November 13, 2018
What the HUD Florida Disaster Plan for Victims of Irma May Mean for You
At Topouzis & Associates, P.C., we proudly serve customers in the Florida market who are seeking title search services for closing and who need title insurance to cover their property rights after closing has occurred. As such, we are dedicated to letting our former (and future) clients know about information that may aid them in case of natural disaster, like the recent destruction caused by 2017’s Hurricane Irma. We understand the sort of strain that an occurrence like this can put on people—in both the emotional immediate aftermath and in the long-term—given the heightened concern about home repairs or relocation, as well as the ramifications to the housing market in a community following such a catastrophe.
On September 13th, the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced a plan of disaster relief for victims of the hurricane—particularly for those affected in the counties of Broward, Charlotte, Clay, Collier, Duval, Flagler, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Palm Beach, Pinellas, Putnam, Sarasota, and St. Johns.
As part of this relief, among multiple other provisions, HUD has:
- Granted homeowners a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures and forbearance on foreclosures for those with FHA-insured mortgages.
- Provided FHA insurance to those who have lost their homes; those whose mortgages are through FHA-approved lenders can get up to 100% of the financing, plus closing costs.
- Made insurance available for refinancing repairs to homes.
All told, the plan includes $616 million to cover its various sources of relief, which is funded through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) program; the initial user interface for registration and administration under this program can be found here.
If you’re located in the covered area, this could make a great deal of difference for you. Indeed, it could be the difference between despair and hope for the future.
Hopefully HUD will come through with a similar plan for the victims of Hurricane Michael.
We here at Topouzis & Associates, P.C. do everything we can to be absolutely sure our clients are conveying and purchasing title clear of judgments and defects, which can only serve to strengthen the security a home-buyer will feel at closing. And we help our clients put into place a good policy of title insurance to make certain they don’t get surprised by any nasty lurking issues with a property. Contact us if you’d like us to do this for you.
