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.
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.
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?
SBA as in Small Business Administration? Home improvement loan? Fack, my comment on that is pure dungeon fodder.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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..
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.
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.
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.
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.
S.I. couple swindled $750G from feds by saying Sandy damaged home http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/s-couple-lied-sandy-damaged-home-article-1.3496803