ALBANY, N.Y. – September 19, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — Cleaning up and making temporary repairs to your storm-damaged property will not disqualify you from federal disaster assistance, state and federal emergency management officials said today.
Property owners are encouraged to document storm damage to their properties – either with photographs or video – and to then begin cleaning up and making whatever temporary repairs are necessary to make their homes safe and habitable again.
“We do not want people to put off repairing storm damage, living in unsafe, unsanitary conditions, waiting for the FEMA inspector to arrive,” said Philip E. Parr, federal coordinating officer with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
FEMA advises homeowners to:
- Put your family’s health and safety first.
- Take lots of pictures of your damaged home.
- Make repairs to prevent further damage to your property.
- Keep your receipts to show the inspector.
“Our contract inspectors are trained construction and building inspection professionals. They can evaluate structural damage by looking at repairs and receipts for the work and materials used in making those repairs,” Parr said.
FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.
