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PATH Partners FEMA, Fannie Mae Offer Retrofit Loans The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and Fannie Mae recently announced a joint program to help Florida homeowners retrofit their homes. The pilot project, that could later be extended to other areas of the country, offers homeowners consumer installment loans of up to $10,000 at competitive interest rates for certain disaster prevention improvements.The effort is part of FEMA's Project Impact Initiative which seeks to protect families, businesses, and communities by reducing the impact of natural disasters through local public and private sector partnerships. The new pilot installment loans, that are being offered to one and two-family homeowners in Florida, offer a quick approval process, a competitive interest rate, and the assurance that work will be performed by approved and certified contractors. Loan details include up to 10 years for repayment and rates set periodically based on market conditions (but fixed for the term of the loan.) Loans are originated by a Fannie Mae-approved specialty third-party originator. Loans are serviced by a Fannie Mae-approved loan servicer. Examples of the type of upgrades that can be financed under the program include: structural elevation, utility protection/elevation, elevation of HVAC equipment, foundation bolting, chimney bracing, cripple wall stiffening, sprinkler system installation/retrofit, replacement of roofing systems installation of fire-resistant siding, installation of shutters/protection systems for openings, structural strengthening for wind, installation of hail resistant roofing materials/window glazings and construction of an in-home "safe room." For additional information on the Project Impact Prevention Loan, consumers may call Fannie Mae's Consumer Resource Center at 1-800-7FANNIE (1-800-732-6643) between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. EDT. Interested contractors can call VOLT VIEWtech, Inc. at (888) 621-5511 for information on the contractor certification process. Volt VIEWtech, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Volt Information Sciences, inc. Fannie Mae, the nation's largest source of home mortgage funds, is a congressionally chartered, shareholder-owned company and the nation's largest source of funds for home mortgages. It has committed to provide $1 trillion in targeted lending for ten million homes by the end of the decade. The targeted lending will serve low- and moderate-income families, minorities, new immigrants, residents of central cities and other underserved areas, and people who have special housing needs. FEMA is an independent agency of the federal government, reporting to the President. Since its founding in 1979, FEMA's mission has been to reduce loss of life and property and protect the nation's critical infrastructure from all types of hazards through a comprehensive, risk-based, emergency management program of mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. Its Project Impact helps communities protect themselves from the devastating effects of natural disasters by taking actions that dramatically reduce disruption and loss.
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