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FEMA

Discussion in 'General' started by G Costanza, Sep 13, 2017.

  1. G Costanza

    G Costanza Well-Known Member

    My home sustained some damage from Irma and qualify for a FEMA disaster application for assistance. Now the actual damage is anywhere from 1k-10k depending on if they agree with me that the corner of my roof has sunk 2".

    It's my understanding I can also apply for an SBA loan which allots up to 200k for home repair at interest rates as low as 1.8%. Anyone know if it's possible to take out the entire 200k even though the damage is obviously much less than that? I would take the remaining balance and put it towards my mortgage which is obviously much better than the 4.5% I'm paying now.

    I'm also wondering if this is even ethical as I'd be using the money for something that may not have been its initial intention.
     
  2. R Acree

    R Acree Banned

    If you have to ask...
     
    L8RSK8R and BigBird like this.
  3. G Costanza

    G Costanza Well-Known Member

    Well if the intention of these loans is not stipulated, than it seems perfectly ethical. If it's only for home repair, than clearly I wouldn't do it. I'm sure when the inspector comes out, he'll be able to help. I'm just wondering if anyone else has gone through his.
     
  4. Chino52405

    Chino52405 Well-Known Member

    How is this business related? Are you an S-Corp or am I missing some other SBA loan type?

    Like you said though, if getting the loan requires collateral of any kind and isn't a program designed specifically for disaster repair...then why shouldn't you be able to use it as you wish?
     
  5. R Acree

    R Acree Banned

    SBA as in Small Business Administration? Home improvement loan? Fack, my comment on that is pure dungeon fodder.
     
  6. Odilup

    Odilup Well-Known Member

    Scumbag question. You want an SBA loan to pay off your mortgage? WTF
     
  7. fastfreddie

    fastfreddie Midnight Oil Garage

    An acquaintance of mine had FEMA look at his house after the Bloomsburg flood of 2011. They stroked him a check for repairs, then told him the house was uninhabitable and bulldozed it. No one paid off the mortgage for him. Insurance wouldn't touch him cuz he accepted the Fed's money.
    Be very thorough in your understanding of the fine print...you might be lookin' for a new house without a penny in your pocket.
     
  8. TurboBlew

    TurboBlew Registers Abusers

    Im curious how the Feds can usurp local building officials or code? (bulldozing)
    How can FEMA assess repair costs & then deem it inhabitable? What kinda timeline was involved?
     
  9. fastfreddie

    fastfreddie Midnight Oil Garage

    Sorry, I don't have details. I didn't ask how it was turning out but I know he was still paying a mortgage many months (6?) later. Haven't seen him since.
    He was one of the few on that street who accepted their money. Those houses disappeared, too.
     
  10. In Your Corner

    In Your Corner Dungeonesque Crab AI Version

    I know how we love to rag on lawyers, but this is really one of those times when people should not sign contracts without consulting a lawyer. The wolves just descend on disaster areas.
     
  11. Raceless man

    Raceless man Well-Known Member

    Long story short...after hurricane Sandy our house was flooded with almost 2 feet of water...my house is also 4 feet off the ground...lots of water.. We had flood insurance...fema wasn't able to help us...insurance company came through in 30 percent payments as work was completed... Along the way SBA came into the picture and offered us a loan for any thing that the flood insurance didn't cover..damage wise..personal property lost...whatever. It wasn't a whole lot I think it was 10k...low percentage so we obviously took it..
     
  12. Phl218

    Phl218 .

    It's money. The ones that lend it have plenty. Take it.
     
  13. G Costanza

    G Costanza Well-Known Member

    Thanks for all the input. I might check with a lawyer before doing anything.
     
  14. G Costanza

    G Costanza Well-Known Member

    SBA loans are what's used for subsidized residential housing repairs in a disaster area. Even on their website they acknowledge that the SBA title is confusing for people.
     
  15. ACDNate

    ACDNate Well-Known Member

    Chances are he got into an acquisition grant program. Funded by FEMA but actually administered by the state with the local government as the actual grant recipient. I'm shocked that they didn't cut him two checks, one to bank to satisfy lien and one to him for equity.
     
  16. ACDNate

    ACDNate Well-Known Member

    I did the disaster inspection thing back in 2005/2006, good gig if you don't mind travel. Couple things to keep in mind. When the inspector comes, don't be shy, highlight everything. To get through the inspections efficiently the inspector is going to have his routine and path to look at everything. They aren't engineers, they won't do precision measurements etc. That's ok. Just follow along and point out things along the way.
     
  17. fastfreddie

    fastfreddie Midnight Oil Garage

    That sounds reasonably possible. Still, someone took their sweet-ass time about it and I don't think they communicated very well with the parties involved...seems like shit happened before other items were rectified, which woulda made it the same drawn out process, minus the anxieties and headaches. But, like I said, I don't know the details of his deal.
     
  18. Point out EVERYTHING and have it documented, I repeat EVERYTHING
     
  19. Motofun352

    Motofun352 Well-Known Member

    What the hell, man...did you forget the sarcasm emogee? :Poke:
     
  20. BigBird

    BigBird blah

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