What is a FEMA Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA)?
So, you decided to purchase or refinance a home and it turns out that it’s in a FEMA-designated Special Flood Hazard Area (SFHA) and your lender says, “you have two options, get flood insurance or a get a LOMA.” Sound familiar?
Although many homes are correctly shown in the SFHA (Special Flood Hazard area or high-risk flood zone), sometimes there’s newer or better information available that wasn’t considered when FEMA established the high-risk flood zone. FEMA uses engineering best practices and standards to delineate its flood zones, but the data is usually only good to +/- 2 feet. That’s why FEMA created the MT-1 process allowing property owners to challenge the zone classification of their home or property by submitting more detailed information.
