Tennessee Bankruptcy Lawyer Blog

As more information about the recovery efforts following the 2010 flood become available, we will try to post the information on this blog. In this morning's Tennessean, there is an article with the address for each of the FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers that has been opened in Middle Tennessee. Specifically, centers have been opened in Cheatham County, Davidson County, Hickman County, Williamson County, and Wilson County and the addresses are:

Cheatham County: City Hall, 308 U.S. 70 in Pegram
Davidson County: 100 Oaks Mall, 719 Thompson Lane in Nashville
Hickman County: Centerville Church of Christ, 138 N. Central Ave. in Centerville
Williamson County: City Hall, 109 Third Ave. S. in Franklin
Wilson County: 350 Outlets Mall in Lebanon (opening soon)

In addition, a recovery center specifically for businesses that have been affected has opened on the campus of Tennessee State University.

You can also contact FEMA at 1- 800-621-FEMA or www.disasterassistance.gov.

We are already getting a number of calls from clients and potential clients regarding the possibility of foreclosure if they do not make payments on their homes that have been damaged by the recent floods in the Middle Tennessee area. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development ("HUD") announced that there will be a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures of FHA mortgages. As a result, If you have an FHA mortgage that is already in the foreclosure process, you have been given a 90-day grace period on those foreclosure proceedings.

However, I do no believe that the moratorium will prevent a foreclosure after this moratorium. As a result, if you have the ability to make your mortgage payments, it is likely in your best interest to make the payments. At some point in the future (maybe longer than 90 days if the moratorium is extended), foreclosure proceedings will be allowed to begin again. However, if you are already facing foreclosure on an FHA mortgage, you need to use this 90-day period to seek help. If your home was damaged by the flood, FEMA, as well as other federal and state agencies, are offering some limited help. If you have an FHA loan but your home was not damaged by the flood, you need to have a plan for dealing with the foreclosure at the end of the 90-day moratorium.

If you do not have an FHA mortgage, the moratorium does not directly affect you. However, you may be able to get assistance from the lender to delay any foreclosure proceedings by calling and talking to the lender. Hopefully, the lender will be open to this.

We encourage anyone facing foreclosure to explore any and all of the assistance that has been made available as a result of the disaster that has affected our area. However, if you are still facing foreclosure after all of your other options are exhausted, please contact us if we can be of help.

There is already an abundance of information flowing on the internet and elsewhere about the flooding and the potential for federal assistance to the victims of the Middle Tennessee flood. However, finding specific information about what types of assistance may be available, whether or not certain damage will be covered by homeowners' insurance, and many other questions is a bit harder to find. As a result, the following information is intended for those Tennesseans who have been affected by the flooding in Middle Tennessee, particularly those in Nashville, Williamson County, Rutherford County, and Maury County.

First, the Daily News Journal out of Rutherford County has an article posted regarding the issue of whether normal homeowners' insurance will cover the flood damage. In general, the typical homeowners' insurance policy does NOT cover flood damage. However, there are some cases in which coverage might be available. As happened following Hurricane Katrina, there is likely to be a LOT of denied homeowners' insurance claims. Most of the damage claims will be correctly denied because flood insurance is what covers flood damage, and most Middle Tennesseans do not have flood insurance. I have already heard a rumor that only 400 Davidson County properties had flood insurance, so I would assume the vast majority of you do not have it. But rising water was not the only source of damage to many properties. The rain itself (particularly if flooding in a house was caused specifically by roof damage) would likely be covered. In some cases, flooding as a result of burst pipes might be covered. Accordingly, do not give up hope right away. Your claim may be denied, but you need to appeal the decision and see if there are other causes (ie., other than just rising water, which generally isn't covered).

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