Did We Survive Hurricane Katrina or Not?

I haven't felt much like blogging for the last few days. I suppose I'm still recovering from last week's trauma... But I decided it was time to add an update here before I lose track of any goings-on.

On the Homeowner's Grant front: As I reported on August 29th - we did receive our grant package informing us that we were eligible for a grant. Since that time we have all been reading several news reports from homeowners who are dissatisfied with their grant amounts. Many are questioning the calculations - others are questioning the assessments... It's all a sad and confusing state of affairs. There are still a lot of people who have no idea what to do now.

Now that we have received our packet I think I can explain how the calculation for the amount of the grant was done.

First, take a home valued at $100,000. Multiply that by 1.35 to adjust for inflated building costs as the program promised and you get a final value of $135,000. Multiply that amount by the percent damage -- let's say 25% for sake of example -- and the grant amount is $33,750.

Now deduct any insurance payments or FEMA grants which duplicate the grant purpose. Then deduct any money owed to SBA for a disaster loan and any tax liens against the property. The final amount is the amount of the grant.

It seems that most people are disagreeing with the 'percent damage' adjustment. To tell the truth -- we believe that our 'percent damage' was also assessed at much less than what it actually is... But, in our case at least, it all came out in the wash and we were left with a dollar amount that we could use.

It seems that those whose homes 'merely' flooded are at a huge disadvantage from the beginning... Most of us had only minor damage to the exterior of our homes and were left with catastrophic damage to the interior. Logically though -- what percent damage do you start with then? If half of your house is outside - and the other half is inside... Then storm surge victims are starting at 50% damage rather than 100%. Following the same logic then -- if half of the interior value of your home is 'structural' (i.e. stud walls, concrete sub floor, framework, etc.) and the other half of the interior value of your home is 'cosmetic' (i.e. sheetrock, floor coverings, paint, trim, etc.) then your damage would very quickly be reduced to the 25% range.

Our own damage assessment was set at 20%.

Low assessments will leave homeowner's with smaller homes facing very small grant amounts. In a perfect world -- it should take less money to repair a smaller home.... But this post-Katrina world is far from perfect and fair estimates are hard to come by.

Unfortunately, I think that after six or seven months of hearing about $150,000 grants made many people a little too hopeful. Some of those I have talked to were hoping for something of a windfall... I can't blame them. We are all tired and battered now. I dreamed of having enough money to call the first contractor in the phone book and say 'I say, old chap... Bring your crew... Get to work! Snap to it!' But the reality is still far from that. We are going to have to spend this grant money very carefully when we do actually receive it. Much of the work will still be left to us... and most of the projects are still going to have to be split into small parts as we save up some of our own money to throw into the pot. The grant will make it possible for us to finish the repairs to our home within the next two years -- rather than over the course of the next 15 years. It will make it possible for us to pay off some of our debts in the meantime -- and give us some breathing space.

It isn't an Oprah home on Angel Lane. It's assistance. And it's assistance that we desperately needed.

It's hard though to hear about neighbors with different assessments. Yes - it makes me take a deep breath to hear that someone else who suffered 'only' flood damage received an assessment of 80%. Yes - the wheels start turning in my head too... I do the math... I realize how much bigger our grant amount would be if we'd received that sort of assessment. But that deep breath is taken because I have to remember this isn't a competition. I have to check myself. Our grant amount is what we need. What others receive isn't supposed to be our concern.

Now -- as for actually receiving this much-appreciated assistance... We have taken the first step listed in our grant package and contacted our mortgage company. It just so happens that our mortgage company is out-of-state so setting up an appointment to have papers signed is not practical... but Dave overnighted the subordination agreements to the contact person last Thursday. We were told there was a 48 hour turn-around time before they would be able to send the signed papers back. Keep your fingers crossed while I once again rush out to meet the mail carrier every day.

Once we receive the signed subordination agreements we are supposed to call Jackson County Land & Title to schedule an appointment for closing where we will sign the rest of the paperwork.

What happens after that involves a check -- although I am still not quite clear on whether or not that check will be sent to us directly - or to our mortgage company. (No problem -- there's still plenty to speculate and worry about until we get to that stage anyway.)

In the meantime we have ordered the countertops for our laundry room and are waiting for the installer to contact us. When all else fails -- we return to the laundry room with the hopes of actually finishing one room in the house. If this continues to drag on as it has for the last 12 months... then one thing is certain: We're going to have a really, really nice laundry room.