Flooded home - FEMA Disaster Relief tips?

JetmechF16

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Well Harvey was an asshole, my rental house flooded twice with about 1-2' of water. Tenants evac'd to Dallas and are safe. No flood insurance, water never even came close in 40 years.

I started the FEMA application but have to call them to finish since it's a rental and I'm not an occupant. I've never been through this before so I was hoping to get some tips from anyone that has.

I have already received the denial of coverage letter from my homeowner's insurance (USAA).

Questions:

What is the overall process like?

What will/do they cover?

Anything special I should do with the house? It isn't accessible yet, still about 4' of water in the neighborhood.

Thanks everyone, please share your experience in case there are others on here who have flood damage.
 

JetmechF16

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Oh and I bought flood insurance for that house yesterday, should go into effect in 30 days. Hurricane season isn't over.
 

SID297

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Oh and I bought flood insurance for that house yesterday, should go into effect in 30 days. Hurricane season isn't over.

I'm no help dealing with FEMA, but that is a good idea. Flood insurance is typically cheap (I pay about $300/year and I live at the beach and have a private pond in my back yard) and can be invaluable.

My only words of wisdom are to be patient, you're going to be dealing with a bloated federal bureaucracy. From the looks of things the recovery effort is going to take years.
 

JetmechF16

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I'm no help dealing with FEMA, but that is a good idea. Flood insurance is typically cheap (I pay about $300/year and I live at the beach and have a private pond in my back yard) and can be invaluable.

My only words of wisdom are to be patient, you're going to be dealing with a bloated federal bureaucracy. From the looks of things the recovery effort is going to take years.

Thanks Travis, that's what I'm afraid of, this rental was supposed to be my main source of income since my military activation is ending next month. No job lined up yet. I'm hoping I can get an SBA loan or something quickly to keep my tenants in the house.

Anyone know how the grant system works?
 

IronSnake

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I wish I could be of more help with the insurance side. I live right down the way from Travis in Charleston. We were hit by Hugo almost 30 years ago now. Which decimated the area to the degree of Houston and surrounding areas. It's why I purchased flood insurance despite not being in an established flood plain.

Would you be willing to divulge a bit of information regarding the rental home? Is it on a slab or does it have a crawl space? How old is it and what sort of experience do you have with repairs?

Reason I ask is I always considering both insurance and relief as a fall back. Our home is on a raised slab (slightly higher than standard) and should I ever face a foot of water in our home, I would be rolling up my sleeves and getting to work. Insurance or not. It would behoove you to get to the house asap and immediately rip out the carpet and insulation that you can get your hands on. Removing the moisture is the first step to preventing mold/further damage.

If I was closer I'd come pitch in and help out man. Best of luck.
 

StrayBullitt

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I've had water damage in my house and it's a disaster. I was out of my home for over 2 weeks just for the tear down and dehumidification process.
I would say if you have the means, get your house interior tore down to the bones and dehumidifiers going as soon as you possibly can, get the soaked insulation removed and drywall and flooring. You don't want mold to set in as that is a whole other battle. I'm guessing Contractors and Water damage/Recovery companies are gonna be slammed for quite some time and really expensive most likely so I would say try not to wait and take matters into your hands as much as you can to protect your investment. Best of luck to you.
 
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JetmechF16

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I wish I could be of more help with the insurance side. I live right down the way from Travis in Charleston. We were hit by Hugo almost 30 years ago now. Which decimated the area to the degree of Houston and surrounding areas. It's why I purchased flood insurance despite not being in an established flood plain.

Would you be willing to divulge a bit of information regarding the rental home? Is it on a slab or does it have a crawl space? How old is it and what sort of experience do you have with repairs?

Reason I ask is I always considering both insurance and relief as a fall back. Our home is on a raised slab (slightly higher than standard) and should I ever face a foot of water in our home, I would be rolling up my sleeves and getting to work. Insurance or not. It would behoove you to get to the house asap and immediately rip out the carpet and insulation that you can get your hands on. Removing the moisture is the first step to preventing mold/further damage.

If I was closer I'd come pitch in and help out man. Best of luck.

Thanks for the info. House is a single-family 3/2/2 1400 sq ft cement slab foundation. I will be going over there as soon as the neighborhood is accessible.
 

JetmechF16

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Ok, disregard this post, apparently rental properties are not eligible for disaster relief. I'm ****ed.
 

Sinister04L

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Good luck man. Get that drying process started asap. When my house flooded a few years ago the water abatement people started the next day and it still took several days to completely dry out and that was with a dozen machines running.
 

CV355

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+1 on immediately starting on drying / remediation- rent the commercial drying units, do not rely on smaller home-use dehumidifiers as they can't draw moisture as well.

In 2010 and 2014, I lost a lot to water damage. Insurance did nothing in '10, and barely anything in '14. Not a fun process.

I'm sorry you're going through this, but by starting the drying process immediately, you are saving structure. Once mold gets in, it's a much worse ordeal.
 

IronSnake

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Damn that's rough. No help then at all.

Chalk line your walls above the water line. Skill saw that shit off.
Cut back the insulation till it's dry.
Rip all carpet/squishy water holding materials out.
Pull the base boards under the cabinets off and open up any pockets of space
Open up all your windows and doors to let it dry out as much as possible.

It can be fixed. If power is off, hopefully you have a truck with an inverter. I wouldn't let anything stop me from saving my home(s).
 

DHG1078

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If you start the drying process yourself , after the house is empty, you will save a lot of time .
Tear up carpets , cut the drywall out above the water line , remove insulation, you will keep mold to a minimum .

I was gonna say the same thing.

Tear up carpets, cut up drywall above the water line. If you keep the cut straight it might make it easier down the line to put new drywall along the bottom.

Get as many dehumidifiers as you can as soon as you can. You will be pulling A LOT of water out.
 

JetmechF16

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Damn. That's unfortunate. Sorry.

I do have to wonder though, what do the tenants do now? Are they on the street?

They are in Dallas with family right now, should be returning this weekend to help me with clearing the house out. They have insurance and disaster relief available to them for their personal belongings and relocation I believe, they are applying as I type. They are awesome tenants, I'm planning on cutting their rent in half during this time if they help with the rebuild.

Water is down to 2', hoping to get over there later today. The entrance has a dip in it so it's probably still 4-5' deep, my Jeep can't get through that.
 

Steve@TF

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im surprised they were willing to sell you flood insurance now. heck, just wait and then file a claim after the next flood.

my father lives in the middle of BFE California. hot and dry as ****. but supposedly in a "flood zone". he has to have flood insurance due to mortgage and its expensive. its a few grand a year. he's trying to get the house paid off asap so he cancel the insurance.

good old CA.
 

DHG1078

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im surprised they were willing to sell you flood insurance now. heck, just wait and then file a claim after the next flood.

my father lives in the middle of BFE California. hot and dry as ****. but supposedly in a "flood zone". he has to have flood insurance due to mortgage and its expensive. its a few grand a year. he's trying to get the house paid off asap so he cancel the insurance.

good old CA.

It won't cover anything prior to the start date on the policy. He would have to prove his house didn't flood during the hurricane.

I'm in a flood zone in the desert, too. Supposedly i'm in a spot that there is a 1% chance of a major flood every year so my mortgage requires it. I forget but its only 700-900 a year.

Some states allow you to buy flood insurance through private companies like lloyd's of london.
 

barstowpo

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Keep track of all your expenses. You will likely be in line for a huge tax deduction. At least uninsured loss is deductible. Perhaps even loss of rental income. Talk to your tax professional.
 

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