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FEMA Announces Housing Sales Program From: FEMA Filed 5/15/07 GCN
Eligible occupants of temporary housing
provided by the U. S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) may now purchase their travel trailer, park model
or mobile home.
As part of the recent announcement to extend
housing assistance beyond Aug. 31, 2007, FEMA also announced it would
begin selling travel trailers and mobile homes to current occupants of
these units. The “Sales to Occupants” program allows families currently
living in FEMA temporary housing units
to purchase them.
FEMA has written a letter to all current
travel trailer, park model and mobile home occupants asking if they may be
interested in purchasing their housing units. If they are, applicants will
sign and return to FEMA a “Notice of Interest in Purchasing Temporary
Housing Unit” form included in the letter.
Once FEMA receives a signed notice of
interest, FEMA sales managers will begin contacting interested families to
provide instructions on the sales process and its requirements. All sales
will be handled on
a case-by-case basis.
“Our sales managers will be making every
effort to contact interested applicants as quickly as possible to explain
how the sales program works. However, it may take from one to four weeks
before a sales manager can do so if the numbers of interested applicants
is high,” said Dennis Kizziah, acting director of the FEMA Mississippi
Transitional Recovery Office. “If applicants have questions, they may call
the FEMA Mississippi Help Line at 1-866-877-6075.”
is the case, FEMA will work with those
persons at that time.
Upon completion of the sale, the applicant or
members of the applicant’s household will no longer be eligible to receive
FEMA housing assistance under the federally declared disaster for which
the unit
was provided, in this case, Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita.
Applicants who do not wish to participate in
the sales program will continue to be eligible to stay in their units as
long as they meet the eligibility requirements for temporary housing
assistance while
that assistance is provided.
Eligible families must purchase the
FEMA-provided unit they are currently occupying. No substitutions or
exchanges will be allowed. Units will be sold “as is” with no stated or
implied warranties. Once occupants purchase the unit, they will no longer
be eligible for FEMA temporary Housing Assistance.
The sales prices will vary based on several
factors including the type of unit, whether the unit was originally new or
used, and the number of months the occupants lived in the unit. Other
costs, such as state sales tax, hazard and flood insurance, local permit
fees, and any costs associated with moving the unit may apply and are the
purchaser’s responsibility.
Under the guidelines established for this
sales program, participants in the previous unit sales programs who are
still interested in purchasing their unit must still sign and return the
notice of interest. FEMA sales caseworkers will continue to process those
special cases.
Occupants purchasing their unit must also:
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Pay all applicable state sales taxes and any other applicable costs;
·
Accept all responsibility and liability. Occupants in group sites will be
responsible for moving the unit to a permanent location within 30 days of
completion of the sale;
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Obtain local permits or inspections and provide copies to FEMA, as
required;
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Comply with local floodplain management codes if the selected site is
located within the 100-year floodplain or a designated Special Flood
Hazard Area (SFHA);
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Agree to obtain hazard insurance for the unit, including flood insurance
if the unit is or will be located in a designated SFHA.
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Signing and
returning a notice of interest form to FEMA is not binding. Even if an
applicant tells FEMA he or she is interested, it doesn’t mean the
applicant is required to purchase the unit. At the same time, an applicant
who currently is not interested in purchasing their unit may change his or
her mind. If this