My Safe Florida is a Grant Program enacted by the Florida Legislature to help single-family homeowners protect their residences against hurricanes. The State will reimburse qualifying homeowners to help cover the cost of making their homes safer.
The My Safe Florida Home Program has two primary components; wind mitigation home inspection and wind mitigation grant awards. The first part—Wind Mitigation Inspection—deals with inspecting single-family residential homes to identify elements that can be improved to increase the resistance of your home against any wind damage, particularly hurricanes, and tornadoes. All of these inspections are offered free of charge by the state. The application approval is done on a first-come, first-serve basis.
On the other hand, the wind mitigation grant awards deal with resolving issues related to wind damage. After the inspection, homeowners might be eligible for grant funds to prepare the house against wind damage. For every $1 the homeowner spends, the state offers $2.
The State will send out a home inspector to come out to the residence at no cost; no obligation to receive an inspection report stating the strength of the home against a hurricane and any recommended improvements.
The recommended strengthening improvements include a new roof, exterior doors, windows & garage door.
Eligible homeowners must provide proof of homestead exemptions, the home is insured for $500,000 or less, and the house must be built before January 1, 2008. The State may ask for additional information as well.
Once a homeowner has been approved for the Grant, they may receive up to $10,000 (maximum) in reimbursement, $2 for every $1 the homeowner spends. Grants are dispersed after the work has been completed by qualifying contractors, and the work has been re-inspected by the programs inspectors. The homeowner is responsible for getting this scheduled.
The program will provide homeowners with a list of qualifying contractors who have been approved by the State that have agreed to be a part of the program.
Homeowners must request quotes from three contractors on the list. Once a contractor has been, the homeowner will need to notify the program which contractor they have chosen. Once work has been completed, all local inspection have been completed and approved, nd the contractor has been paid in full; the homeowner will once again contact the program to let them know work has been completed, request their final inspection and reimbursement.
To see if you qualifying, visit www.MySafeFLHome.com
