Christie Administration Holds RREM Information Session in Bergen County to Assist Those Hit Hard by Sandy March 30

The Christie Administration announced they will hold an Information Session on Monday, March 30 in Bergen County to “provide personal assistance for [Superstorm Sandy] affected homeowners participating in the Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) Program.”

The information session will be held from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Moonachie Civic Center, located at 125 Moonachie Road, ”to provide individualized, hands-on help to enable eligible RREM participants to navigate the program’s process.”

According to the Christie Administration:

The Information Session, which are designed to provide one-on-one attention to homeowners’ questions that arise during all stages in their RREM process, is open to eligible RREM participants from any of the nine counties that were determined to be the most impacted by Superstorm Sandy (Atlantic, Bergen, Cape May, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean and Union).

Eligible RREM applicants can use the Information Session to check the status of their application, address challenges they may be facing in their individual rebuilding process, determine new action items and educate themselves about best practices and key information as they move through the program. Homeowners nearing completion on their home’s rebuilding can also receive answers to any outstanding questions.

Additionally, RREM applicants recently approved for funding who are unsure of the implications of their newly funded status and are just selecting a contractor to start rebuilding are encouraged to attend the Information Session to receive answers to their general questions.

RREM Program participants who have not signed and returned their Right of Entry forms are urged to complete and submit them to the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA). RREM applicants must complete and return the Right of Entry form to allow the State to conduct a federally mandated environmental and historical review of their home to ensure there are no negative impacts to the environment and any historical or archaeological artifacts. Program participants are also encouraged, if they have not done so already, to return their completed Duplication of Benefits questionnaire, which is needed to calculate their grant awards.

Representatives from the DCA’s Sandy Recovery Division, Housing Recovery Centers, and RREM Program Managers will be present to answer specific questions about the RREM Program. Representatives of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs will also be available to discuss respectively the federally mandated environmental and historical review and best practices in selecting a reliable contractor to undertake home rebuilding work.

Housing Counselors from the Sandy Recovery Housing Counseling Program will also be present to offer RREM participants free HUD-certified housing counseling services for a wide array of housing-related issues, including foreclosure prevention, homelessness prevention, rental counseling, and advice on reverse mortgages and home equity conversion.

The RREM Program is the largest of the housing recovery programs launched by the State following Superstorm Sandy. The program provides grants to Sandy-impacted homeowners to cover rebuilding costs up to $150,000 that are not funded by insurance, FEMA assistance, U.S. Small Business Administration loans, or other sources.

For more information on the RREM Information Session, RREM applicants may contact the DCA’s Sandy Constituent Services Office by calling 609-292-3750 or by emailing [email protected].

For more information on the Sandy Recovery Housing Counseling Program, visit http://www.renewjerseystronger.org/homeowners/sandy-recovery-housing-counseling-program/.