On the subject of protection from hurricane damage, one of the main obstacles for many homeowners is cost. For whatever reason, some folks have great difficulty in budgeting the funds to protect their home. They are usually the ones you see on TV who scramble at the last minute to get to HomeDepot and hope there's plywood left. Sure, they'll tell you (and, maybe the local TV reporter on the scene) that they understand it makes so much more sense, economically and emotionally, to be prepared ahead of time. Sometimes there's a big gap between understanding and acting, I guess.
BUT, there is some hope and help for homeowners. The State of Florida has stepped up with the My Safe Florida Home program, which grants matching reimbursement funds for homeowners who take steps to protect their homes from hurricanes.
There is a $5,000 match limit, and restrictions on the value of homes that qualify, but the State expects that more than 500,000 homeowners will take advantage of the program over the next several years. Check out the link above, or if you prefer, call them (M-F 0800-1700 ET) at 1.866.513.MSFH (6734), but not before you finished reading this post!!
As an inducement to get the process started, My Safe Florida Home is offering FREE WIND INSPECTIONS to those homeowners who qualify for the program. There are several authorized 'Wind Certification Entities' (WCEs) that perform these free inspections. A customized report is prepared for the homeowner that lists areas of the home that need improvement, and suggestions for upgrading the home's preparedness level. There is a pretty well organized guide to the report as well.
This seems like a no-brainer to me. At least the inspection part. Once the homeowner has that report in hand, it's time to contact a hurricane protection expert, such as those at Storm Smart Industries. Storm Smart manufactures and installs a complete line of hurricane protection products. If you prefer to install your own hurricane protection, check out this website: Category5Screens.com. They offer the new hurricane screen protection that can be easily mounted direct to your house.
Well, that's it for now; Stay prepared!!
Regards,
Stormy
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
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5 comments:
I just sent this post to all my friends who still don't have hurricane protection. There's nothing like FREE MONEY from the state!
We recently had our home inspected by a representative from the My Safe Florida Home and highly recommend others get the free inspection also. The MSFM official strongly suggested that we protect all of the windows and doors with code approved products installed by a company registered with the program. I spoke to the experts at Storm Smart about hurricane protection because I was told they are the best.
We let the state send us an inspector. We didn't believe the report and hired a roof inspector and had Palm Beach County prove what was done for our house to get a CO. The state will not get in touch with us for us to prove that their inspector was wrong in what he said was wrong with our house.
This program is a joke!! They are willing to help single homeowners but offer nothing for the thousands of retirees that are on fixed incomes that live in mobile homes or condominiums.What is the difference if a person lives in a single home or condo are we not all susceptible to the same perils? If any of our highly educated state representitives has a logical answer for this I would like to sit and talk with them.
I went through My Safe Florida Home to get window protection on my home. I choose Storm Smart from the list of approved contractors on their site. I would give Storm Smart an overall rating of a C-, at best. Installation caused damage to my home that had to be repaired by outside contractors (an electrician & a drywall repair man). Storm Smart did reimburse these additional charges, which keep them above a D grade or worse. They mishandled my completion paper work and would only complete one portion of the post-completion mitigation form for my home insurance company. It cost an additional $150 for a completed inspection form from another company to get my insurance credit. Although they didn't break any laws or lye to us, they non-the-less did not instill any confidence or goodwill with us. If anyone asked me, Storm Smart would not be on my recommended list.
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