This weekend at the Micronesia Mall, an outreach event was held by the members of the Guam Association of Realtors. The forum sought to educate property owners about help for those whose homes were damaged during the storm. GAR representatives interacted with residents, getting the word out and getting help to those who need it.

The Realtors Relief Foundation was created to help homeowners with disaster relief. And there’s a half-million dollars that’s been set aside to help local property owners who were displaced in May due to Typhoon Mawar.

GAR’s Peggy Llagas described the history behind the fund, telling KUAM News, “The grant came from the Realtors Relief Foundation, which is an arm of the National Association of Realtors, and the beauty of this is since 20+ years ago, founded by a few good men and women…after 9/11 happened.”

As they have been for the past few Saturdays, and will continue to through the end of September, the Guam Association of Realtors were helping locals through the application process. Fellow GAR member Jodee Duenas explained, “We’re going to be here every Saturday from 12-5pm, and we’ll be here all the way until September 30, or until such time as we’ve exceeded the 400 applications or the $500,000 is exhausted.”

Up to $1,250 can be awarded per household for qualified applicants. Responding to the most-asked inquiry, Shawn Blas said, “If [a resident] moved in with their family, can they still qualify? And the answer really is no - you have to have been displaced because of the typhoon and moved into [another dwelling], or started a new lease agreement.”

And just like the swiftness of getting approved money from FEMA and the U.S. SBA with those agencies’ disaster relief efforts, the turnaround time is swift with the realtors’ program, as well. “Within 4-to-6 weeks of their application being submitted, assuming everything is completed,” encouraged Llagas.

Another frequent question is an applicants’ income level. Still, it’s imperative to understand exactly what homeowner hardships qualify for assistance. Blas said, “There are no income limitations at all - you just have to make sure to comply with all the requirements we have.”

And Duenas added, “The damage is actually the caveat for this program…they have to have damage to the structure of the home, which is the roof, the floors, the doors, and the windows. And then we were also potentially including gates, garages, and fencing.”

The deadline for applications to be submitted is the end of September, and the outreach is located in the former GameStop store at the Micronesia Mall every Saturday until September 30.