Disaster Relief

Florida-based modular builder launches expandable housing model

West Palm Beach, Fla.-based Mesocore Modular Homes is introducing an expandable modular housing model aimed at improving affordability and disaster relief, an important issue in a state prone to devastating hurricanes.  Positioned as an affordable housing solution for both homebuyers and city leaders, planners, emergency management professionals, and resilience experts focused on addressing climate-driven risks, […]

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Coalition presses for stronger federal flood response, eyes ROAD to Housing Act

A new multi-state coalition is warning that worsening floods across Appalachia — and the federal government’s uneven response — are heightening risks for communities, infrastructure and real estate markets across the region. The Appalachian Flood Resilience Coalition recently convened for the first time to examine Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding fights, stalled mitigation programs

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Community association leaders advocate on Capitol Hill

Hundreds of community association leaders visited Capitol Hill this past Thursday for the Congressional Advocacy Summit hosted by the Community Associations Institute (CAI). More than 200 advocates from CAI — representing more than 77 million homeowners association, condominium and co-op residents — met with members of Congress and their staff to discuss federal issues in

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NFIP set to expire as shutdown, disaster seasons collide

With the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) set to expire Sept. 30, just as hurricane and wildfire seasons collide with the threat of a federal government shutdown, uncertainty is mounting for homeowners, insurers and the housing market. The NFIP has faced repeated short-term extensions and lapses, including under the Biden administration two years ago. Between

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FEMA funds blocked illegally, GAO finds

A federal watchdog has ruled that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) broke the law by blocking or delaying aid money that Congress had already approved, including funds for programs that provide shelter and food. The Government Accountability Office (GAO), which oversees federal spending on behalf of Congress, said in a decision released this week

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Realtors Relief Foundation sends $500K to Texas flood victims

The nonprofit Realtors Relief Foundation (RRF) has allocated $500,000 to assist residents in south central Texas following recent floods that took the lives of more than 130 people and displaced families across the region. The funding — distributed through Texas Realtors and eight local associations — will be used to help affected residents cover housing

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HUD offers foreclosure relief to Texans saddled by floods

Scott Turner, the secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), announced on Tuesday a 90-day foreclosure moratorium for Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured single-family mortgages in the areas of Kerr County, Texas, that have been devastated by recent severe storms, including wind and flood damage. The 90-day moratorium prohibits mortgage servicers from

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New California wildfire homeowner assistance program includes reverse mortgages

As communities and organizations continue to reckon with the impact of the Los Angeles-area wildfires, the state is now stepping in with a new assistance program that will include impacted reverse mortgage borrowers whose homes were damaged or lost. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Thursday announced that the CalAssist Mortgage Fund will launch on

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California wildfire recovery event sought to offer guidance to reverse mortgage borrowers

For communities engulfed in the wildfires that took place earlier this year in the Los Angeles area, lives have been upended and additional strain has been placed on an already-stressed housing system in Southern California. But for wildfire victims who are also reverse mortgage borrowers, they may encounter problems stemming from a major disaster interacting

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FEMA rescinds strategic agency plan ahead of hurricane season

Hurricane season is set to commence on June 1, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) — which has been experiencing organizational challenges for the past several weeks — has reportedly rescinded its guiding plan for agency objectives and priorities, according to multiple FEMA employees and a memo obtained by news outlet Wired. On Wednesday,

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