There are factory-builders, brokers and sellers who keenly understand that every natural disaster spells opportunities in disguise.
- While the execution was widely seen and reported as tragically flawed, the Haitian crisis attracted friend-of-the-Clintons Warren Buffett led Berkshire Hathaway’s Clayton Homes into the island’s relief effort.
- Millions were made from FEMA post Katrina, and again after those Katrina units were resold.
- The same pattern holds with FEMA and/or HUD disaster grants after every major disaster.
Every project, failed or successful, yields powerful takeaways.
While HUD code factory-built homes are our focus, we routinely look at other forms of factory building too. It will only be mentioned for now that various kinds of Factory Builders are wise not to put each other down, as some mistakenly do.
For decades, the reality has been that federal housing dollars flow into the hands of private enterprises.
The same is true for disaster recovery dollars.
When some of the totals are considered below, Factory Builders should ponder how to get ahead of the next disaster. Indeed, some already have and are.
Here’s the latest opportunity in plain sight from HUD, just below the PR header.
Consider how a factory – newly announced just a few months ago – is already reporting to MHProNews that they are open, and will hit 3 new homes a day this week. Their HUD Code manufactured homes will have an average wholesale price – for a nicely appointed home – FOB the factory in the mid-30s, per our top-level source.
Entrepreneurs, long-term investors, and current factory builders not already considering these opportunities, Take Note. Between the ongoing affordable housing crisis, and periodic disasters, opportunities in manufactured and PreFab housing abound.
HUD APPROVES $1.5 BILLION DISASTER RECOVERY PLAN IN PUERTO RICO
Action plan focuses on housing, infrastructure and economic development
WASHINGTON – U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson today announced HUD has approved a $1.5 billion disaster recovery plan to help citizens in Puerto Rico to recover from Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Puerto Rico recently submitted the plan for HUD’s review which primarily focuses on the restoration of damaged and destroyed homes, businesses and infrastructure. Read Puerto Rico’s recovery plan.
Puerto Rico’s long-term recovery is supported through HUD’s Community Development Block Grant—Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Programwhich requires grantees to develop thoughtful recovery plans informed by local residents. Learn more about CDBG-DR and the State’s role in long-term disaster recovery (en español).
“Today, we turn an important corner in our long-term effort to rebuild hard-hit communities in Puerto Rico,” said Secretary Carson. “This is just the beginning – billions in federal disaster recovery funding will soon be put to work and help our fellow citizens in Puerto Rico rebuild their homes and their lives.”
Background
On September 8, 2017, President Trump signed the Additional Supplemental Appropriations for Disaster Relief Requirements Act, 2017. The Act appropriated $7.4 billion in CDBG-DR funding for major disasters declared in 2017. To distribute these funds, the Act requires HUD to direct the funds to the areas most impacted by last year’s major disasters. On February 1, 2018, HUD allocated $1.5 billion of that appropriation to Puerto Rico to address the serious unmet needs on the island. The action plan approved today will put these funds to work.
On April 10, 2018, HUD allocated another $18.5 billion to further support recovery in Puerto Rico and to rebuild communities impacted by Hurricanes Maria and Irma and to protect them from major disasters in the future. HUD will shortly publish program rules to guide Puerto Rico and others on the use of those funds.
CDBG-DR grants support a variety of disaster recovery activities including housing redevelopment and rebuilding, business assistance, economic revitalization, and infrastructure repair. Grantees are required to spend the majority of these recovery funds in “most impacted” areas as identified by HUD.HUD will issue administrative guidelines shortly for use of the funds to address grantees’ long-term recovery needs, particularly in the area of housing recovery.
To address unmet needs, Puerto Rico identified several housing, infrastructure and economic development recovery needs arising from Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Puerto Rico’s disaster recovery action plan includes the following activities:
- Housing ($1 billion) – Puerto Rico is investing more than $1 billion to restore the island’s severely damaged housing stock. As part of the plan, Puerto Rico intends to provide up to $120,000 to rebuild destroyed homes for each qualified homeowner and up to $48,000 to repair each eligible damaged property. Additional housing investments include funding for rental assistance ($10,000,000), specifically for properties serving the elderly and other vulnerable households. Puerto Rico has also proposed a $36 million Home Emergency Resilience Program that provides up to $6,000 per household for individual solar appliances to help families.
- Economic Revitalization ($145 million) – Puerto Rico’s recovery plan provides $145 million for several activities to help revitalize the post-disaster economy, grants of up to $50,000 for eligible businesses. The plan also targets grants of up to small business incubators and accelerators ($10,000,000) awards of up to $2,500,000 for each eligible incubator operation, a workforce training program ($10,000,000) awards of up to $2,000,000 to train eligible Section 3 residents, and a construction and commercial revolving loan program ($35,000,000) that will provide up to $1,000,000 per loan to eligible businesses.
- Infrastructure ($100 million) – To support the repair of damaged infrastructure on the island, Puerto Rico intends to target $100 million to match federal investments through the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Public Assistance and Hazard Mitigation Grant Program projects.
— End of HUD Media Release —
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A “Ghost,” Named “Wolf,” “Disaster Capitalist” and Post-Maria Puerto Rico
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