Wheatworks Blog: Financial Matters

Hurricane Katrina has destroyed much of the Gulf coast. 40% of Louisiana’s population of 4.5 million live in the parishes Katrina crossed. Thousands of Americans have died this week in the storm and resulting floods. New Orleans is being evacuated — entirely. A million people along the Gulf coast are now homeless. In the areas of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama that were unscathed by Katrina, hundreds of shelters have opened to care for the refugees.

There are massive rescue efforts being made by The Salvation Army, the American Red Cross, UMCOR and other national charities. Support these efforts by visiting their web sites and making donations if you can.

While the stress of being forced away from a home by a natural disaster is traumatic and overwhelming, mortgage lenders still expect to receive monthly payments. This, in many cases, for homes that have literally disappeared, or are flooded or uninhabitable because of the damage done by Hurricane Katrina.

Kay Bell has written, “Paying Your Mortgage After a Natural Disaster” available online at http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/mortgages/place1.asp. It’s a brief, timely article about what homeowners should do about their mortgage after disasters like Katrina.