HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — A number of homeowners and renters in need of assistance after their homes sustained damage from Typhoon Mawar stopped by the Guam Realtors Housing Relief Assistance Program event in hopes of qualifying for aid.
The Guam Realtors Association event on Saturday was the second it held at the Micronesia Mall to take applications.
“We do have over a hundred applicants from the last time and we also entertain applicants through email, which is [email protected],” said Peggy Ilagas, an executive officer at the Guam Association of Realtors.
Alfredo Manaois checked out the program and what he needed to qualify.
“I am not ready yet because I need to provide my mortgage, the property taxes, everything,” said Manaois. “I am going to come back next Saturday. I have to have all my paperwork.”
Manaois said he sought assistance with the Federal Emergency Management Agency but was turned away.
“FEMA is giving us a hard time. I applied but they denied it,” he said. “But I went to a lawyer and I appealed already, so I am waiting the 90 days they said — that’s three months.”
His home, which he described as a temporary structure, suffered severe damage during the storm.
“My ceiling got a hole so all the water went inside, on my appliances, my bed. I just stayed at my house with my son,” he said.
Already turned down once, he put up a canopy to keep the rain out of his home. He told the Post he can’t leave his home.
“I cannot leave. I am a single parent, so it’s hard,” he said. “I (bought) a generator also because like one month we don’t have power.”
Types of assistance
There are three types of assistance offered by the Guam Realtors Association made possible under the Realtors Relief Foundation, which granted $500,000 for typhoon recovery assistance.
With mortgage payment assistance, the homeowners must have sustained damage to the structure of the house — windows, roof, door, garage doors, Ilagas said. She said homeowners who have sustained structural damage need to provide proof.
“You must provide proof of your mortgage statement and we review that with all other requirements and you can get up to a maximum of $1,250,” she said.
The same goes with renters who suffered structural damage.
“If a renter has been displaced because their unit has been deemed unsafe or unlivable and they had to move to a new rental space, then we need to see that new lease agreement and they can get up to $1,250 as well,” Ilagas said.
The third assistance program is for both homeowners and renters.
“If a renter or homeowner were displaced and decided to stay at a hotel and that is the full assistance that you can seek, then you can show proof of your receipts for room and tax. But with that particular assistance, you must show proof of why you were displaced from your home or rental unit. A photo would be good,” she said.
She said that including application, review and qualification, the process takes about four to six weeks.
According to Ilagas, the last day to submit an application is Sept. 30.
Realtor Clariza Samaniego of Today’s Realty assists disaster victims of Typhoon Mawar with their applications for the Guam Realtors Housing Relief Assistance Program at the Micronesia Mall in Dededo on July 22, 2023.
