FDIC issued FIL-81-2001 stating that the SFHDF had to be provided within a "reasonable time - generally 10 days". Does anyone provided it in a time other than 10 days? Can we determine what is reasonable? I'm not aware we have latitude in this, but I have a commercial lender (yes... I know you've heard that before) who insists that we don't need to comply with the 10 day rule. Help. Thank you in advance.

We try to adhear to the 10 day time frame, but on the occassion when we don't, I require a brief memo to the file from the lender as to why. Usually it is because there has not been 10 days between the committment to lend & loan closing. They know that deviation from this procedure is reported to the board.

It isn't a cite they could hit you with, but guidance. That said, ask the lender, why not go for 10 days notice? Why not give the customer as much advance notice as possible? Why jeopardize your closing date? And why establish a pattern or practice that will do nothing more than expose you, rightfully or not, to regulatory criticism? Is that a battle you really want to fight?

The 10 day guidance is something that the examiners try to go by, it's not a rule that they could hit you with, but they can make it uncomfortable. That said, what is your risk? Do you do a fair amount of lending in flood zones? If so, you will get more pressure from your regulator. If only a small amount of loans are in, then they probably won't give you much grief over it. What has been the flavor from past exams? Did they comment that you needed to address this or not?

If you do have a good deal of flood zones, then why not get it earlier in the process? If you are doing a home purchase, you generally have a good amount of time to gather the info, we order the flood at the same time that we order the appraisal and legal opinion. At this point, the lender is fairly sure that he is going to make the loan. It takes persistance to change a lender's thinking and get them to see this in a new light--it's a processing doc, not a closing doc.

Lastly, if you have a fair amount of flood zones, isn't it better customer service to let them know early in the process rather than at a time that they are trying to find boxes and figure out what to move and what to throw?