Sunday, June 19, 2005

Isabel Victims in Va. Get Unexpected Bills From FEMA
Fred Pilot sent this link that was originally unearthed by Patrick's HOA News. And these are victims of Hurricane Isabel, not my 7 year old daughter. It seems that the condo association made a mistake in purchasing flood insurance from a private carrier instead of FEMA.

When the floodwaters from Hurricane Isabel inundated the Belle View condominium complex in September 2003, causing nearly $6 million in damage, condo owner Stephen Snell had to flee to a nearby motel for two weeks because the water and mold caused him to have serious breathing problems. Nearly two years after the hurricane, Snell, a consultant, said he and dozens of other Belle View residents were "dumbfounded" when they received a collection letter from the Federal Emergency Management Agency last month. The letter demanded repayment of disaster relief money the agency awarded Snell and other residents of the beleaguered condo complex, which sits just off the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Fairfax County, south of Alexandria. It gave them a 30-day deadline to pay. FEMA recently demanded that about 147 condo owners repay at least part of the funds they were awarded -- a total of about $140,000. The agency said that under condo association bylaws, the federal government should not have to cover some repairs.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

My friend who lives in these condo's is a retired civil servant. She is being threatened by FEMA to seek payment of what they have determined as "wrongful payment" via her sole means of support which is her Social Security. Can't something be done about this. First these people are victimized by the Condo and then the Government!