Half a decade after Hurricane Ida damaged her home and destroyed all of her possessions, delays have left a New Jersey mother facing the possibility of selling her flood-damaged property to the state. Despite approval for at least $300,000 in rebuilding assistance, Annarella Valdivia has had to overcome a mountain of red tape and still hasn't been able to return home with her children.
With rental assistance exhausted and mortgage payments looming, Valdivia feared she would become homeless while waiting for permission to rebuild.
Here's what to know
When Hurricane Ida reached the Northeast, Valdivia had owned her Princeton home for only six months, according to WPVI. As floodwaters rose to 48 inches outside the home, they destroyed its interior and all of the family's belongings.
New Jersey's Department of Community Affairs has administered the federally funded Homeowner Assistance and Recovery Program (HARP), which has helped Ida survivors rebuild and remediate their properties. According to WPVI, Valdivia received approval for rebuilding assistance through the program after moving into a rental home following the flood.
However, Valdivia has hit several roadblocks on the way to rebuilding her property. For example, because Valdivia's home incorporated the historic Stony Brook Toll House, restoration plans required additional approval from the town's historical committee. Although Valdivia said she finally received the committee's approval and submitted it to the state, she still has not been given the go-ahead to begin construction.
More background
With state rental assistance for Ida victims having ended, Valdivia said she cannot afford to pay both her mortgage and rent, per WPVI. After initially placing her property in foreclosure, her bank has offered her a loan modification.
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New Jersey law bars lenders from pursuing foreclosure against HARP participants or collecting lump sums for periods when mortgage payments are paused. However, those protections apply only to conventional loans, which do not include Valdivia's mortgage.
Of 2,254 initial HARP applications, 577 were ruled ineligible, while another 1,000 applicants withdrew, according to WPVI. As of September 2026, the Department of Community Affairs reported 573 active applicants. Of those, 267 projects were under construction, 48 were completed, and 258 — 45% — were still waiting.
What's being done?
Amanda Devecka-Rinear, director of the New Jersey Organizing Project and the New Jersey Resource Project, has called for changes to help disaster survivors receive assistance in a timely manner. She has urged Congress to make HARP funding available in advance and called on New Jersey to develop its own assistance programs rather than relying exclusively on federal support.
According to WPVI, Valdivia said she has asked Princeton's municipality for a variance allowing her to place a trailer or RV on her property while rebuilding continued. Like her rebuilding ordeal, that request has also become subject to a lengthy, convoluted process that remains unresolved.
"Why have a program to help disaster victims that are already traumatized to further add stress and traumatize them?" Valdivia said, per WPVI. "My children keep asking me, 'When are we going home?'"
Where can I learn more?
The following articles explore other instances in which disaster survivors have struggled to return home while waiting for aid, fighting red tape, or facing insurance shortfalls.
• A Florida couple received just $2,279 from a $713,000 policy after losing their home to hurricanes.
• An Illinois family's tornado-damaged home had holes and mold as FEMA assistance remained unresolved.
• California renters displaced by fires faced a housing assistance cliff as FEMA aid ended.
• In North Carolina, a federal flood policy gap sent mobile home residents back to washed-away lots.
• A Florida family displaced after Ian said insurance wouldn't cover seawall collapse repairs.
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