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Press Releases: 2005

REALTORS® HELP WITH THE KATRINA EFFORT

September 1, 2005 - The Austin Board of REALTORS® (ABoR) Foundation has donated $10,000 to the Katrina Relief Effort being organized by the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR). REALTOR® associations in states affected by Katrina will determine how to allocate the funds. ABoR's donation is in addition to the Texas Association of REALTORS®' $150,000 pledge.

As evacuees continue to enter Texas, we must all do our part to accommodate our displaced neighbors. REALTORS® can help in several special ways.

Identify Housing

REALTORS® can play a key role in the relief effort by identifying properties that could potentially be used as temporary housing. Following is a list of organizations working to house stranded evacuees.

• Swern.gov: Housing recommendations should be submitted to the National Emergency Resource Registry, which the Department of Homeland Security recently activated.
• HurricaneHousing.net: Louisiana REALTORS® have collaborated with Disaster Housing Resources to create this site, which catalogues immediately available rental properties.
• KatrinaHousing.org: Private citizens can open housing space to Katrina victims on this site. Survivors can search for available rooms, houses, apartments, etc.
• Craigslist.com: The resource page for hurricane survivors contains information about missing friends and relatives, as well as information about temporary shelter.
• Nola.com: The official site of The Times Picayune contains information about temporary housing available to displaced people.

Types of properties that might work in the short term include apartments, single and multi-family units, vacant college dorms and group housing and commercial units that can be converted into temporary residential holdings.

If you have commercial housing (vacant apartment units or vacant condos/duplexes/homes) that you would like to make available for use by Hurricane Katrina evacuees, please contact the City of Austin Neighborhood Housing Department at 512/974-9999.

Send Money

Many organizations, both within and outside the real estate industry, have established Katrina relief funds. Money is desperately needed to move and house thousands of evacuees. Please be as generous as you can afford to be.

Donate to NAR's REALTORS® Relief Foundation in two ways: send checks payable to REALTOR® Relief Foundation, Attn: NAR Finance Division, 430 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago IL 60611or donate online at www.realtor.org/RelFundTrack.nsf/Contribution?OpenForm.

For more information on what REALTORS® can do to help, please visit the TAR Hurricane Katrina relief efforts page at www.texasrealtors.com/web/1/housing/relief.htm.

The Austin Board of REALTORS® is a non-profit, voluntary organization representing more than 7,000 licensed REALTORS® in Central Texas. For further information, contact Angela Brutsché at 512/454-7636 ext. 1300.