November 20, 2017
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has announced a multi-billion dollar pledge to help Texas recover from Hurricane Harvey. According to a press release on the HUD official site, the funds will “support the repair of damaged homes, businesses and critical infrastructure in the State.”
According to the press release, the funds are possible via the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2018 and the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act, 2017. This “appropriated $7.4 billion in CDBG-DR funding for major disasters declared in calendar year 2017. To distribute these funds, the Act requires HUD to direct the funds to the areas most impacted by qualifying disasters.”
The press release adds that HUD will announce additional grants “to other jurisdictions as more data become available on the unmet needs from other disasters” including those named in the press release-Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Maria and California fires.
“…the whole federal family is with the people of Texas to help them recover from this devastating storm as quickly as possible,” said HUD Secretary Ben Carson, who was quoted in the press release.
Carson adds, “HUD will work with Governor Abbott and his staff to do whatever is needed to rebuild damaged homes and to restore shuttered businesses in some of the hardest-hit areas of the State.”
The press release mentions a HUD analysis project, which found “over 230,000 homes with damage, approximately 65,000 of which had serious damage that is not covered by other sources. More than 4,000 businesses similarly suffered serious damage from flooding that is not covered by insurance or other resources.”
According to HUD, the $5 billion now available to the State of Texas is intended to meet needs “not being met by private insurance or other sources of Federal assistance”.
Home owners in the state who were affected by the disaster should contact FEMA, the FHA, and their lenders as soon as possible to learn what options may be open to them for disaster recovery. Some types of assistance are available only to those with homes in federally declared major disaster areas, while other assistance may be open to those who experienced damage in areas that do not fall under the federal declaration.
Existing relief from the FHA and HUD for those in federally declared disaster areas include a 90-day foreclosure moratorium, and FHA rehab loans that can be used to repair or replace homes damaged in the natural disaster. It’s not safe to assume that disaster relief is automatic; it’s important to learn what options you may be required to sign up for and what time limits may be imposed on certain types of disaster relief.
One good example; the FHA 203(h) rehab loan for disaster victims requires the borrower to apply within one year of the disaster declaration. In some cases the government may announce an extension of such deadlines, but it’s never safe to assume one will happen automatically.
Joe Wallace has been specializing in military and personal finance topics since 1995. His work has appeared on Air Force Television News, The Pentagon Channel, ABC and a variety of print and online publications. He is a 13-year Air Force veteran and a member of the Air Force Public Affairs Alumni Association. He was Managing editor for www.valoans.com for (8) years and is currently the Associate Editor for FHANewsblog.com.
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