WATERVILLE, Minnesota — Some homeowners in southern Minnesota are not getting the federal money for flood recovery They thought they were entitled to it.
Jenny Johnson and her husband bought their dream home in April. Now their once ideal cabin is covered in mold. Because it is a second home, it does not qualify for FEMA disaster grants.
“We all talked to FEMA, went to the disaster management center, and they all said, ‘It sucks. We wish it wasn’t this way, but that’s the way the rules are,’” Johnson said.
People in Waterville can come to City Hall to apply for assistance from the Small Business Administration (SBA) or FEMA. Some second homes can get help in the form of a low-interest loan from the SBA, but it must be done under special circumstances.
Jenny Jansen
A second home may qualify for a low-interest SBA loan if someone lives there permanently, if the home is rented out, or if it is an Airbnb-like short-term rental.
It appears that applications to FEMA are going smoothly for people whose primary residence was damaged.
In general, the residents of Waterville recover, but for some families, like the Johnsons, full recovery may never occur.
“We could basically walk away from it, pay off what we don’t get for the location and then drop the $72,000 down payment,” Johnson said.
FEMA and the SBA say all residents must at least submit an application for financial assistance if they want to be eligible.
Esmé Murphy
