Confusion is mounting over the FEMA 50% rule and Lee County structural values.

FORT MYERS BEACH, Florida. FEMA’s 50% rule letter is causing confusion among homeowners looking to rebuild a home after Ian. FEMA said in a letter that there was an error with the market value figures for the Lee County property, calling it a “major discrepancy.”

This has now been somewhat abandoned by FEMA in another letter saying that municipalities have the right to verify the correctness of the values ​​received from the estimator. The confusion has caused a lot of mixed feelings for homeowners in the recovery phases.

“If you walk into my house right this second, you can see it from one end to the other,” said Anita Sereseda, former mayor and homeowner of Fort Myers Beach. “It had about 6 1/2 feet of water in it.”

According to her, this letter excited the homeowners. Before diving into the letter, we are going to explain the 50% rule.

The cost of Cereceda’s house is about $250,000. This is determined by the Lee County property appraiser and includes only the building, not the fence, pool, or other additions.

To fall under the 50% rule, the cost of restoring what was before the storm would have to be $125,000 or less—hence 50%. If it’s more than that, the homeowner will either have to tear down the house and build it in compliance with all regulations, or rebuild it to the correct flood height.

A Feb. 13 letter from FEMA to municipalities casts doubt on the correctness of the numbers used by the Lee County property appraiser. While claiming a large discrepancy, FEMA stated that it “cannot determine if these values ​​are acceptable”. Cities and towns using incorrect permit numbers can have consequences.

“Again, not the best news in the world. I just wanted to make sure you heard this from me,” Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Allers said in a Facebook video.

As soon as the letter reached the city of Fort Myers Beach, the city said it was going to use the “cost” through the county’s property appraiser. This will be detrimental to homeowners looking to restore the home, such as Cereceda.

“It was $83,000 and that cost means I could have spent $41,000 renovating my house, which I couldn’t do,” Cereceda said.

On February 17, FEMA sent another letter of clarification. It states that municipalities have the authority to check the value from a real estate appraiser to ensure it is reliable and uses a consistent methodology, which FEMA questioned in the first place.

“The implications of this letter were far-reaching and it really sent a lot of people into a tailspin, and apparently unnecessarily,” Cereceda said. “A huge sigh of relief, but still a bit of apprehension.”

We contacted Matthew Caldwell, a Lee County real estate appraiser, who provided Fox 4 with the application.

Despite numerous requests, FEMA did not say if they understood the methodology correctly prior to sending the first letter. The spokesperson only stated that they are working to better understand this and are sending teams to work with local floodplain administrators.

A spokesperson for Fort Myers Beach said it would revert to the cost of the structure published by the appraiser’s office in October 2022. The numbers in the report were calculated before the storm, which is required by program rules.

Having cleared the confusion for homeowners, Cereceda is waiting for her permission.

“I can’t imagine life anywhere else,” she said. “Most of all, I look forward to returning to my place, to where I belong.”

Many city governments offer a private appraisal if you want to restore a building.