Nathan Lafionatis

The "land grab" narrative you've been hearing from people in #WNC is NOT a conspiracy theory. Here's how it works: a) Your family lives on 30 acres of land by the river, worth approximately $225,000 b) Helene rolls in and wipes out your home and floods about 50% of your land c) You now live in a tent with your kids and have applied to get a temporary housing unit from FEMA d) FEMA shows up, takes a look around and says "sorry, we can't give you a trailer to live in on this land, you are in a flood zone!" e) You say, "Ok, I don't want to live in a tent with my kids anymore, what should I do?" f) FEMA says, "You can sell your land to us for the current tax evaluation of $18,000 and we will put you up in a nice warm RV." g) You say, "Wait, I can't sell this land for $18,000! It's worth at least 10x that and it's the only asset I have." h) FEMA says, "Ok, no worries. Bye." i) Now you are stuck living in your tent with your 3 kids wondering if you should sell the only thing you have left to your name just to have a warm place for your family to sleep. That's the land grab.