October 12, 2016
The Department of Housing and Urban Development has announced relief measures following Hurricane Matthew. According to the HUD official site, “U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro today announced HUD will speed federal disaster assistance to the States of North Carolina, Florida, and Georgia and provide support to homeowners and low-income renters forced from their homes due to Hurricane Matthew.”
The HUD press release announcing this relief also ran a list of areas President Obama issued a disaster declaration for-the following counties have been declared federal disaster areas:
North Carolina: Beaufort, Bladen, Columbus, Cumberland, Edgecombe, Hoke, Lenoir, Nash, Pitt, and Robeson.
Florida: Brevard, Duval, Flagler, Indian River, Nassau, St. Johns, St. Lucie and Volusia.
Georgia: Bryan, Camden, Chatham, Glynn, Liberty, and McIntosh.
According to the press release, HUDNo.16-155, “The President’s declaration allows HUD to offer foreclosure relief and other assistance” to eligible residents of these areas.
“Today, our collective thoughts and prayers are with those who are now facing the painful process of recovering from this storm,” said HUD Secretary Castro. “As our sister agencies assess the damage and respond to the immediate needs of our citizens, HUD will offer any assistance possible and stands ready to support the longer term housing recovery efforts.”
Those who have been affected by the hurricane are urged to contact FEMA as soon as possible, get in touch with lenders and insurance agents, and learn as much as possible about their natural disaster relief options.
HUD reminds homeowners that the 203(h) FHA loan program, “allows the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) to insure mortgages made by qualified lenders to victims of a major disaster who have lost their homes and are in the process of rebuilding or buying another home. Individuals are eligible for this program if their homes are located in an area that was designated by the President as a disaster area and if their homes were destroyed or damaged to such an extent that reconstruction or replacement is necessary”.
There is also another FHA rehab loan-the 203(k)-which allows eligible borrowers who have lost their homes, “to finance the purchase or refinance of a house along with its repair through a single mortgage. It also allows homeowners who have damaged houses to finance the rehabilitation of their existing single-family home”.
For both 203(h) and 203(k) loan packages, refinance loans are also a possibility.
You can learn more about HUD programs for natural disaster victims at http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/info/disasterresources
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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