In the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, and the resulting devastation, mass demolitions are expected to expedite the rebuilding process in Louisiana.

Several articles and news reports have been published alerting the public of thousands of homes to be demolished in St. Bernard and Plaquemines Parishes.  We have been diligently working with city officials in these parishes and the Insurance Commissioner's Office in Louisiana to obtain the lists of properties to be demolished per ordinance.  Per our contacts, the lists have not yet been generated.  

Properties will be marked for demolition beginning Monday, October 17th.  The parishes will be working in what they are calling a "grid" system.  The parish will grant access to the home owners and insurance companies one grid at a time.  City inspectors will be inspecting each property in the grid and making a determination of whether or not to demolish on each property before moving on to the next grid.  

Home owners will be notified by the city before their property is demolished, and have the right to salvage their property (within safety limits) should they choose to rehab.  Demolitions will begin after the entire grid has been inspected.  Officials expect each grid to take a week to inspect, so demolitions will not begin until at least Monday, October 24th.   

As of yet, there is no official policy for officials to post the list of properties to be demolished in any public forum.   However, we are in contact with the Insurance Commissioner's office and are working with them to get the list posted and distributed to the industry.

In the mean time, Safeguard is recommending that servicers attempt to contact borrowers in these parishes and instruct them to notify their mortgage servicer upon determination of their property being demolished.

Wall Street Journal on October 7th reported that the City of New Orleans has commenced on their assessment of the stability of the properties in the city.

Please click on the following link to access the report.

Wall Street Journal Article

870 WWL News Radio has the following article posted discussing the expected demolitions in St. Bernard and Plaquemines Parishes:

http://www.wwl.com/Article.asp?id=131752&spid

Report on Nola.com discusses the St. Bernard Parish demolition process
Commonly asked questions about St. Bernard Parish’s demolition process

CNN reports on the future of New Orleans. Included is a quote from Mayor Ray Nagin regarding rumors of mass demolitions.
New Orleans to rebuild amid uncertainty