A new Web site, www.HurricaneHousing.net, designed to help disaster victims find housing in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, has launched, Louisiana’s Realtor association said today.
The Web site allows property owners with rental units available to post information on those units and allows potential renters to search for temporary and longer-term housing in a seven-state area, the association said.
The Realtor association, Louisiana Realtors, created the site in partnership with federal response agencies.
Property owners willing to list available housing will be required to log into the Web site and then will be able to include basic information about the property for rent along with terms and conditions and contact information.
Potential renters will be allowed to search for properties by various factors, including by state, parish or county, city or ZIP code. The seven-state area includes Katrina-affected states Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, and surrounding states Texas, Arkansas and Georgia.
“We recognize the tragic disruptions that have occurred in so many lives, leading many on a frantic search for housing along the Gulf Coast,” said Louisiana Realtors CEO Malcolm Young.
“While power remains an issue for many and Internet service may still be disrupted in some areas, we are trying to fill a need by creating a web site to match owners and renters,” Young said.
Lafayette-area Realtors led by Bill Bacqué of Van Eaton & Romero Inc. and Patrick Caffery of Caffery Real Estate in New Iberia initiated the site.
The group turned to the Louisiana Realtors and also got help from a Lafayette-based technology company, CBM Technology, headed by Chad Theriot, and technology experts from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Disaster Housing Resources, major U.S. technology companies and the National Association of Realtors.
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