(9-a.m. News) — The Mills County Emergency Management Agency reports during the week of February 4th, 2020, the Mills County Board of Supervisors submitted an application to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for funding under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program to assist with funding for property buyouts located in the unincorporated area of Mills County. Notice of the approval of this application is expected within the next thirty (30) days.

Once approval has been received, qualified property owners will be notified via U.S. Mail with a formal offer to purchase along with the appraisals. The offer to purchase will have a response deadline. This process is expected to take at least an additional thirty (30) days. If the offer to purchase is accepted, the property will go through the normal closing process like any other real estate transaction. Local authorities expect the buyout process to be completed within the next one hundred eighty (180) days. The buyout option is completely voluntary and either party can walk away from the process up until the time of closing.

The Interim Mortgage Assistance Program is still active and available to those qualified individuals in need of assistance. We would encourage those qualified individuals in need of assistance to fill out the application on the Mills County Flood Page or in person at the Mills County Auditor’s Office to begin the process. As a reminder, property owners must provide a mortgage statement from the lender, a forbearance letter (if applicable), and tax and/or insurance statements if not paid through an escrow account, along with any other correspondence with the mortgage holder that shows a need for assistance.

Qualified property owners should contact Southwest Iowa Planning Council (SWIPCO) by email at SWIPCO@swipco.org or by telephone at 1-866-279-4720 if they have any questions.