2020 to 2022 Disaster Recovery Efforts are slow. Homeowners in Louisiana are asking, where is the money?

Parish elected officials are once again showing signs of being clueless regarding federal grant programs designed to assist homeowners after a federally declared disaster resulting in major to severe damage.

By Murray Wennerlund published 12-11-2022 updated 12-12-2022
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If you need a quote for a new manufactured home for the Louisiana Restore program send a note with your old VIN number and your status in the program. All we can do is help you get the quotes for the MHU you are looking to replace. Contact me

Understand the type and amount of assistance from the federal government you’re going to see as a homeowner.

Temporary shelter including but not limited to

Transition / temporary hotel assistance up to 90 days
Interim rental assistance fair market value rents for up to 20 months
Interim mortgage assistance of up to $3,000 for 20 months or $60,000 total
FEMA lodging MHU, Trailers, up to 18 months with extensions to 32 months.

Housing Repair / MHU Replacement / New Construction / Buyout / Elevation

FEMA maximum $37,900 (governors office can negotiate a second program of the same amount)
Manufactured Home Replacement up to $120,000
Home repair (less than 50% damaged) or new construction and elevation up to $425,000 homeowners design choice can inject own money with grant award
Home built by your state HUD representative no design choice up to $157/sq costs
Buyout repetitive flood loss program up to $250,000

Louisiana Restore public outreach people will talk about the total federal taxpayer grants awarded to the state but will not break down to the homeowners what actual grant funding is proposed by the state of Louisiana Office of Community Development - Disaster Recovery Unit OCD-DRU.

The OCD-DRU received data from FEMA that totaled the amount of federal grants awarded by FEMA Individual Assistance (AI) and Public Assistance. Then the state used this amount to calculate the total FEMA provided. These numbers would have been the first numbers you heard in the media. The numbers are actual is 2/3 for state and municipalities and 1/3 for everything else to include the citizens and related projects that the OCD-DRU claims to assist it’s citizen population.

FEMA IA declared parishes are used by HUD to calculate unmet needs and qualify homeowners in the most impacted and distressed areas. (Totals for FEMA determined major to severe damaged homes in MID):
Acadia (126), Allen (186), Ascension (705), Assumption (265), Beauregard (411), Caddo (84), Calcasieu (3,791), Cameron (542), Grant (105), East Baton Rouge (872), East Feliciana (22), Iberia (123), Iberville (170), Jackson (19), Jefferson Davis (227), Lafourche (2,253), La Salle (2), Lafayette (72), Lincoln (29), Livingston (1,101), Orleans (3,035), Plaquemines (467), Pointe Coupee (24), St. Bernard (433), St. Charles (1,655), St. Helena (277), St. James (873), St. John the Baptist (2,793), St. Martin (72), St. Mary (199), St. Tammany (1,448), Tangipahoa (2,379), Terrebonne (1,493), Morehouse (30), Natchitoches (52), Ouachita (80), Rapides (319), Sabine (21), St. Landry (92), St. Martin (72) Union (31), Vermilion (124), Vernon (141), Washington (333), West Baton Rouge (43), West Feliciana (16) and Winn (35).

Real Numbers for Homeowners in the most impacted and distressed areas of Louisiana for the years 2020 to 2022 are as follows:
(Covers Grant number: P-21-LA-22-LDZ1, B-21-DF-22-0001, B-21-DZ-22-0001)

Total Proposed Housing Rehab, Buyout, New Construction, Other, Budget: $867,873,287.00
HUD Identified MID unmet housing needs budget: $694,298,629.60
Louisiana OCD-DRU identified homeowners housing needs: $173,574,657.40

The state of Louisiana estimates that $867,873,287.00 will be enough to cover 32,879 major/severe damaged homeowners property reported in the Most Impacted and Distressed (MID) areas and the additional areas the state OCD-DRU added in Action Plan Amendment 1.

The actual numbers of households that are going to be offered assistance depends more on what the state Governor requests. In the 2016 floods the governor asked that total assistance be limited to 15,000 grant recipients and/or under $550 million estimated in grants distributed to homeowners.

The current numbers for the 2016 floods are as follows.
Submitted applications: 37,182
Approved Grants: 17,219
Allocated funds: $668,444,249.28

Using the same formula because after all we have the same governor and same management at the OCD-DRU we can safely say with the increases noted in the new program that the state will be assisting roughly:

2020-2022 estimated households:
Submitted applications: 32,879
Approved Grants: 16,988
Allocated funds: $448,425,440.96

It's difficult to predict the future.
It's impossible to work numbers without all variables.
But it is possible to show a trend to follow.

The percentage of allocations distributed to homeowners is forecasted to be 51.67% for disasters in 2020-2021.
This will be cost taxpayers roughly $0.49 for every $1.00 for the state of Louisiana to manage disaster recovery over the next 6 years.

Note 1: Action Plan Amendment 1 published 9-20-2022 "Unmet Needs Assessment revised to include HUD- and state-identified MID areas for Hurricane Ida and the May 2021 Severe Storms and to include new demographic information for impacted areas homeowner data updated to include Hurricane Ida and the May 2021 Severe Storms."

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Restore Louisiana Homeowner Assistance Program Extends Application Deadline to Tuesday, Oct. 31

If you know someone who applied for HUD CDBG-DR Grants and was invited to complete the application process please send them a reminder, call them, tell them Ill help them complete the application if necessary. Dont let GRANT funds go to the state!

By Murray Wennerlund published 10-11-2023 updated 10-11-2023
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The budget is being increased by 60% due to inflation of construction cost for materials and labor for state.

The state has determined that the costs for building new residential homes since 2019 has gone up by 60 percent due to inflation in the construction industry. This inflation seems only to impact state managed projects and programs.

By Murray Wennerlund published 8-9-2023 updated 8-9-2023
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Restore Louisiana Homeowner Assistance Program Announces Deadline to Complete the Survey

It is your federal tax dollars that fund the HUD CDBG-DR grant programs. If you dont apply, your state will use the dollars for its projects, and youll still be paying out of pocket for all your disaster recovery expenses.

By Murray Wennerlund published 6-6-2023 updated 6-6-2023
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Louisiana disaster victims to pay HUD fair market value for temporary shelters provided by FEMA

Every disaster leaves thousands of Louisiana families homeless. FEMA typically is the first to provide temporary shelter. The FEMA housing program goes for 18 months then becomes a for profit shelter by charging fair market rents to the homeless families

By Murray Wennerlund published 5-3-2023 updated 5-3-2023
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Why is it taking so long to process my HUD CDBG-DR Restore Louisiana Homeowners Grant

Every federally declared storm has a name and number and your state will make up a new name and number for the branch of government that is responsible for assisting homeowners with their recovery. Same Process, Procedure, People only contractors change.

By Murray Wennerlund published 3-28-2023 updated 3-28-2023
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You should not be paying taxes on your disaster damaged home if you do not occupy the home due to the damage.

Many Louisiana homeowners simply pay their property taxes as usual even if they are living in a camper on the property while making their primary home safe to occupy after a declared disaster destroyed it. Learn about your tax waivers for your recovery.

By Murray Wennerlund published 3-2-2023 updated 3-12-2023
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You may have answered questions incorrectly when you completed your Restore Louisiana Program Survey.

Louisiana homeowners that should have been invited to the Restore Louisiana Grant Program in 2022 during the first round may have disqualified themselves by answering the Restore Survey questions incorrectly, even if they read the Restore Survey Guide v3

By Murray Wennerlund published 1-15-2023 updated 1-30-2023
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Restore Louisiana to Rescind Grants if grant execution date is more than 30 days from grant award date.

The state of Louisiana can and will rescind your HUD Restore Program grant if you do not meet the programs expectations and timelines. What the state of Louisiana doesnt do when they send a threatening letter is explain to you the appeals process.

By Murray Wennerlund published 1-4-2023 updated 1-4-2023
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Louisiana Restore Homeowners Program Appeals Process Standard Operating Procedures.

This post includes information from the Louisiana Restore Appeals SOP from 11-2018. This is a document that is updated by the state OCD-DRU and can be requested by using the document name.

By Murray Wennerlund published 1-4-2023 updated 1-4-2023
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Federal Disaster Assistance

When you are navigating the federal disaster assistance agencies your first stop should be to the TruckAndTools.Com Disaster Resources. Every disaster agency uses the same process but not every disaster agency follows strict policy and guidance. Don't go into your disaster recovery with blind trust of your federal and state agencies that are leading the push to get you sheltered and out of the program.

Hurricane survivors, do not allow your grant to be rescinded because of Sales and Purchase Agreement delays.

Restore Louisiana OCD-DRU operates by spreadsheet and form letters. When you receive word you are eligible for a grant you are then on the clock to sign, close and execute the grant award. You are offered 30 days only to learn you need 90 days.

By Murray Wennerlund published 1-3-2023 updated 1-3-2023
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