A San Benito family is now living in a completely rebuilt home thanks to the homeowner assistance and reimbursement programs from the Texas General Land Office.

The 70-year-old house that endured severe flooding back in 2018 and 2019 is now back to being pretty much brand new, thanks to a program called HARP.

Miguel Rodriguez is 70 years old and has lived in his San Benito home his entire life. But severe weather a few years back flooded the home and weakened the structure.

“It rotted all my wood from the bottom up,” said Dalia Rodriguez, Miguel's wife. “When that happened, the whole house started to tilt to one side and it started to collapse.”

Living conditions worsened as time went on with parts of the house becoming unlivable. But thanks to the Homeowner Assistance and Reimbursement Programs, or HARP, it was rebuilt from the ground up. 

Over $66 million were allocated to helping families impacted by the storms in 2018 and 2019.

“The program can either repair or reconstruct homes, depending on the damage that has been done to the home, said Texas General Land Office Communications Director Brittany Eck. 

“We not only rebuild the home, we make it more resilient against future storms, so this house should last generations,” Eck continued. 

This was the first home to be rebuilt under the new program — and there is still plenty of funding available.

To be eligible, you must live in either Cameron, Willacy, or Hidalgo County.

Click here for more information.