[StBernard] 'Road Home' applicants staying put

[Westley Annis]

By JOE GYAN JR.
Advocate New Orleans bureau
Published: Jun 9, 2007 - Page: 15a 

Gov. Kathleen Blanco's "Road Home'' hurricane repair and buyout program
appears to be aptly named, notwithstanding complaints from Louisiana
homeowners and government officials about the slow pace of grant awards.

The latest Road Home data shows that 70 percent of homeowners who have
applied for grants of up to $150,000 for uninsured losses plan to use that
money to repair or rebuild their house, while another 10 percent say they
intend to sell their house to the state but remain in Louisiana.

Less than 1.5 percent of the Road Home applicants plan to accept a buyout
and leave the state.

However, 12 percent of the applicants were undecided about which of the
three benefit options to choose when they filed their application.

Even more encouraging for Road Home officials is that of the 44,000-plus
applicants for whom benefits have been calculated, 85 percent of them said
they will repair or rebuild. Another 12 percent said they will accept a
buyout but stay in Louisiana, and 3 percent said they are selling and
leaving the state.

As of Monday, nearly 143,000 homeowners impacted by hurricanes Katrina or
Rita had applied for grants under the $7.5 billion program.

Nearly 25,000 grant closings had been held, with the average grant award
totaling more than $75,000.

Parish-by-parish Road Home data as of May 31, when more than 141,000
applications had been filed, indicates that Orleans - 80 percent of which
was flooded during Katrina - continues to lead the way with more than 50,000
homeowner applications.

Neighboring Jefferson is a distant second with more than 24,000, followed by
St. Bernard with more than 14,000, Calcasieu with about 12,000 and St.
Tammany with more than 11,000.

Nearly three-quarters of the Orleans applicants say they intend to repair or
rebuild their home, while more than a third of St. Bernard's applicants say
they plan to sell but remain in the state.

Only 4 percent of the applicants in St. Bernard, which was totally
devastated by Katrina, say they expect to leave Louisiana.

Road Home officials caution that the anticipated use of funds as reported on
homeowners' applications may differ from their final decisions.

So far, $6.4 billion in Road Home benefits has been calculated and $1.4
billion has been disbursed to homeowners. The state's legislative auditor
says the homeowner assistance program is facing a $5 billion shortfall.

The deadline for homeowners to apply for Road Home assistance is July 31.