Louisiana Recovery Authority Housing Proposal

The Louisiana Recovery Authority has issued its proposal for helping Louisiana homeowners recover from the devastation of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The proposal uses Federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) monies for funding. The first $6.2 billion was approriated by Congress in late December 2005. A second block of $4.2 billion was proposed by President George Bush in February 2006 and is awaiting approval by Congress.

Please note, as of February 23, 2006, the second block of funds has not been approriated by Congress and early looks at the legislation to approve the funds limits its use to elevation or mitigation use only.

The goal of the proposal is to help return homeowners to the same condition they were in before the storms, while giving them several options on how to achieve that. In other words, if a homeowner was in a $160,000 house with a $120,000 mortgage before the storm, the proposal aims to put them in a $160,000 house with a $120,000 mortgage. Whether it is the same house or a different house is the decision each homeowner will need to make on their own.

There is a limit of $150,000 in total aid, whether grant and/or loan, which is calculated based on the value of the home before the storm, any insurance money or FEMA grants were received, and if the home was in a flood plain with or without flood insurance.

My understanding of how the forumla works:
Market Value - Insurance - FEMA = Grant Amount, which cannot exceed $150,000.

If the home was in the flood plain without flood insurance, a 30% penalty is deducted from the grant amount.

If a homeowner wishes to sell their home and move out of Louisiana, the state will offer 60% of the pre-storm value, minus insurance and FEMA monies.

You can use this web form to see how the different options would affect your aid package.

Please note, this is not meant to be an absolute offer for you from the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA), it is merely for illustrative purposes only. AskWestley.com, da-parish.com, and Westley Annis are not responsible for any amounts you may think you may be entitled to based on information from this site.