me 45 days to resolve the issue. All I had to do was fax them a letter stating I'm not a in flood zone and I never heard about it again. They do accrue an escrow but only reassess at the end of the year, if there is a shortfall they ask for a check or notify me that the want to accrue for more in the following year. One year they accrued too much and when they reassessed at the end of the year my escrow charge went down for the following year. My escrow is stictly for the local taxes so it is easy for me to match up the charges at the end of th year. I feel confident they?ve been honest with me. They also gave me a good interest rate on a refinance as well.
Posted on: 2009/12/17 16:08
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Re: flood insurance for high rise condo in downtown jc?
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Home away from home
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happy ending here, the flood insurance was fully refunded back to my escrow. The process is surprisingly painless, after i faxed them to claim from my condo assoc, called to followup. then 5 days later it was credited back to me.
So lesson here is to check your escrow deduction carefully, and dont assume all the charges are valid.
Posted on: 2009/12/17 15:46
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Re: flood insurance for high rise condo in downtown jc?
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Home away from home
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hi
1) the mortgage was sold to chase a month or 2 AFTER the closing. I dont believe there was any mention of flood insurance from the original mortgage lender or that i signed anything, but to be honest there were so much paper work i might not remember correctly. I just focused on the stuff that was important at the time, didnt pay attention to flood insurance disclosures which was a mistake. 2) i tried multiple times to ask them to remove escrow especially since the condo has tax abatement. It makes no sense for them to use escrow to pay $50 a year in property tax on my behalf...but it's not possible, i believe escrow is part of the requirement to get a mortgage from almost all lenders. I am paying close to 800 a month in escrow and dont have a clue what that money will be used for (well except the flood insurance  ). But at least chase online is very clear, i can see the money going into my escrow account every month and sitting there..
Posted on: 2009/12/5 4:21
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Re: flood insurance for high rise condo in downtown jc?
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Home away from home
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That they took it out of your escrow is another reason to avoid paying escrow if at all possible. What a scam.
Posted on: 2009/12/4 13:49
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Re: flood insurance for high rise condo in downtown jc?
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Newbie
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Did you receive a flood insurance disclosure when you were applying for the loan informing you that your property was 1) in a flood zone and 2) in a community participating in the National Flood Insurance Program? If you didn't, this is a violation on the part of Chase - they are required to maintain a signed copy of this disclosure in the event you or they are unable to produce it.
The way the process is supposed to work is that the lender determines the property is in a flood zone, informs the loan applicant through a specific disclosure, close the loan only when it's determined that sufficient flood insurance is on the property, and ensure that proper insurance is maintained for the life of the loan. If at any point during the life of the loan the lender determines that the property is either uninsured or underinsured, they must force place insurance, but they need notify the borrower give him/her 45 days to obtain proper insurance before doing this - forced place insurance is much more expensive as indicated by jklm. Flood insurance is a hot-button topic nowadays and lenders are getting fined left and right for violations, which is why all lenders (especially national ones like Chase) are looking to make sure they are covered.
Posted on: 2009/12/4 13:31
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Re: flood insurance for high rise condo in downtown jc?
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Home away from home
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this just happened to me too, though not in JC. Sometimes the coverage your building provides isn't as much as the mortgage company/bank wants, and you need to suck up the rest. Ran us $1000... this is at the Jersey Shore, on the 12th floor mind you.
oops- sorry I should note this was BEFORE closing, almost exactly as described by poster below.....
Posted on: 2009/12/4 13:16
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Re: flood insurance for high rise condo in downtown jc?
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Home away from home
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i already got the insurance declaration copy from my condo management (they are awesome), and the chase lady on the phone seemed nice enough, or maybe because i sounded so pissed, she said just to fax it to her and they will resolve it.
Will see what happens....
Posted on: 2009/12/4 0:13
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Re: flood insurance for high rise condo in downtown jc?
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Home away from home
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You should check to see if your building even needs flood insurance against the FEMA Insurance Rate Maps. Mortgage companies have told some of our friends that they need flood insurance even though their properties fall outside of the 0.2% chance annual floodplain.
If you live in the lowlands, should you get flood insurance - probably, but mortgage companies can't say you need to have it if you are not in any of the flood areas.
Posted on: 2009/12/4 0:01
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- Never argue with an idiot. They bring you down to their level and then beat you with experience.
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Re: flood insurance for high rise condo in downtown jc?
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Home away from home
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thanks this is exactly what happened. I have chase as my mortgage lender, those rat bastard didnt even bother to send me a letter informing me about this, i just see it hidden along with all my other escrow charges, they charged $2700 for flood insurance for this year, and i only bought the place a few months ago... the joy of home ownership...
Posted on: 2009/12/3 21:41
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Re: flood insurance for high rise condo in downtown jc?
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Home away from home
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Your condo assn. should have flood insurance for the building. This is normally a document that is renewed each year. My bank (Chase) requires that the new policy is faxed to them every year, or they will get me insurance at their price!! Gotta keep on top of it or you have to go through the hassle of proving proof of insurance and then getting you money back.
Posted on: 2009/12/3 21:27
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Re: flood insurance for high rise condo in downtown jc?
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Home away from home
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Where, what building?
Posted on: 2009/12/3 21:12
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flood insurance for high rise condo in downtown jc?
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Home away from home
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i just got charged close to $3000 from my escrow for "flood insurance". Does anyone know if this is normal? i dont remember paying for it in my previous condo. I thought high rise condos have flood insurance already covered by our maintenance. thanks
Posted on: 2009/12/3 20:39
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