Housing Storm Victims in REO Properties for Sale Proposed
June 5th, 2009 by 
Joseph Smith
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in Florida is exploring ways to help hurricane evacuees and at the same time find a use for the burgeoning REO properties for sale in the state.
A plan has been proposed to house storm victims in REO properties for sale in the event that another hurricane devastates the region and hotels, shelters and other housing options are scant.
Florida FEMA officials said that the proposal is a way to find some uses for the increasing foreclosure properties in the state and keep residents near their homes and neighborhoods instead of relocating them in various parts of the country.
They recalled that some victims of Hurricane Katrina, which devastated Louisiana and Mississippi, find alternative places to live in other parts of the country and many of them never returned to their states. They pointed out that the Louisiana city of New Orleans is slow to recover from the effects of the hurricane because of population lost.
Federal coordinating officer for FEMA Florida Jeff Bryant said that it is necessary to prevent people from permanently living the state and all efforts should be exhausted to keep them from staying in their local communities.
FEMA is planning to contact lenders and banks to put a list of available REO properties for sale in the region. The idea is still under development but it is most likely that evacuees would be assigned to a foreclosed property near their homes.
FEMA Florida’s individual assistance branch director Jon Arno said that a contractor would be hired by the agency to act as its agent who will be responsible for paying the rent directly to owners of REO properties for sale used by evacuees.
Bryant explained that the plan will likely be implemented in a very large catastrophic event and in places where housing options are limited.
In April, Florida foreclosures rose by 36 percent compared with the first quarter figures a year ago. Filings of foreclosures were made on 119,220 properties during the first quarter of 2009, representing an increase of 12 percent from the last quarter of 2008 and a 36 percent rise from the 2008 first quarter level.
Filings for REO properties for sale in Florida reached 47,131 in March, a rise of 2 percent from February and 56 percent from the March 2008 total.
