What is to happen to the land in New Orleans?

[Pepperbelly]

Has anyone heard anything about this?

It makes me wonder. I suspect that New Orleans, like most cities, is filled with homes, privately held but mortgaged out the ying yang. I have yet to see any provisions from Bush, Blanco, Nagin, anyone about people reclaiming their homes. I have heard of no provisions prohibiting foreclosures for any period of time. I have seen nothing about it one way or the other.

Has anyone else heard any details.

Or will this end up as an extremely large land grab by the banks, acting within the parameters of the mortgage contracts? Who will own New Orleans when the dust settles?

[Catch22Dem]

1. I have heard of some land-grabbing

I wonder about it too.

[rodeodance]

2. many buyers buying homes/land for dirt cheap. There was a story on

one of the cables last night.

Also fear that these developers with build high risers-unafforable condoes etc.

[rodeodance]

3. as the story went--the land grabbers had the names of people --and just

had to locate them afterwards. It is scary.

[rodeodance]

4. said some sold out for $2.000 --people are cash strapped.

[Pepperbelly]

7. this post is a shameless kick for more input. nt

[cornermouse]

5. I'm thinking land grab.

If the houses don't have flood coverage and the people don't have any way to get another house built. Limited or no money coming in and you have to have some sort of roof over your head. "Choices" will have to be made and its pretty obvious what the "choice" is going to have to be.

[RC]

6. Remember the recent Supreme Court decision about eminent domain?

More of bu$h&co's "Who cares what you think" stealing America for his friends. Most of the land in question belongs to poor blacks, who have been scattered all over the country. Think these people will ever be able to reclaim their homes again? Not for all the money Halliburton has stolen.

[pitohui]

9. i don't believe most of the land belongs to poor blacks

i guess we would need to see something from hano (housing authority of new orleans)

lakeview, a severely affected area in orleans, is an area of wealthy & educated

gentilly, another severely affected area, is an area of mixed race but often heavily dominated by old or even elderly ppl who have paid off their homes decades earlier, now these ppl are poorer than average if you take away their home so if there are predators, we may want to look for them preying on old confused ppl to get them to sign away the land

but as a general rule i don't think poor ppl, esp. younger poor ppl, own their own homes in new orleans, the poorest of the poor rent

some v. wealthy & powerful ppl lost their homes in orleans, nagin himself lost his home, god knows how many profs in lakeview lost homes

there is zero chance this caliber of educated, articulate ppl will stand by for a land grab

[...of J.Temperance]

10. Hano has upped and moved to Houston, Texas (link included)

Edwin Murray, who represents NOLA in the Louisiana State Legislature said that he's very disturbed that they've moved to Houston as opposed to another area of Louisiana.

Hano is in the process of getting the displaced houses in Houston...Hano actually went bankrupt a few years ago, and thus was taken over by the US Government's HUD Department.

Here's a link I found. Scroll down to:

"A message from the Housing Authority of New Orleans":

http://www.sfha.org/

[pitohui]

13. yes i SAW that

v. disturbing

however it is VERY difficult to get housing for workers & office space right now in la or miss

my husband's boss tried to get office space & rental housing for the displaced in baton rouge, so far, no joy

[...of J.Temperance]

15. So are Hano just

In Houston trying to get housing for workers? Or are they trying to get housing for the displaced of NOLA in Houston?

I read Edwin Murray's comments as him thinking Hano were doing the latter. All I know, is that these people, a variety of different agencies seem to be doing their best to STOP the displaced from returning to NOLA EVER and I think that the local Democratic politicians think this too.

A lot of the NOLA displaced have family within Louisiana and I'm sure that their folks would take them in for whatever amount of time, until some housing within the state could be set up for them. But it seems that the various agencies don't EVEN want the NOLA displaced returning to ANYWHERE in Louisiana EVER.

It's obvious why, those folks have kept Louisiana Democratic and the powers that be never want the displaced in a position EVER again to vote in Louisiana.

It's a modern diaspora.

[pitohui]

8. ppl are going to reclaim their homes

in orleans based on his statements nagin is working fast to get ppl back when it is safe for them to return, he is trying hard to put paid to such silly rumors

lenders are not collecting mortgage payments for a certain number of months in the affected zip codes

courthouses are closed in any case, so there can be no foreclosures at this time

believe me the banks have little to zero interest in grabbing these homes

they want the damn $$$ and the best way to get it is to get ppl back in their jobs & back on their jobs

the land grab rumors are just that, rumors

[TahitiNut]

11. Condemnation, seizure for back taxes, confiscation under eminent domain,

... "fire sales," and a host of profiteering efforts. The rising floods didn't raise all boats - quite literally. What we're witnessing is the capsizing of representative government in the region. Good government is merely the People sharing the burden of providing services shared in common. Police, fire, water, sewer, roads, schools, courts, and other common services exist solely to serve the community sharing the burden of providing such services. What remains of that "community" consists of a very few powerful and influential who've maintained their voice in the conduct of such services and others whose voices are ignored. Hundreds of thousands have been irrevocably removed from that community and denied any service whatsoever. Where they currently live, they are viewed as 'guests' (or transients) and are carefully excluded from advantaged or 'exclusive' neighborhoods -- charitably 'red-lined' and disenfranchised from what little influence they might have had at one time.

I try to imagine a government that responds and serves according to the array of legitimate and legal choices we have as free citizens -- even in the face of a catastrophe. Somehow, that does not include forced emigration and being treated as cattle. What I'm seeing is very dissonant from any vague 'ideal' I might compose in my head. It's the objectification of human beings -- in absolutely no way is it empowering. The rhetoric is saturated with "what will we do with them" assumptions and nowhere do I detect a 'cafeteria' of services and safety nets offered to protect their inclusion in the body politic. The role of a democratic government is to sustain individual freedoms (which means choices), not to limit those choices.

[pitohui]

14. back taxes not a prob in a homestead state

as far as the poor are concerned, a modest primary residence is not subject to property tax in orleans parish, homes assessed under $75K are not taxed & homes are traditionally under-assessed because assessors know that many home-owners have no property other than their homes

so the back taxes grab won't happen here

but for love of god don't let bush take credit for making this a homestead state, it has always been this way in the decades i've lived here

[TahitiNut]

16. That's valuable information. Thanks!

Conjecture regarding the ways in which laws (and local government power) can be 'gamed' in Louisiana are muddled a bit for most of us (non-practioners) living in states with the legacy of English Common Law since Louisiana's heritage is the Napoleonic Code. While implications of being a homestead state probably isn't itself triggered by this distinction, I'm guessing there're many things, particularly in land title interests, that'd surprise me about ways to screw the 'little people.'

[Pepperbelly]

17. I figured the banks would try wholesale repossessions ... nt

[lutefisk]

12. Speculators will buy, then rebuild using relief money

No doubt much of the federal money for rebuilding will go to speculators who know how to work the system. They will buy property and use federal money to rebuild- I would think many of these speculators will end up with lots of property and little or money of their own on the line. And these are just the little guys...

"These eager would-be buyers may be drawing their inspiration from Lower Manhattan, which proved a bonanza for those smart enough to buy condos there immediately after the Sept. 11 attack."

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-nohouses15sep15,1,672692.story?coll=la-headlines-business