[FoCHAT] CHAT Newsletter: 7/5/08: Ask HUD, Payback, Elevation, Addnl. Compensation Grant

[Melanie Ehrlich]

Dear Friends of CHAT (FoCHAT, more than 820 members of our email network),
 
1. What You Can Do To Help Applicants In Great Distress Over Unfair Treatment By RH?
 
A. Please don’t forget to write to HUD
 
CHAT is getting more and more information about ICF not choosing the highest home valuation in applicants’ files in violation of their posted policy.  
 
Why is CHAT learning that Road Home did not order field review appraisals to validate some homeowner-supplied appraisals in homeowner files since fall of 2007? 
This a clear denial of what a business official of ICF International said publicly at an early 2008 LRA Housing Task Force Meeting. He said that all applicants with purchased full certified appraisals had been scheduled for field review appraisals. It also violates Road Home Policy 188G in effect from Nov. 9, 2007 – March, 2008.
 
Why is HUD not encouraging acceptance of full certified appraisals purchased by homeowners and validated by RH-supervised field review appraisals? Why is HUD thereby letting inferior home valuations that violate HUD Handbook 4152 replace an available certified full appraisal that can be objectively validated according to a Road Home Policy? 
 
Why is HUD being blamed for decreases in elevation awards? 
See http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base/library-151/1215235342183140.xml&coll=1  
 
 
Please send your own letter, copy the above text in purple, or go to our website chatushome.com for a letter that you can copy and paste.
 
Send your letter to:

Ms. Jessie Handforth Kome
DRSI Division Director
E-mail: jessie.handforth.kome at hud.gov 
Mr. Manuel Ochoa
Deputy Asst. Sec. for Grant Programs
HUD
Wash., D.C., 20410
Manuel_T._Ochoa at hud.gov 
B. Not Only RH Policy CB 189A, But Also The Law Entitles Road Home (RH) Applicants To A Full Copy Of Their RH File
 
For Applicants With Ongoing RH Issues:
Given the issues of grant paybacks (recoupment of funds) to RH for ICF “overpayment mistakes,” the lowering of some elevation grants, and the many applicants with unresolved issues of shortchanging mistakes, it important to ask for your full file.  If ICF won’t give you your file after you have asked them and told them that it is their policy to send this (CP 189A), then you can ask again with the law on your side by making a public records request.
 
>From our website http://chatushome.com
According to the law, upon making a public records request, the Road Home should send to you a copy of all your records from the Road Home. Make the request by sending a certified letter in a special format. 
http://thinknola.com/files/chat/TemplateForPublicRecordsRequest.pdf
By law, you are supposed to get some meaningful reply from the State within 5 days. If you do not, send a copy of your letter to chatlra at yahoo.com with Public Records Request Problem in the subject and we can give you a template for a follow-up letter. Legally, you have the right to sue for this information on your own application, although it is not easy to do and costs money.
 
2. Road Home Appeals and Road Home Paybacks for Their “Mistakes”
 
>From RH Change Policy Document #214 about how elevation awards are calculate (Feb. 14, 2007) :
 
LRA and OCD state that the elevation incentive award will be “$30,000 for all eligible site built homes”  and “all applicants with similar homes are receiving the same amount of elevation assistance.”
 
 
The Reality About Amounts of Elevation Incentive Awards
 
Applicants are telling us that they have to sign a contract renouncing their rights to any more RH money before they can get their elevation incentive award from the RH fund (although they should still be eligible for the HMGP-FEMA (Hazard Mitigation Grant Program) elevation grants if they sent in that form and when that program starts. 
 
Important: HMGP elevation grants will probably require all receipts for elevation work so save them. However, you may not be eligible if you started elevation work on or after Mar. 16 and have not gotten your HMGP-FEMA approval, you will probably unfortunately be ineligible for the HMGP elevation grant. 
 
Paul Rainwater, Executive Director of the LRA, told me this week that LRA was still accepting HMGP elevation grant request forms, especially because of the possibility of increasing the HMGP elevation limit beyond $30,000 for those who have subtractions from their elevation incentive award for those 
“mistakes.” 
 
>From the highly informative website http://LouisianaREBUILDS.info: 
The deadline to submit your elevation funding request was June 16, 2008. If you have questions about the Road Home Elevation Incentive or the State HMGP Awards call the Road Home Elevation Technical Assistance Hot Line at 877-234-1513.
 
 
Additional Compensation Grant: Paybacks to Road Home or Decreasing in Elevation Awards 
 
Note that one of the “mistakes” for which LRA is asking for money back is the change in when the applicants’ qualifying salary is calculated for the additional compensation grant (ACG) for those earning less than 80% of the area median income. 
 
RH had changed the policy for when the annual income for eligibility is calculated. I could not find it in the ACG part of the homeowner policy guide (p. 35, internal number p. 27: http://road2la.org/Docs/policies/Homeowner_Program_Policies%20v5.2_5-6-08.pdf), but have been told that by OCD officials that previously income eligibility was calculated for one year either:
 
starting from the initial interview if the applicant presented all necessary salary documentation then 
 
OR within 6 months of closing. 
 
Now it seems to have been changed to only within 6 months of closing, another change making grants smaller. 
 
One of the RH applicants who had her elevation grant decreased fell in that category AND she had one an appeal and was waiting for her money back (see “Road Home appeals moving slowly” below). 
 
So she was told that she had to abandon her appeal money, take a big cut in her elevation incentive award, and immediately sign on the dotted line to lose both of those sources of money which would allow her to get out of debt for rebuilding and elevating her house. (She refused to sign as this violated her rights and made her sign a statement implying that she got all the money due to her. The issue is pending.)
 
LRA’s excuse for the decrease in her elevation incentive award was that HUD made LRA do it. But HUD approves all RH policy changes. I was told by a top OCD official even in Dec. 2006 that OCD could not make a move without HUD approving and that “HUD is all over the place, always checking everything.”
 
So why how could HUD belatedly “change the policy” on LRA-OCD and why don’t the rules spell out this policy which affects the RH applicants who need grant help the most, those with low income?
 
RH is a HUD-financed program that is supposed to favor low- to moderate-income applicants (at least 50% of all RH grant money MUST go to low-to-moderate income applicants or the State of Louisiana has to pay back all the money to the federal government. 
 
Why then is RH asking for payback money for poorly explained rules to low-income applicants by taking it out of the elevation grants without the promised additional review, long-term payments, and forgiving of paybacks to financially challenged applicants who are rebuilding? 
 
Why is RH thereby discouraging building stronger, safer, and smarter?
 
Will RH quickly send notice of HMGP grant eligibility and make up the difference in HMGP elevation funding to those with payback reductions in their RH elevation incentive grant? 
 
Will RH raise the level of HMGP grants to $60,000 for those with these paybacks as hinted at tin the newspaper article at the end of this message?
 
 
Funding To Low- or Moderate-Income Applicants
 
Now, according to the latest pipeline report, 54% of all the money paid to low or moderate income applicants. 
 
http://blog.nola.com/answerspot/2008/06/road_home_appeals_moving_slowl.html#more
 
“Road Home appeals moving slowly
Posted by The Times-Picayune June 07, 2008 4:04PM
Question: I don't always see the Answer Spot, but try to, and I have not seen anything lately on if and when the Road Home is going to start processing appeal closings. I got an a "appeal award amount" in April of 2007, and have given up on trying to get any answers from their appeal section (six months of wasted effort). It is only a small amount of money, but anything that helps to fix the house is wanted! Let me know what the latest news is on when homeowners can start closing on their appeal awards. 
 
Answer: The Road Home is moving forward with the resolution of its appeals. However, the process is moving slowly. 
 
As of May 22, more than 14,000 appeals had been filed with the Road Home. More than 1,000 of those appeals were not accepted as legitimate appeals. Another 1,600 appeals had been resolved by the program and moved to the post-closing stage. But more than 10,000 appeals were in need of further processing by the Road Home and were continuing to work through the system.”
 
 
3. NOLA News
 
A. NORA to Mail Initial Notices Regarding Lot Next Door Eligibility Throughout July:   
Do you have a homestead exemption on your Orleans Parish home?  And is your home located immediately to the left or the right of a Louisiana Land Trust (LLT) lot or a property deemed blighted by the City of New Orleans?  If the answer to these questions is “yes”, then you may be eligible to participate in the City’s Lot Next Door program.  NORA has analyzed more than 5,000 blighted and LLT properties to determine whether neighboring homeowners might be eligible to purchase those properties under the City’s recent ordinance.  During July, NORA will send initial eligibility letters via registered mail to inform potentially eligible purchasers and provide more information on applicable Lot Next Door processes.  These letters will provide eligible homeowners with initial notice of their right and NORA asks that they return a statement of interest to NORA.  However, no sales will be made until NORA acquires these properties and evaluates
 eligibility.    
 
 Next NORA Board Meeting:  NORA’s Board of Commissioners will hold its next monthly meeting on Monday evening, July 14, 2008.  Unless a special venue has been designated, regularly scheduled Board meetings are held at 6 PM in the Capital One Tower at Place St. Charles, 52nd Floor Board Room, 201 St. Charles Avenue.
 
 
B. New Orleans Redevelopment Authority’s Request for Proposals for redevelopment in the Greater Treme Area.  
This RFP will also be posted on NORA’s website, www.noraworks. org, under the link for Requests for Proposals.
 
If you have questions after reviewing the document, please contact Alice Martin at (504) 658-4400.  
 
Thank you and best wishes for the holiday weekend.
 
John T. Marshall  New Orleans Redevelopment Authority
1340 Poydras Street, Suite 600 
New Orleans, LA 70112  Tel:      504.658.4400  Fax:      504.658.4551  www.noraworks. org
 
 
C. From the website of an important organization for hurricane-flood recovery of NOLA: The Beacon of Hope
http://www.lakewoodbeacon.org/?page=beacon_svcs#free
Contact the main Beacon office at 309-5120 for this and other rebuilding help
 
If you have a pool or pond that needs mosquito larvae eating fish, please contact:
Claudia Riegel, Ph.D, Principal Research Entomologist 
New Orleans Mosquito & Termite Control Board 
6601 Stars and Stripes Blvd 
New Orleans, LA 70126 
504 415-7068 email criegel at cityofno.com 
 
 
4. ICC Money: Deadline Aug. 29, 2009
 
http://blog.nola.com/answerspot/
 
Posted by The Times-Picayune May 03, 2008 9:58PM
 
ICC money is a form of financial assistance that can be awarded to owners of homes that suffered "substantial damage," or the loss of more than 50 percent of the home's fair market value, as a result of flood damage. ICC money can be used to elevate, relocate or demolish the home. 
 
There is a two-year deadline for claiming ICC money through your flood insurance policy. 
 
Victims of Hurricane Katrina were granted an extra two years in which they can rebuild with the help of ICC money. This means they have four years from the date of the storm -- or until Aug. 29, 2009 -- to request ICC money.
 
 
More on ICC Funding From Beacon of Home Website
 
An Understanding of the Guidelines for Increased Cost of Compliance (ICC) Funds
by Burk Brokerage Real Estate 
 
To qualify for ICC money, you must qualify as a ?substantially damaged? claim under FEMA guidelines, meaning that you must comply with all of the following: 
 
POLICY: A flood insurance policy had to have been in force at the time of the flood. 
FLOOD MAP: The flooded property must be in an A or V flood zone. 
BASE FLOOD: The lowest point of your living area in your home must be below the current base flood elevation ? BFE. 
DAMAGE ASSESSMENT: The cost to repair your flooded home must exceed 50% or more of its pre-disaster ?sticks and bricks? value which does not include land value or movable contents. 
LIMIT: The limit for ICC funds is $30,000. In addition, there is a cap of $250,000 for total payout on the flood policy including any ICC proceeds (contents and add on riders do not factor into this limit). 
You can transfer your flood policy and the ICC claim rights to a purchaser as long as the policy is still active, but the claim must be made within two (2) years of the flood. 
 
If you cancelled your policy after the storm, you can still file an ICC claim within two (2) years of the flood as long as you own the property. You cannot transfer a cancelled or lapsed policy to a new buyer and there are no longer any rights to the ICC money after a cancelled or lapsed policy property is sold. 
 
The money can be used to raise your current structure to comply with the current BFE or to demolish and establish a new foundation that complies. 
 
If you qualify for this money, it is usually quickly funded. There may be conditions and participation 
 
For more information, contact the National Flood Insurance Program, at (800) 638-6620 
 
 
 
Text of recent article about elevation incentive awards:
 
http://www.nola.com/timespic/stories/index.ssf?/base/library-151/1215235342183140.xml&coll=1
 
Elevation grants may get lowered
$150,000 total is homeowners' limit Saturday, July 05, 2008By Laura Maggi
 
Road Home applicants who state officials believe were paid too much by the program's contractor will take a hit in their anticipated $30,000 elevation grants, the head of the Louisiana Recovery Authority said this week. 
 
While the state this spring announced that a government review panel would double-check grant payments authorized by ICF International and later determined to be too high, homeowners asking for a $30,000 grant to raise their house will face a reduction without that extra review when they go to closing on the elevation money, said Paul Rainwater, the LRA's executive director. 
 
"We can't overpay them," Rainwater said. "If the homeowner comes in for elevation and we see we've overpaid them, we have to subtract that from the elevation grant." 
 
 The policy is potentially onerous for homeowners needing every dollar they can get to raise a house and rebuild, Rainwater acknowledged. But he said federal regulations administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development tie his hands in giving extra money to people when the state believes it later will have to be repaid. 
 
About 29,000 homeowners have applied for the grants, with 4,300 grants worth a combined $114 million awarded so far. The average grant amount is $26,500. 
 
The elevation deduction has become a focus of the Citizens' Road Home Action Team, which began hearing of the reduced elevation grants as people began closing on this new pool of money, said Melanie Ehrlich, co-founder of the group. 
 
So far, the group has learned of only three such cases, but expects more as the elevation program ramps up, she said. Ehrlich argued it is unfair to penalize people for mistakes made by ICF International. 
 
Ehrlich also criticized Rainwater's emphasis on the federal regulations, saying that HUD approves the LRA's plans before programs are implemented, so the Road Home should have known that this would become an issue, and made that clear to applicants. 
 
Rainwater said state officials always expected that overpaid homeowners would get less than the $30,000 grants, as would applicants who would exceed a $150,000 Road Home benefit limit if they receive the full elevation grant. Both of these exceptions should have been clear from the announcement of the program, he said. 
 
"If there is a miscommunication, it is my fault," Rainwater said. The state won't have a tally on the number of homeowners receiving reduced elevation grants until after the state review process is complete, said LRA spokeswoman Christina Stephens. 
 
Homeowners might be able to get some relief from a separate elevation program, which taps a different pool of federal money to provide $30,000 grants for raising houses. This program, which uses hazard mitigation dollars administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, can provide grants even to homeowners who have received the limit of $150,000 in Road Home money, Rainwater said. 
 
The state is working with the federal government to see if the $30,000 limit for these other elevation grants can be raised, which might help applicants who aren't getting enough from the Road Home, he said. 
 
Although the state has received notification from almost 12,000 homeowners that they are interested in the separate elevation grants, the program is not ready to launch because Rainwater decided not to use ICF as the contractor, he said. Other prospective contractors are submitting proposals. 
 
. . . . . . . 
 
Laura Maggi can be reached at lmaggi at timespicayune.com or 504.826.3316.
 
 
 
 
Best wishes,
 
Melanie Ehrlich
Co-chairman, CHAT, http://chatushome.com
 
Member, LRA Housing Task Force
 
 
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