my home was destroyed in katrina, should I rebuild?
411617
It makes sense to at least research the possibility of relocating to higher ground.  Like the middle of the continent!  I can definitely see the advantage, if you do get any kind of settlement on the value of your home and its contents.  But do think about where you want to go.\n\nWhat sort of job would you be looking for?  Are there things you could research on line about the job market in various locations that look good to you?  What are the major economic indicators -- cost of living, density of population, major industries -- that matter most to you?  And what are the quality of life aspects that matter most to you?\n\nFor example, I live in Santa Cruz County, California.  It is a lovely county, and you might be very tempted.  But do, please, have a look at everything you can about it before you are lured here (or any other example).  Because while it is undeniably one of the nicest places in the world to live, it is equally undeniable that it is one of the most expensive, as well.  Yes, Hawaii is even more expensive; but in the 48 contiguous states, central California is about as close to heaven as you can get; and I'm high up in the Santa Cruz Mountains, closer yet to heaven.  And the people around me who drive those lovely new BMWs and Porsches start out driving over the hill to Silicon Valley long about 4:00 a.m.\n\nNice, but you hardly ever get to see the place in daylight when you're working over the hill.  And that's where the money is.  Silicon Valley.  We have a little mini-Silicon Valley on this side of the hill, though.  It's called Scotts Valley.  If you are interested in high tech, look up what you can about that up-and-at-em little high tech haven in the Santa Cruz Mountains.\n\nSee, it all depends on what's important to you.  And that's why we have an Internet where we can research before we leap!  Indeed, you can also go a long way in job search before you leap.
531322
destruction of homes, pain and sufferind then death
356887
Yes.  If you can prove that the repairs make the home unlivable than you can try to make a case for the landlord to put you in another unit of equal or greater value until the repairs are finished.
102294
yes, sadly, it did. and i feel your pain. my husband and i were having troubles before the storm. after the storm, the situation that was causing us problems didn't get any better, so 5 days after katrina hit, my husband left me. i should say that the on going arguement was about my daughter. she is involved in an interacial relationship and my husband is a biggot. he didn't want me to see my daughter after the storm. he had seen his family. he knew they were ok. i just wanted to see my daughter. she's 22. long story short. i packed up my 3 suits of clothes and hopped a plane for obx,nc. been here a little over 4 months now. new life. new job. new home. new friends. sure miss some of the old stuff. how bout you? if you need to talk to someone who knows what you're going through, you can email me at Clepine64@yahoo.com. i'll give you the details if you email. ok. good luck with whatever you decide to do with your life. i've tried to make this my new beginning. maybe you can too. keep the faith.
47780
Jay- You may want to try the local newspaper. http://www.nola.com there is a section on housing and I agree housing is going to be tight. Perhaps your new employer has some contacts.\n\nGood luck and I think you will be busy for years. Thanks for playing a role in the rebuilding the city is worth it.
1131744
Property values in general will almost always take a negative hit from a flood.  That said, since your house did not suffer any damage to the building itself, you may not see as much of a hit yourself.  \n\nIt's possible that the projected growth at the military installation could offset some or all of this negative trend.  If a large influx of military personnel overloads the local housing supply, property values are likely to increase, possibly significantly.\n\nI'd be concerned, but I'd also keep a very close watch on general property values as well as what's going on with the military. You could be in the situation of stepping in poop yet coming out of it with gold on your shoe.
85331
Good luck!  Most of the apartment complexes in the Greater New Orleans that did not have extensive damage are packed with people and will not have any vacancies.  Your best bet would be to either look on nola.com in the classified section for apartments being rented by individuals or possibly under wwltv.com under the forums.  Also try craigslist.com
104464
how about this?\n\nhttp://recovery-disaster.info/
75083
sell stuff on ebay from celebraties  and send a % of the money to a nonprofit org like to help rebuild new orleans send the money to www.reliefspark.org they are a good non profit org helping out down here. \nI know my answere is the best so just send the 10 to reliefspark
419597
Broken windows, not storm windows is OK so long as there is broken edges exposed but no handrails is not code and needs to be addressed. One should ask, why did you rent someplace with out handrails and w/broken windows? Or, what happend to these things after you moved in?
929193
are you sure you wanna cause more pain to the both of you? you took waay too much energy in distroying it, so rebuilding would be reeeally hard....
28441
It depends on how big the hurricane is and how stable your house was.
191703
it depends if it is something you would want for the future or not. i would get the options while it's being built for these reasons:\n1. remodel after building can be more expensive because it was not in originally it would take more work to put in after the fact esp if demo is involved\n2. Unless your familiar with construction, you could find yourself in a pitfall with a bad contractor\n3. many after the fact improvements would not look as good as if it was installed at the time of it being built such as windows. I've never seen a good repair job on stucco after new windows. you'd have to restucco the entire house.
56864
How did you "wreck it"? Burn half of it down? Trach it having a party you should not have? Flooded it somehow? Drove a car into the gerage? Hard to say if there is not enough info as to what part is wrecked. But whatever it is, earn up to it and correct it. If it was due to a party you know you should not have had, you should have known they always come out bad more times than they come out good.
740925
Yes you can, but probably won't be paid any damages.  If you did not make the payment, even if it was because of a hurricane, it was late.  I know that some banks gave some special consideration to hurricane victims after Katrina and Rita.  Did you call your lender after the hurricane?  I would write them to explain the circumstances and send a letter to the credit reporting bureaus.  You may not be able to do much else.
181439
Whoa!  I hope for you that is is purely theoretical.  Find a decent place to relocate.  Contact your insurance company and make sure you know who on the fire department is investigating your case.  Make sure you know what they find.  Whether or not it was your fault the home owner (if you rent) my try to hold you liable.  Contact red cross for any assistance they might be able to provide.  If you lost your phone and don't have a cell phone, get a cheap pay as you go phone.  You will be making more calls now than in the course of your life prior.  Contact the local place of worship for any help they can give.  Accept help but watch out for loans.  You are not in the right state of mind for signing contracts.\nGood luck
623146
yes, and they will be rebuilding homes in New Orleans and other affected areas for years to come.\n\nmany people were put into temporary housing of one form or another, but as it was temporary,  many of these people are going to have to find other alternatives since it will take so long to recover the lost homes and businesses affected by Katrina.