Make a Donation to Help Harvey Victims<\/strong><\/p>\n The National Association of REALTORS\u00ae is accepting donations through the REALTORS\u00ae Relief Foundation\u00a0to support storm victims. The RRF donates 100 percent of the funds to provide mortgage<\/a> and rental assistance to those affected by disasters. Launched in 2001, the RRF has raised more than $25 million for housing-related aid.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some are\u00a0on the ground in ravaged communities, helping to provide direct assistance to storm victims. George Huntoon<\/strong> of eXp Realty in Austin, Texas\u2014which also has offices in Houston\u2014sprung into action when floodwaters started rising. A former Marine, Huntoon has been navigating\u00a0floodwaters in his personal boat over the past five days, rescuing families trapped in flooded homes. He estimates he has taken part in more than 100 water rescues since Harvey slammed into Texas.<\/p>\n The devastation has been a life-altering experience for Huntoon. \u201cIt is heartbreaking. I have rescued poor people, rich people, black, white. Most are in clinical shock and are just moving in slow motion. This is a disaster unlike any other. The damage to property is astronomical.\u201d He adds that he\u2019s received several messages from displaced clients who are desperately in need of rentals.<\/p>\n Nicole Lopez<\/strong>, a team leader at Intero Real Estate Services in Houston, and her fianc\u00e9, Heath Cummins, have been volunteering with the Houston Police Department, using a high-water rescue vehicle to bring stranded families to safety. Lopez and her colleague, Katie Maxwell<\/strong>, vice president at Intero, also started a Facebook group called Housing After Harvey. The group, which has more than 1,500 members, allows real estate professionals and investors to post reduced-price or rent-free homes for displaced flood victims. Dozens of homes and rooms for rent have already been posted.<\/p>\n Priyanka Johri<\/strong>, broker-owner of Woodlands Eco Realty in The Woodlands, Texas, has offices about 28 miles outside of the flood zone. She was quick to offer<\/a> up 10 rooms at her real estate office as a place for displaced families and their pets to take shelter. \u201cI offered offices for families with a pet when we heard shelters were not accepting pets,\u201d Johri says. (Many shelters have since begun allowing pets.) She also is housing 40 dogs left behind by storm victims and has given her contact information to Houston animal shelters as a resource in case they reach capacity.\u00a0<\/p>\n Johri is already working with insurance<\/a> companies to help clients who were affected by the floods find temporary housing. As of Tuesday, they’d placed three families and were in the process of preparing more\u00a0properties for occupancy. In the coming weeks, she says she\u2019ll be helping families start the process of getting their homes repaired, and she\u2019s already fielding calls from clients who plan to sell their damaged homes as they are. \u201cAll of us can do a little bit so someone does not have to do a lot,\u201d Johri says of her volunteering efforts. \u201cI am just doing my part.\u201d<\/p>\n Other real estate professionals have been posting on social media about their harrowing efforts to save lives in Houston. Ryan Bokros<\/strong>, managing partner at JLA Realty in Humble, Texas, wrote on Facebook of the conditions he faced while rescuing families. \u201cAnother long day out … running the roads of Houston on a boat, trudging through water with oil slicks and gasoline from flooded and abandoned cars, floating ants, sticks, branches, and God knows whatever else beneath that couldn\u2019t be seen through the chest-deep water.<\/p>\n \u201cI practically carried a pregnant woman 300 yards out of an apartment building. I had little children\u2019s fragile arms wrapped around my neck. I tried to comfort bawling teenagers. I pushed a boat loaded with people through a rough current when it was too shallow for the motor to trim down.”<\/p>\n Real estate brokerages big and small have banded together to collect donations for storm victims. Today, Keller Williams Realty’s charity arm, KW Cares, is sending three 18-wheeler trucks to Houston,\u00a0packed with generators, nonperishable food, diapers, cleaning supplies, wheelbarrows, flashlights, and additional supplies. Keller Williams counts 17 market centers and 4,400 associates that were in Harvey\u2019s path.<\/p>\n The homes of more than 300 Keller Williams associates have been impacted by the floods, says Darryl Frost, a spokesman for the brokerage. He says they expect that number to rise as the waters recede and the extent of the damage becomes more apparent. As of Wednesday morning, KW Cares had issued $150,000 in grant money to cover food, rental cars, and additional expenses for affected agents, and will be assisting in the repair of their homes over the next few weeks.<\/p>\n The Houston Association of REALTORS\u00ae recently launched the REALTORS\u00ae Helping Houston Texas Facebook page to post the needs of the community. HAR offices have been closed for nearly a week. \u201cHouston REALTORS\u00ae are standing strong to help those that have suffered immeasurable losses, even though they themselves have suffered,\u201d a post on the page reads.<\/p>\n \u2014Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR\u00ae Magazine<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Realtors.org <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/realtormag.realtor.org\/sites\/realtormag.realtor.org\/files\/rmo_files\/images\/2017_aug\/aug17_DN_hurricaneH.jpg\")
Real estate<\/a> professionals across the country are rushing to help victims of Hurricane Harvey pick up the pieces after devastating floods struck the Texas coastline this week, submerging Houston and other areas in more than 50 inches of water. These practitioners are making temporary housing<\/a> arrangements for displaced families, offering resources to repair\u00a0flooded homes,\u00a0raising funds<\/a>, and coordinating supplies to be sent to those in need.<\/p>\n\n
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