And the damage tally is in.... partially....

As an update to my previous post about the official opening of phone lines for the Katrina Homeowner's Assistance Program where I stated that the official total of receipts for home repair (not including contents or lost vehicles) since Hurricane Katrina in our household stands at just over $29,000... We finally received an estimate for the bulk of the remaining repairs: $54,652. Add to this the separate estimate we received to replace the water-damaged carpet upstairs and on the staircase: $5431. I did the math for you -- our repair costs total approximately $89,000.

Not including any repairs to the yard, the sidewalks, the driveway, or the flowerbeds... Not including the loss of both vehicles or six rooms of furniture, appliances, and personal items... Yet still a rather formidable figure.

If, for the purposes of the grant program, the $26,000 we received from FEMA and insurance is deducted and all else is perfect in the world -- and we received a grant for $63,000 - it is entirely possible that we could repair our home. Keep your fingers crossed.. but please forgive me if I'm not ready to count my chicks yet. According to the report we acquired from the SBA under the Freedom of Information Act -- the loan that we were not approved for came in at just under $80,000. That figure did not deduct insurance or FEMA proceeds... and that figure DID include cash value for both vehicles and all lost household contents (which was estimated at a very modest and possibly ridiculous $19,000). In other words, our SBA inspector estimated our damage repair cost at under $40,000 before insurance.

If our potential MDA inspection follows the same guidelines -- the grant program isn't going to help us much.

But -- we have resolved to finish this thing. It doesn't matter to us at this point where the money will be coming from. As a matter of fact - it is simply a huge relief that we have real figures to work with now -- all budget-busting aside.

UPDATE: We received our grant package on August 29th, 2006 -- the one year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.