Latest news with #GregMontoya
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
San Diego flood victims eligible for up to $20K in mortgage aid through state fund
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — San Diego flood victims may now qualify for a new state mortgage relief program meant to ease some of the financial burden of natural disasters. Nearly a year and half after historic flooding inundated parts of San Diego, some residents in hard hit areas are still rebuilding and the bills keep adding up. 'The original estimates that I've received was $435,000. So I'm a long way off from that,' said Southcrest resident Greg Montoya, whose Beta Street home is one of several severely damaged by the historic rainstorm in January 2024. Montoya said he's already spent more than $100,000. The majority of the cost was covered by flood insurance and some from FEMA dollars, but the rest out of pocket. A new program called CalAssist Mortgage Fund, consisting of $105 million, is giving him hope for a little extra help. Eligible homeowners whose homes were destroyed or left uninhabitable by a disaster between January 2023 and January 2025 can apply for three months of mortgage payments up to $20,000. Applicants' annual income in San Diego County must be below $172,000 to qualify. 'The application is really easy. If you have all the documents, it takes less than 30 minutes to apply. The documents are all very easily available online, like a mortgage statement or your bank account statement,' said Rebecca Franklin, Chief Deputy Director at the California Housing Finance Agency which oversees the fund. The program operates on a first come first serve basis and Franklin said the goal is to help 10,000 households statewide. When it comes to the hard-hit Southcrest neighborhood, some are done with repairs. 'Fortunately for me I was able to find a contractor that would do all the work for the $250,000 which to me is a lot of money,' said neighbor Josh Roche. Roche considers himself lucky that insurance came through, but he and his family still had out of pocket expenses. 'Especially immediately you know when we were completely displaced the city hadn't started their program where we were staying in the hotels. A lot of extra commuting. A lot of time lost from work,' Roche said. While residents said they're grateful for any help, some are still pointing the finger. 'The city should find the means to make everybody complete and start paying people because it was preventable,' said neighbor Greg Montoya. Residents can apply for the CalAssist Mortgage Fund starting Thursday. More information can be found here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
City of San Diego countersues some 2024 flood victims
SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The historic flooding of January 2024 is still top of mind for every resident on Beta Street in Southcrest. 'The whole block was flooded here, the whole street was damaged,' said flood victim Greg Montoya. Montoya says he was able to keep the receipts for all the times the City of San Diego promised to fix the flooding issues at Chollas Creek dating back to 2012. 'This got flooded by the way, but I was able to salvage it. I'm glad I did,' he said. Now in a new twist in the ever-growing ballooning legal cases the piled up against the city, the City of San Diego has decided to counter sue some of the plaintiffs who have suffered damage from the floodwaters. 'You expect some of the defendants to blame some of the other defendants, but you would not expect one of the main defendants, the City of San Diego, to turn around and blame one of the victims,' said Evan Walker, an attorney for flood plaintiffs. Walker says two of his flood victim clients are now facing lawsuits on top of trying to rebuild their lives. 'The message that the city is trying to send here is one of intimidation,' Walker said. The city attorney's office declined an interview, opting to release this statement: 'The City is responding to over 50 lawsuits involving more than 1,500 plaintiffs due to the January 22, 2024 historic rain event. As part of the approach to these complex legal issues, the City has filed cross-complaints against 11 parties that either have maintenance responsibilities for drainage facilities on their properties or took action on their properties that might have diverted or increased storm water runoff.' Experts say the damage could be into the hundreds of millions to get back to normal for residents who suffered in the floods. '2018 there was a report that was done by the city officials that told them you need to address the storm drain problems in the city, and nothing was done,' Montoya said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
