Before developers are lent construction money, they generally must sell 70 to 80 percent of units in any project in advance.
"Papi and me have been longtime volunteers for the United Way," says Melissa, "starting with lending our construction skills to low-income elderly folks who desperately needed home repairs".
First, we tried to get bank financing, but lots of banks are scared of lending to construction companies.
Banks, which tend to be badly burnt once every decade or so in a property-market crash, have almost stopped lending for construction.
And along with big property owners and bankers, they warned that a lack of terrorism insurance would bring a halt to lending and construction.
The cajas spearheaded lending to the Spanish construction sector, and suffered when it collapsed.
During the 1990s, Mr. FitzPatrick helped Anglo Irish expand its balance sheet, in particular by lending to developers and construction projects.
Banks in New York, at least, have begun to lend more for construction financing.
Finally, the Hurricane's conventional construction lent itself to speedy repair of battle damage, and shot-up Hurricanes returning quickly to service made an appreciable contribution to victory.
"Without coverage against terrorist acts, banks will not lend to new construction, it will be difficult to sell major projects such as new pipelines, new power plants, skyscrapers," an administration official said.
