Assistance for those without flood insurance

2,907 Views | 22 Replies | Last: 7 yr ago by GarlandAg2012
BrazosDog02
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6:23p, 8/30/17
AG
This is not for me but a friend. Also not the time for lecture. Most people in town don't have it. If the answer is elsewhere, please link me. I'm just looking for info quickly for my buddy.

House flooded. No flood insurance. Maybe there is fema assistance? Any other assistance if any kind. He's only recently been re employed after a year of unemployment. Lots of bills.

Me and him met through networking. I'm still unemoyed after a year but he's been a great friend and my house didn't flood so I want to help him get I formation.
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LostInLA07
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6:28p, 8/30/17
AG
I believe you can get a small amount from FEMA if outside of the 100 year flood zone.
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Dr. Horrible
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6:36p, 8/30/17
Friends and family assistance too. I know I'm going to be hauling sheetrock for some of our friends that didn't have insurance as soon as my house is in the clear. Rule #1 in a time like this is that it is ok and acceptable to ask for and accept help from anyone willing to give it.
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BrazosDog02
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6:47p, 8/30/17
AG
Thanks guys. For Fema stuff...just fema.gov, right?

I agree with Friends and Family Assistance. I am a Realtor and while I am currently working on our emergency team for getting families into short term leases, my free time will be assisting in demo and construction. I have the knowledge and ability so why the hell not? This situation is a really terrible one to be in and will take months or years to fully recover from...may as well help your fellow man as we all may be in the same spot some day.
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Bobcat-Ag
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8:06p, 8/30/17
OP, if you are needing a job, check out.

https://careers.fema.gov/hurricane-harvey
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NoahAg
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8:24p, 8/30/17
If he can use help with remediation (removing flooring, drywall, anything water-damaged, etc.): Remediation Volunteers
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agswin1988
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8:51p, 8/30/17
AG
File with his homeowners policy so he will get denied and have the paperwork showing he tried all other avenues is what another poster had mentioned. They said that FEMA will want to see that denial letter
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mazzag
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In reply to agswin1988 • 8:54p, 8/30/17
AG
agswin1988 said:
File with his homeowners policy so he will get denied and have the paperwork showing he tried all other avenues is what another poster had mentioned. They said that FEMA will want to see that denial letter


This. Then this

https://www.disasterassistance.gov
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Ags-R-Better
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8:59p, 8/30/17
Just FYI - my sister in law doesn't have flood insurance. She registered online yesterday morning with FEMA, was called yesterday afternoon and spent 3 hours on the phone. Never once did they ask her about flood insurance or any other insurance. Not saying hats the norm, just trying to relay that information. They are in the 7-10 day window to have an adjuster come out, doubt water will be out of their house by then so will likely have to reschedule.

Hope this helps, good luck.
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AlphaBean
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9:00p, 8/30/17
AG
Yes, fema.gov. He will need SSN for all persons in the home as well as vehicle information. Keep receipts for everything, even fans he may purchase to help dry the place out!

Most folks do not understand FEMA individual assistance which leads to lots of anger and frustration. Grants are income based so the unemployment may end up being a blessing. Grants are also only intended to put you in a safe environment (hotel/rental) and/or make the home livable, not to make you whole. Had nice, expensive hardwoods? Now you have bare concrete floors. The maximum individual assistance award is 31.4k and most folks DO NOT receive anywhere close to the max. If he needs more than the grant amount or doesn't qualify at all, he will be directed to the SBA for a low interest loan up to 250k. Lots of people do not understand why they are sent to the SBA and do not follow up on it. For anyone reading this that knows their income will make them ineligible for grants, you must still fill out the fema.gov application to get the SBA ball rolling!

The paperwork they send is (surprise!) very confusing. Just because it says DENIED doesn't necessarily mean you are truly denied. They may just need additional documentation. Call, call, call even if you're denied. Right now I guarantee they have all hands on deck answering phones 24 hours/day, and one of the call centers is located in Denton so there's a good chance you'll be talking to fellow Texans whose own friends and family are affected. The regional headquarters are also in Denton so a lot of the folks you see in FEMA gear are from Texas.

Caveat, this is just what I remember from my short stint with FEMA three years ago. I also fortunately never had to be part of the all hands on deck to register and process folks (I was in analytics) so this is all based on memory, not experience.
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AlphaBean
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In reply to agswin1988 • 9:04p, 8/30/17
AG
agswin1988 said:
File with his homeowners policy so he will get denied and have the paperwork showing he tried all other avenues is what another poster had mentioned. They said that FEMA will want to see that denial letter
Yes, this. This is one of those documentation pieces that if missing will cause the letter to say denied. Just send it in and they will re-evaluate.
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TXTransplant
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9:11p, 8/30/17
Don't know if this is helpful, but FEMA did give grants to people who did not live in flood zones that required insurance but were flooded during Katrina. The amounts were based on the percentage that your house was flooded. My family in MS were recipients of these grants. It took a while to get the money but they did get it. As a side note, some of these relatives still don't live in flood zones that require insurance but they have it now.
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BrazosDog02
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9:24p, 8/30/17
AG
Thank you EVERYONE for this information. This is uncharted for me and without knowing a whole lot of his situation personally it's even harder. He has been very appreciative of the effort. You guys are great.
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TXTransplant
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9:35p, 8/30/17
I will add that I ~think~ that these FEMA grants were administered differently state-to-state. The grants MS residents received had few/no strings attached. I remember hearing that LA grants had the stipulation that you had to live in the house for a designated period of time after receiving the grant (3 years comes to mind). And this was the reason why many of the houses that flooded in MS were rebuilt vs a lot of the houses flooded in the NOLA area were just abandoned.
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mazzag
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In reply to TXTransplant • 10:38p, 8/30/17
AG
TXTransplant said:
I will add that I ~think~ that these FEMA grants were administered differently state-to-state. The grants MS residents received had few/no strings attached. I remember hearing that LA grants had the stipulation that you had to live in the house for a designated period of time after receiving the grant (3 years comes to mind). And this was the reason why many of the houses that flooded in MS were rebuilt vs a lot of the houses flooded in the NOLA area were just abandoned.


Not to get political, but from what I understand it has to do with how proactive the governor of the state is. Abbot has gotten a lot of red tape out of the way ahead of time and that should help.
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mazzag
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10:43p, 8/30/17
AG
My county is sheltering folks from Brazoria county. I asked one of the shelter coordinators if the evacuees had started their fema work. She said, " oh some papers we're dropped off for them".
Umm... so I told her about the website and basically the same info as Alpha Bean. Most folks are that have never been thru this are clueless and just say, here's your paper work. Very frustrating but I'm thankful to texags for inside info to how things work.
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TXTransplant
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In reply to mazzag • 10:46p, 8/30/17
mazzag said:
TXTransplant said:
I will add that I ~think~ that these FEMA grants were administered differently state-to-state. The grants MS residents received had few/no strings attached. I remember hearing that LA grants had the stipulation that you had to live in the house for a designated period of time after receiving the grant (3 years comes to mind). And this was the reason why many of the houses that flooded in MS were rebuilt vs a lot of the houses flooded in the NOLA area were just abandoned.


Not to get political, but from what I understand it has to do with how proactive the governor of the state is. Abbot has gotten a lot of red tape out of the way ahead of time and that should help.
I truly hope that is the case. My post wasn't intended to be political, as I know yours wasn't. I just wanted to point out that the decision may be left up to the state(s) involved, even if the funds come from FEMA/the Feds.
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mazzag
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11:22p, 8/30/17
AG
I will say I'm glad FEMA has said "we're not here to make you whole". My 1st husband and I moved to the valley in 96/97. This wasn't long after the 1994 Northridge earthquake. When we settled on a house to rent one of the "perks" was all the earthquake proof things done to the home. The owners even bragged that FEMA gave them money to replace their TV's, among other claims. (They didn't expect it, but filed a FEMA claim, and certainly didn't refuse it). You'd never know that home was in an earthquake nor the neighbors. Completely middle class, 2200 sq ft, normal lot, no pool, at $2500/month gardener included. Owners wanted to spend some years in Hawaii. (We left LA 6 months later. Too expensive)
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TXTransplant
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In reply to mazzag • 11:29p, 8/30/17
When you are helping people who have been flooded (flood insurance or not), it's such a fine line to walk. I have no issue with throwing out anything that went underwater, particularly if it is cloth, metal, or wood. I'm very careful to NOT throw out anything that did NOT go underwater (even if the homeowner is ready to get rid of it because it's just one more thing they have to keep in storage).

Complicating the issue are well-meaning folks who pull items that did go under water out of the trash because they think they can be "saved". At some point, you just don't have enough time to save everything that can in theory be salvaged . I certainly don't have all of the answers, but I am thinking carefully about every single item I make the save/trash decision about.
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mazzag
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In reply to TXTransplant • 11:35p, 8/30/17
AG
That's not my intention at all. And FEMA doesn't pay for frivolous stuff anymore. I'm just pointing out how things have changed in 20 + years. For the better. FEMA is to get you a leg up. Not support you for eternity or replace your electronics. They've stated that many times in PC since Harvey started.
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TXTransplant
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In reply to mazzag • 11:56p, 8/30/17
mazzag said:
That's not my intention at all. And FEMA doesn't pay for frivolous stuff anymore. I'm just pointing out how things have changed in 20 + years. For the better. FEMA is to get you a leg up. Not support you for eternity or replace your electronics. They've stated that many times in PC since Harvey started.


Oh, I know your intentions are good, and I wasn't trying to imply anything. So sorry if it came off that way.

I was just pointing out that this was something on my mind all day yesterday and today. It's such a strange position to be in to be making decisions about people's personal belongings (that have an insurance replacement value). When in shock, people run the gamut from "don't throw anything away, I'll save it" to "toss it all, I never liked it anyway". Volunteers just have to keep all of that in mind. I most certainly don't want to cause any issues down the road for a home owner and their insurance. But I also don't want to leave a huge pile of stuff that has to be cleaned. The window to save many things is so small, and many homeowners are just overwhelmed right now.
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AlphaBean
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3:50a, 8/31/17
AG
Something I just remembered. One of the things they learned from Katrina was that hey, it is possible for a disaster to be so large that their normal, year round staff numbers cannot handle the volume of calls that will be coming even with all hands on deck taking calls. They developed a plan for quickly onboarding additional staff in these situations. Some of these staff are experienced with FEMA, perhaps retired folks who help out only in big disasters, but many have zero experience with FEMA and, as you can imagine, there is a steep learning curve for those folks. Sandy was their first real use of that plan. I came onboard on the heels of Sandy and one of my very first projects was to evaluate how effective the implementation of that plan was. One thing that came out was that in the middle of Sandy they realized they had to split staff into "tiers". Tier 1 were the newbs and it went up from there depending on your expertise. All calls went straight to Tier 1 and were escalated as needed. They made the mistake of telling folks that they were being sent to Tier N, and folks caught on quickly that 2 and above actually knew the ins and outs of everything FEMA. So folks started immediately requesting Tier 2 as soon as they got a human on the line. My point is, do not hesitate to escalate a call if things aren't sounding right. They probably will not tell you that you're being escalated based on what they learned from Sandy, but there will absolutely be tiers.
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tamuags08
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5:19a, 8/31/17
AG
Might check this link out at well. Its a list of resources thats been making the rounds on Facebook

https://m.facebook.com/notes/tim-jenkins/no-flood-insurance-some-resources/10155483235626278/
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GarlandAg2012
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8:12a, 9/1/17
AG
Unfortunately I think the advice in this thread will be needed by many (some friends of mine included) so I wanted to bump it.
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