On Aug. 14, the Marathon City Council approved staff’s compilation of homes that may qualify for Rebuild Florida’s voluntary home buyout program. The program targets homes with repetitive damage, in low-income areas. The county negotiates a deal, buys the home, and demolishes it to leave the lot vacant. In all, the Keys have $10 million to spend. Marathon’s portion is $5 million.
Lori Rittel’s home is on the list. She purchased the 634-square-foot home on 27th Street a year before Hurricane Irma hit the Keys.
“It’s a cute little Conch house, the first house I ever bought in my entire life,” she said. “Everyone was so happy for me to finally get a house, and I truly had never been so happy. My favorite thing of all was my bedroom: it had giant windows, and I would wake up and just look at all the green outside. That was the best — just waking up and looking at the tropical plants in my windows and feeling like I was in paradise.”
Now, Rittel calls it “Squalor Hollow.” She has a bed, a TV, and a fridge she got for free. There is no hot water and no kitchen sink. There are no windows or walls for the bathroom, and she uses a piece of plywood as a makeshift door. “What is normal any more?” she questions. “When you live like this, you put up with a lot more than you should. It’s dangerous and unsanitary, but I’m stuck here.”
Hurricane Irma brought winds and flooding that filled Rittel’s cute little home with three feet of water and tipped trees onto the roof, resulting in a destroyed foundation and the home being deemed “substantially damaged.” Rittel said that even if she was granted permission to make repairs or rebuild she doesn’t have enough money, even with the insurance checks. She also can’t walk away because she has a monthly mortgage of over $1,500.
Rittel finds herself desperate and caught in a “nightmare Catch-22: “The house is worth zero, but I’m required to keep paying my mortgage and to keep insurance. So I’m paying to live in this thing that’s worth the same as a cardboard box,” she said.
According to city officials, Rittel is a very good candidate for the Rebuild Florida program funded by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.Through it, the city can offer qualifying homeowners pre-Irma fair market value for their land and structures. The city tears down the buildings and uses the resulting vacant lots for conservation, recreation or stormwater management.
On Aug. 13, the Marathon City Council approved a list of 17 properties with proposed values attached to each — a combination of pre-Irma market values from the property assessor’s office, and pre-storm value of the land alone, also from the property assessor’s office. The least expensive property on the list is $49,000 and the most expensive is $950,000.
Marathon’s Planning Director George Garrett said the value of the properties is less than $5 million; however, the ranking and final awards will be determined by Rebuild Florida.
“They have to meet the qualifications,” he said.
The buyout qualifications include:
- Low- to moderate-income neighborhoods.
- Household income at or below 80% of the annual median income.
- Households that include the elderly, or children; or households with disabled, handicapped or special-needs members.
- Homes in the V flood zone (coastal).
- Properties with reported repetitive loss.
- Homes with no flood insurance at the time of damage (although homes with flood insurance are also eligible).
Rebuild Florida has not announced when it will make the determinations, nor when it would disburse the awards. There is also likely to be a second “draft,” of homeowners wishing to be bought out. For more information, visit www.monroecounty-fl.gov and search “Irma Housing Grants and Programs.”
“Sometimes I dream about just getting in my car and driving away.”
— Lori Rittle, Marathon resident living in still-storm damaged home.
Rittel is cautiously optimistic that a payout from the Buyout Program could be the answer to her prayers. “This program could turn my life around from this nightmare. Buy this from me so I can move on. I could be happy again,” Rittel said. She also said she is excited about the intended use of purchased lands. “I love the idea that they’ll tear down my house and make green space,” she says. “The Keys are overloaded with houses, and we need more natural space. It’s the only thing that makes me feel better about leaving my house, the only house I’ve ever owned.”
While she doesn’t like the idea of starting over and potentially leaving a job and community she loves, Rittel is hopeful for the first time since Irma.
“Maybe I can stay in the Keys. If not, I’ll still come back to visit and hopefully drive by my little piece of green space and feel good about it.”
— Sara Matthis contributed to this report.
