In fact, these vendors can guess that a property is "not in a special flood hazard area" (NSFHA) and be correct 93 percent of the time, but leave the lender dangerously exposed to liability.
Lenders relied upon the computer company's flood determination system, which turned out to be seriously flawed in the opinion of several experts because it identified many properties as "in" a special flood hazard area (SFHA) when they were actually "out," or what is known in the trade as a no special flood hazard area (NSFHA).