As the full extent of Hurricane Sandy's impact is still being uncovered, residents who lost homes or have suffered damage to them can apply to FEMA for help right now.
Registering your claim can be done online or by phone, and the process takes about 25-30 minutes, officials say.
The website is www.disasterassistance.gov. You can apply via your smartphone as well at m.fema.gov. To apply by phone, call 1-800-621-3362. People with speech or hearing disabilities should call 1-800-462-7585.
According to Scott Sanders, a FEMA spokesman, you have 60 days from the date of the disaster declaration to apply for help. For New Jersey residents, this means you have until Saturday, Dec. 29 -- 60 days from the date the disaster declaration was made, on Tuesday, Oct. 30.
In addition to assistance with the costs of repairing or replacing homes -- FEMA's website notes it is secondary coverage to homeowner's insurance -- FEMA provides rental assistance as well.
There is information you need when you apply for assistance. According to the FEMA website, www.disasterassistance.gov, you should have the following information available:
- Your Social Security number.
- Insurance information -- the type of insurance you have.
- Your annual gross income.
- Contact information where they can reach you, especially if you are displaced
You also must fill out and sign a Declaration and Release Form (OMB form 009-0-3), and send it to:
FEMA – Individuals & Households Program
National Processing Service Center, P.O. Box 10055, Hyattsville, MD 20782-8055
Or fax it to: 1-800-827-8112
Many towns will be holding information sessions with FEMA representatives in the coming days.
You still don't get it. I know FEMA is for people who are desperate. That is why the idiot politicians and people like you should make everyone aware that certain people shouldn't waste their time, or the time of the people administering the FEMA program, by filing a claim. Does it make sense for tens of thousands of people who own 2nd homes to clog up the FEMA system by filing a claim, and then making calls to ask why they get nothing? Of course not. FEMA is like welfare. It is to provide basic necessities to people who are stranded, and really need help. What don't you get? My issue is with the useless politicians who can't provide basic information. It is NOT with people that need FEMA reliief. Get it now? I'm glad to hear you pay taxes. Congratulations!
Often, these "are" second homes because they are "shared" by multiple heirs - again, used for rental at times to offset tax costs. Otherwise, they may still be considered "first homes" if the owner lived there at least 183 days or more per year. There was a huge flurry of speculative construction, capitalizing on greatly increased demand and rental income potential, converting many of these smaller bungalows. (I said "often", not "always", so no hair-splitting) in the late '80s through the '90s and into the 2000's. Some even opted for top and bottom "condominiums". Towns received the benefit of the higher ratables. It is very rare that I have run across an applicant who did not correctly represent their rental earnings on their tax bill, because, without doing so, you cannot use that income to offset expenses when calculating ability to carry debt - in other words, to reduce the rate on the mortgage taken out to do the conversion in the first place.
How investors and insurers will handle this Spring's market, when the homes are sufficiently repaired to be appraised, remains to be seen. I will be running for Congress again in two years - I am curious to see how the person who defeated me does in addressing the economy, social security, the lack of a budget due to 4 years of grid-lock, and the housing crisis - let alone the long-term effects of this storm and whatever may next come. I hope, for all of us, he does a most excellent job. Forgive me if I have my doubts as to his abilities. We shall see. Meanwhile, I'm back to what I do...
Private insurance is what should be covering homes, if you don't have private insurance you are out of luck.