Miss. Announces Another Chance for Housing Grants

Mississippi has increased by 35 percent insurance values used in calculating homeowner grant amounts to compensate for higher post-Katrina construction costs.

Scott Hamilton, spokesman for the Mississippi Development Authority, in Jackson, Miss. said the action came after officials realized the majority of homeowners are underinsured in comparison to inflated construction costs.

All other core elements of the grant, including the $150,000 cap, remain the same, Hamilton said.

The change is immediate for everyone who has applied and offers those undecided homeowners another chance with the new award amounts.

“Because we know this may change whether some homeowners were going to apply, we are going to open up a second chance for them to apply,” Hamilton said.

The grant does not affect those receiving state or federal benefits such as pensions or disabilities.

To date more than 16,500 have applied for the Katrina Homeowner Grant Program. Fund disbursements have been delayed because of a public comment from The Mortgage Bankers Association, the Consumer Mortgage Coalition and the Housing Policy Council regarding the program’s environmental assessment study.