The Road Home will begin serving homeowners who sold their Hurricane Katrina and Rita ravaged homes before the launch of the program in 2006, the state of Louisiana announced Tuesday.
More than 5,000 Road Home applicants who sold their homes at a loss before the launch of the program may now be eligible for grants. Letters will be mailed to all of these applicants by the end of the week and they must return these letters indicating interest by September 5, 2008.
The intent of Road Home grants for those that sold their home early is to compensate them for their loss based on the pre-storm equity in their home. As such, their grants will compensate them for the pre-storm value of the home less any sales, insurance or FEMA proceeds. The $150,000 cap will still apply to this group of applicants.
"We have long promised this group of applicants that we would begin serving them after we'd worked through homeowner rebuilding grants and elevation grants," said Walter Leger, chair of the Louisiana Recovery Authority's Housing Task Force. "This has been a long wait for these homeowners who sold their homes at a loss in the early days after the storms and we are happy to serve them as we move through the final year of the Road Home program."
When the original Road Home action plan was written and approved in 2006 it included a provision to pay grants for applicants who sold their homes at a loss prior to the launch of the Road Home, but only if the program had funds remaining after paying compensation and elevation grants.
Applicants must have owned and occupied the damaged property and used it as their primary residents at the time of Hurricane Katrina (August 29, 2005) or Hurricane Rita (September 24, 2005).
Single units, double units, town homes, mobile homes and condominiums are eligible. The residence must be located in one of the 37 presidentially declared disaster parishes, must have been registered for FEMA assistance and must meet one or more of the FEMA criteria listed in the Road Home program policies.
Applicants must have applied to the Road Home program before the application deadline of July 31, 2007, and must have attended their first appointment by December 15, 2007.
Applicants must have sold their homes before August 29, 2006, during these dates:
For Hurricane Katrina: The home must have been sold between August 30, 2005, and August 28, 2006, and the sale must have been recorded with the parish no later than September 29, 2006.
For Hurricane Rita: The home must have been sold between September 25, 2005, and August 28, 2006, and the sale must have been recorded with the parish no later than September 29, 2006.
When returning their paperwork to the program, applicants should include a copy of the Act of Cash Sale for their property that was recorded with the parish and executed between August 30, 2005, and August 28, 2006, for Hurricane Katrina or between September 30, 2005, and August 28, 2006, for Hurricane Rita.
Applicants who do not have access to the Act of Cash Sale that has been recorded with the parish should send a copy of whatever Act of Cash Sale they have. Applicants should also provide as much information as possible about the sale of their homes.
If circumstances prevent an applicant from accessing the appropriate documents, a Road Home staff person will assist the applicant in acquiring the required documents from the Parish.
Applicants with questions can contact the Road Home at 1-888-762-3252 (TTY: 1-800-566-4224) or go online to www.Road2La.org.
