HUD Secretary Scott Turner told AFN that his department is "going to be there for the long haul" to help individuals and families be restored.
"When the president declared this a major disaster area, we at HUD announced a 90-day foreclosure moratorium or foreclosure freeze, if you will, on FHA insured single-family mortgages, and so for those in a presidentially declared disaster area, there's over 900 FHA single-family mortgages for families there that are now been frozen. That means they have 90 days before they have to make a payment and those lenders cannot foreclose on homes of those that have FHA-backed mortgages,” said Turner, shown praying at a Cabinet meeting above.
HUD also announced assistance through Section 203(h) Loans and Section 203(k) Loans. 203(h) Loans provide 100% financing for eligible homeowners in the declared disaster area to build their home or purchase a new one.
Section 203(k) Loans allow borrowers seeking to purchase/repair a damaged home to finance the purchase or refinance of a house, as well as the repair or renovation costs.
Turner: "We want to do everything we can to help those families that have been impacted. We also have our resource hotline, which is 1-800-CALL-FHA."
HUD also provided vacancy lists to FEMA and the state of Texas with available housing units for displaced residents.
The July 4th flooding in Texas caused widespread damage. At least 135 people died.
State lawmakers are pushing to upgrade degraded flood warning systems and install new river gauges -- a response to repeated criticism of outdated emergency infrastructure.
Locally, The Upper Guadalupe River Authority has pledged $1.5 million for flood mitigation efforts after criticism over its failure to act despite holding funds.
