I still see a lot of roof damage around town post-Ike. Worse, I see relatively new houses in effed buyer neighborhoods with nothing but the tar paper keeping out the water. It's been a very dry winter, which has been the only saving grace for the people living in these houses.The blue roofs of September are starting to fray. We know that many of these people should have had proper home insurance, or maybe their insurance companies are stalling. It's tough for a lot of families to come up with $7,000-$10,000 to have the roof replaced. But once the water gets in it's game over. Houses are abandoned, the neighborhood suffers, property taxes decline.
I think the state and county should embark upon a new, non-FEMA Tarp Program and do it immediately before more damage occurs as the typical heavy spring and summer rains return. This time they need to go out on the streets and seek out these owners. It only costs a couple hundred bucks per house to do this, and not only will it help out struggling families, in the long run it will help preserve the property tax base.
Budget issues? No problem. I'd immediately eliminate the Harris County Department of Education, which is a $15 million annual expense to local taxpayers. This bureaucracy does literally nothing except eat our money and duplicates what is already done by the local ISDs. With that money we could protect about 35,000 homes from the elements until the owners can get back on their feet.
6 comments:
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Paul writes,
I was reading about a 92 year old, WWII Pacific Medic who froze to death in his house of fifty years when the town/public power company shut off his electric for a $1,000 bill. No one in the town bureaucracy came and talked to him. Not the public electric company, not the elder services, not welfare, EMS. No one.
So that got me reading. A bunch of people in Detroit called the police for weeks about a body frozen in two feet of water. Only after a reporter called for three days, did the police respond.
Another Detroit article had a 65 year old guy dead, frozen, in his truck for two weeks. His dogs too. He had a extension cord from somewhere to a space heater in his truck.
Supposedly Detroit has 19,000 shelter less people. Many preferred to exist in the ruins than the city bureaucracy.
To be honest, I'm not a big fan of urban black Americans, but WTF is going on in this country?
We are taxed up the arse and we got human being living like dirt and yet Yuppies are worried about their waistlines and FedGov is getting ready to turn all our kids into tax serfs and spend the money on Nancy Pelosi's and Bwarny Fwanks pet projects?
Great Post! I find your blog very helpful for real estate and I am sure others do as well. Keep up the good work!
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This is an awesome program! It will definitely save a lot of trouble for the people living in that neighborhood. A good roofing structure is really important for it can protect the house from the harsh weather elements. It's important to repair the roof’s holes because water can create moisture. This is dangerous to our health for it can create mold and attract pests.
I know it’s late, but I’m glad to say that you did an immediate action when you found certain damages in your roof. If those were left unnoticed, it might lead to massive and costly repairs in the future. So, it would be better if you have a regular maintenance after that.
Pleasance Faast
“But once the water gets in it's game over.” - That's right, Lou! Water is on top list of roof's enemies. Once it gets underneath the shingles, it will cause moisture and mildew and lead to more damage and rot.
Conner Spear
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