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56 peninsula—and on a direct course to swallow the state. A new mandate fell in the limelight: what could the industry, and the country, do to mitigate further loss of assets and lives, even with the understanding that the full extent of damages as a result of Hurricane Harvey was weeks, if not months, away from being fully accounted for. RACING AGAINST THE CLOCK As Hurricane Irma headed toward Florida, eviscerating the U.S. Virgin Islands, another storm appeared—Hurricane Jose, not 1,000 miles behind Irma. Due to relief provided in response to Hurricane Harvey, FEMA was running out of money. According to multiple reports, the agency depleted over a billion dollars of its assets in five days, and with looming budgetary deadlines, it was uncertain if FEMA would get the funds it would certainly need in the coming days, as Irma was predicted to make landfall on September 10, 2017. Two Florida Senators, Bill Nelson (D) and Marco Rubio (R), joined in a bipartisan effort to expedite the process in a letter to both Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Charles Schumer. "FEMA is scheduled to run out of money by Friday, September 8, 2017, just two days before Hurricane Irma is expected to hit Florida," the letter said. "Unfortunately, the current disaster relief package Congress is considering for Hurricane Harvey does not account for additional costs FEMA will likely incur." Further, the National Flood Insurance Plan (NFIP) was set to expire at the end of September, in tandem with the Federal Budget. Without revisiting the issue, Irma's impact could have much longer-lasting impacts on the Florida housing market. Based on the Florida Division of Emergency Management, 1.8 million homes in the state are covered by NFIP. And a lapse of the program, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), could devastate future home sales due to consumer hesitance. NAR reports nearly 40,000 home sales were put on hold, due to not only direct concerns about the safety of coastal properties, but storm surge extending inland. "Without flood insurance, our communities are unprotected and at risk, with devastating consequences to people and their lives, homes, and businesses," said Maria Wells, Florida Realtors President. Florida Governor Rick Scott also took initiative, requesting a pre-emptive declaration of emergency for the entire state, urging "I think the industry is better prepared than it ever has been, compared to 10 years ago. The loss mitigation solutions and waterfalls and everything else—people know how to address that, so hopefully, our priority is keep the customer in the home." - Wes Iseley, Senior Managing Director, Carrington Holding Company, LLC

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