CHAT Survey: Road Home Problems with Grant Calculations and Elevation Grants
Exit this survey 

Intro Questions

 
 100% 
This survey information will be kept confidential except to share it with limited CHAT partners working to make the Road Home fairer. CHAT will use information to estimate the number of Road Home applicants facing different types of problems (ie: "250 survey respondents face a mistake in their grant calculations").

1. Would you like all of your identifiers (name, address, etc) from this page removed before sending your responses to Road Home officials?

2. To use your survey answers in our analysis of Road Home problems, we need your name, address, and when you applied. Your phone and email would be helpful but are not required.

3. Please tell us the approximate month and year you applied for the Road Home homeowner grant.

4. If you closed on your grant, approximately what month and year did you close?

5. Did you already receive your correct amount of grant money?

Please answer all questions in this survey that are relevant to your application. Three sections of questions deal with the three types of problems common to Road Home Applicants: 1. Mistakes in Grant Calculations 2. Applicants Still Waiting for Money 3. Elevation Award Program Confusion

You may skip any section and any question.

You are invited to write any comments you like in the box at the end of each section about the time it took to get your award, whether there were mistakes in your grant calculation, or about the processing of your application for a house-elevation award.
SECTION 1: MISTAKES IN GRANT CALCULATIONS

6. Did you go to closing?

7. If you went to closing, do you think there was a mistake in your grant calculation?

If your answer is yes, please fill out as many questions in this section as possible.

8. Did you appeal after closing?

9. Did you ask for a copy of your Road Home file?

10. If you asked for a copy of your Road Home file, did you receive all or part of your file?

11. If Road Home sent you a copy of your file, was it a complete copy (all house valuations or all information about the estimated cost of damage to your house, all insurance and FEMA deductions, phone call record)?

12. If you could not get a complete copy of your file, please explain.

13. The Road Home instituted a new procedure for getting a copy of your Road Home file on July 17, 2008. This procedure requires a homeowner to send a request letter to Brad Bradford at The Road Home.

"The Road Home Program
8282 Goodwood Blvd.
Attn: Brad D. Bradford
Baton Rouge, LA 70806

Requests should include the applicant’s Road Home application identification number, the address of the damaged property and a current mailing address. All requests must be signed and dated by the applicant and you should request that there be no fee because you are requesting all documents, including JIRA notes, from your own file.

Please allow 30 days to complete the request. All questions regarding the request of an applicant file should be directed to Brad Bradford at 225-248-4972 or Linda Bodker at 225-928-6659."

 YesNo
Did you try this address?
Did you get your file yet?

14. Is There A Mistake In Your Home Valuation (Prestorm Value)? If so please answer the following:

 YesNo
Was Road Home’s prestorm value for your house too low?
Did you purchase a certified appraisal?
If you purchased a certified appraisal, do you think it was put in your file?

15. If Road Home decided that you had less than 51% damage, they estimated your house damage instead of giving you a house valuation. If you had an estimated cost of damage (also called cost estimate or CAD report) from Road Home, was it too low?

16. If Road Home gave you an estimated cost of damage, did you read the very detailed rules about how they do this (CAD report or Home Evaluation Protocols)?

17. If you know how the estimated cost of damage of any of your neighbors’ homes compares to yours, please explain.

18. Did Road Home make a mistake in the deductions for your grant calculation? If so, please answer the following:

 YesNo
Did Road Home subtract more money for your insurance benefits or FEMA benefits than it should have subtracted? (only benefits for Road Home-eligible structural damage should be subtracted)
Did you receive a penalty for not having homeowners’ insurance when you actually did have it?
Did Road Home make a mistake in giving you a penalty for flood insurance?

19. Did you ask for a dispute resolution or appeal? If so please answer the following:

 YesNo
Have you been able to find out what happened to your dispute resolution or appeal?
Did you win your dispute or appeal?
Did you lose your dispute or appeal?
If you lost, did you get an explanation of why in writing?
If you lost, do you still disagree with the ruling?

20. Did you want to appeal but did not because you were confused about the rules?

21. Did you want to continue a dispute resolution or appeal before you went to closing but Road Home staff told you that you had to go to closing first and then appeal?

22. Were you told that you were eligible for an additional compensation grant but later told that you weren't?

23. Was the amount of your award decreased just before or at closing?

24. Has the Road Home not answered questions from someone who has power of attorney or is an official advocate for you?

25. Have you been asked to pay money back to Road Home after closing because of a mistake in their calculation?

26. Are you in financial trouble or living under poor conditions because you are still waiting for your appeal to be decided or for a chance to appeal with a full copy of your file?

Please check all that apply.

27. You may use this box for any additional comments about any mistakes in your grant calculation.

SECTION 2: APPLICANTS STILL WAITING FOR MONEY

28. Are you still waiting for your first grant award OR are you still waiting to receive EXTRA money after you won an appeal or dispute resolution?
(not the elevation award; those waiting only for elevation awards, please fill out Section 3)

If your answer is yes, please fill out as many questions in this section as possible.

29. Did you sell your home at a loss before August 31, 2006?

30. If you sold your home at a loss before August 31, 2006, have you sent more documents according to the new policy announced on July 29, 2008?
"Applicants who owned and occupied the damaged property and used it as their primary residents at the time of Hurricane Katrina (August 29, 2005) or Hurricane Rita (September 24, 2005) should send (by certified mail) a copy of the act of cash sale and contact Road Home at 1-888-762-3252 about other requirements."

31. Did you sell your home at a loss after August 31, 2006?

32. If you were told that you are ineligible for a grant, please explain (no more than 5 lines please).

33. Are you supposed to get a grant but Road Home did not contact you with the award amount yet?

34. Were you told the award amount by Road Home but you are still waiting for a grant closing to sign the grant award papers?

35. Did you go to a closing for your grant, but you are still waiting for more than 4 weeks for the transfer of the money to your bank?

36. If you won an appeal, have you been waiting for more than 4 weeks for your appeal award after you were notified you won your appeal?

37. If you received no Road Home money, is your application now inactive?

38. Are you in financial trouble or living under poor conditions because you are still waiting for your grant money?

Please check all that apply.

39. You may use this box for any comments you would like to make about waiting for your grant money.

SECTION 3: ELEVATION AWARD PROGRAM CONFUSION

40. Did you apply for any type of elevation award?

Important:

If you are interested in a house-elevation award and received the packet from Road Home that says that you are eligible, you may still send back the Road Home form and the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) form indicating that you would like to be considered for a grant. As of July 31, the Road Home hotline for questions about elevation awards is telling people that Road Home extended the deadline to send in those forms.

Call 877-234-1513 (Road Home Elevation Technical Assistance Hot Line) for more information.

41. If you decided not to elevate your house even though you are eligible for an elevation grant, please check your reason below.

If you are applying for elevation award money, please fill out as many questions in this section as possible.

42. After the hurricane, did you elevate your house?

43. If you elevated your house after the storm, how much did it cost for elevation (including any demolition)?

44. Are you in financial trouble or living under poor conditions because you are still waiting for your elevation grant money?

45. Did you apply for a Road Home Elevation Incentive award?
(this is the grant for $30,000 for promising to elevate a single-family house within 3 years)

46. If you have applied, have you received a notice telling you your elevation award amount?

47. If you have received a notice telling you your award amount, was the amount reduced because Road Home told you that they gave you too much money before?

48. Did you apply for a Hazard Mitigation Elevation Grant (HMGP) Note that the HMGP Elevation Grant is separate from the Road Home Elevation Incentive Award. For more explanation, you can read the information in the box below. If so, please answer the following:

 YesNo
Did you send back the form to Road Home indicating that you are interested in the Hazard Mitigation (HMGP) Elevation Grant?
Did you start your demolition or elevation work before March 16, 2008?
Did you start your demolition or elevation work or sign a contract for it after March 16, 2008?
Has Road Home sent you approval from FEMA for your eligibility for a Hazard Mitigation (HMGP) elevation grant?
The Hazard Mitigation (HMGP) Elevation Grant is separate from the Road Home Elevation Incentive Award and is given only if you have unpaid elevation expenses after getting your money from ICC (Increased Cost of Compliance; from the National Flood Insurance Program for those with flood insurance).

Applicants who have signed contracts, bills, and building permits for elevation before Mar. 16 are automatically eligible for the HMGP elevation grant because of a special ruling by FEMA in January. However, these applicants still had to fill out a form from Road Home indicating that they were interested in a Hazard Mitigation Elevation Grant. Then, Road Home has to send their names to FEMA. Finally, the Louisiana Recovery Authority (LRA) has to process this Hazard Mitigation Application Grant and set up a system for the applicant to prove that he or she has eligible elevation expenses that were not covered by their ICC money.

Applicants who do not have proof that they started the actual physical work of elevation by March 16, 2008 have to get that approval from FEMA before they sign a contract to elevate or they will lose the chance to get a Hazard Mitigation Elevation Grant. It is up to LRA to get that approval from FEMA for Road Home applicants who sent back the Hazard Mitigation Elevation Grant form to Road Home. Once LRA sends that approval to applicants from FEMA, they are then able to start elevation work and still remain for the Hazard Mitigation Elevation Grant.

A very small percentage of applicants who have special historical or environmental situations will have a longer delay between the time that the State approves them for elevation allowances and sends their name to FEMA and when FEMA approves them.

Call 877-234-1513 (Road Home Elevation Technical Assistance Hot Line) for more information because the rules have not yet been finalized and so may change from the above description.

49. You may use this box for any comments you like about the elevation grant awards.