[StBernard] Katrina trailers for sale - for $5 or less

[Westley Annis]

Katrina trailers for sale - for $5 or less 
White House to sell homes to hurricane-displaced families for as little as
$1
By Spencer S. Hsu 
The Washington Post
updated 3:35 a.m. CT, Wed., June 3, 2009
WASHINGTON - The Obama administration will announce plans today to virtually
give away roughly 1,800 mobile homes to 3,400 families displaced by
Hurricane Katrina who are living in government-provided housing along the
Gulf Coast, officials said. 

The administration also will make available $50 million in rental vouchers
to income-eligible trailer occupants who move to targeted housing projects,
and take over from Louisiana the job of helping residents find permanent
homes, said a senior White House official, speaking on the condition of
anonymity before the formal announcement. 

"We knew we needed to bring this program to a close," the official said. "We
also want to ensure a humane and secure transition for all of them." 

The sale option comes weeks after the trailer program formally ended May 1,
and after Federal Emergency Management Agency officials said they could
begin officially referring cases for eviction June 1. 

FEMA typically provides disaster aid for 18 months. It extended assistance
for 45 months since Katrina hit in August 2005. 

About 1,150 families in FEMA housing live in units the agency classifies as
mobile homes and park models, which will be offered for sale at $5 and $1,
respectively. FEMA expects to free up an additional 600 to 700 units from
its inventory to donate through state and local governments and nonprofit
groups, the administration official said. Individuals who previously bought
units will be offered refunds. 


It is unclear what impact the changes will have. Many local jurisdictions
refuse to alter zoning ordinances to allow small manufactured homes. 

Thousands of existing vouchers from the Department of Housing and Urban
Development that are becoming available in Louisiana are going unused. Some
trailer occupants await promised grants to rebuild their homes or do not
want to leave their home sites. Others do not want to move to HUD-subsidized
housing or to pay more rent. Some occupants are so sick, elderly or
dysfunctional that they require more help to find housing, officials said. 

Spokesman Clark Stevens said FEMA is committed to working with families case
by case, adding that 139,000 other households have cycled out of the trailer
program. "No one will face evictions from a temporary unit while these new
measures are implemented," he said in a written statement. 

More on Hurricane Katrina


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