North Carolina homeowners affected by Helene can avoid government buyout: Politico

In the wake of Hurricane Helene’s devastation in western North Carolina, government programs designed to help affected homeowners with foreclosures and relocation assistance may not be of much interest. This was said by local officials who spoke to them Politics.

Zeb Smathers, the mayor of Canton in western North Carolina, explained to the site how he is no longer comfortable asking affected residents to stay. Just three years ago, the city was hit by a “once in a lifetime” flood caused by Tropical Storm Fred. It affected 700 homes and required emergency shelter for 100 people in a town of about 4,400 people.

Following Helene’s impact, Smathers said she is now encouraging affected homeowners and business owners to seek these government buyout programs if they do not want to live in the area.

“There’s a western North Carolina that was before this and there’s a next one,” Smathers told Politico in an interview. “I’m numb, but I saw this three years ago – which allows us to ask some of the tough questions.”

But Smathers doesn’t expect many residents to take up the buyout offer. He notes that public interest, the extensive destruction caused by Helene and the lack of affordable housing elsewhere in the state combined to reduce the local uptake of these programs. In addition, many affected residents simply have a personal connection to their homes and do not want to release them.

“Those things will derail programs designed to reduce personal and financial hardship and disaster responses paid for by taxpayers,” Politico reported.

In 2021, Congress passed a bipartisan infrastructure bill that was signed into law by President Joe Biden. It has invested $3.5 billion in new funding for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and its flood mitigation assistance program, which can pay for the purchase of homes that have been severely damaged by floods. The idea is to reduce the burden on future taxpayers tied to natural disasters while also trying to evict people from flood-prone areas.

Low-interest loans also received a $500 million boost through legislation, and another $1 billion was added to a public grant program aimed at reducing the risk of such disasters.

Payments under the program are based on pre-disaster market rates, but Smathers—and other local officials, aid workers and environmental groups—don’t see the programs getting much buy-in from community members.

“We’re a heavily Republican state, let’s face it,” Paula Swepson, executive director of the West Marion Community Forumhe told Politico. “They believe in climate change, they believe in environmental justice, they believe that DEI comes from the pits of hell. So, how can we continue to fight and let people know that these things are real – and if you didn’t believe it, how do you think this happened?”

But some local officials said they are unsure how to access federal aid programs, because they often come with cumbersome application processes that divert resources from addressing immediate needs. Adding to all this is the lack of places that will be able to transport low-income people who cannot go to them, they said.

Earlier, it was indicated that FEMA has already completed half of its response funds allocated for the back-to-back disasters of hurricanes Helene and Milton. Absent further action from Congress, FEMA will be forced to limit its spending as aid needs increase rapidly in the wake of both disasters.

Home insurance is also under pressure in the Southeast due to the effects of the hurricanes. Experts say HousingWire that the way the mortgage industry interacts with insurance companies may need to change due to accelerating climate risks.

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