How a Declared Federal Disaster Area can help property owners and tenants

[Andrew Postell]

We have had some recent storms in the Dallas/Fort Worth area that have caused some serious damage and even taken lives. The damage has been so severe that we have recently been declared a “Federal Disaster Area”. This is pretty important if you own property…but it can also provide assistance for your tenants too.

When an area of the country is declared a Federal Disaster Area this opens up Federal Assistance for the residents of that area. Meaning, we can apply for relief and specifically monetary relief.

By opening a claim using one of the links below you (and your tenants) can process a claim to get financial assistance. If you are an individual that had a property loss (including personal property) then use the first link for FEMA.

The second link is for business owners…and yes, this includes those of us that have rental properties. The SBA assistance is in the form of a low interest rate loan. So, slightly different in the structure but can still be of service to those of us that had a loss.

And while I am referencing Texas these are the same links to use anywhere in the country at any time for a declared "Federal Disaster Area".

Feel free to share this information with anyone that you know that might have been impacted by these storms and maybe this can help them in some way.

To apply a claim as an individual use this link: https://www.disasterassistance.gov/

To apply a claim as a business use this link: https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs/disaster-assistance

As of this post the counties declared as a disaster area in Texas are as follows: Austin, Bell, Calhoun, Collin, Cooke, Coryell, Dallas, Denton, Eastland, Ellis, Falls, Guadalupe, Hardin, Harris, Henderson, Hockley, Jasper, Jones, Kaufman, Lamar, Leon, Liberty, Montague, Montgomery, Navarro, Newton, Polk, San Jacinto, Smith, Terrell, Trinity, Tyler, Van Zandt, Walker and Waller counties.