FYI Florida residents.
This program might not help you this year, but still a good idea, especially with insurance premiums certain to go up in the future.
State offering $250 million to help homeowners prepare for hurricanes
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By Michael Peltier
The Stuart News
July 5, 2006
TALLAHASSEE * Florida homeowners seeking to make their homes more hurricane proof soon will be allowed to tap into a $250 million pool of state money to assist their efforts.
But the relief won't come overnight, and property owners must be willing to back up their requests with cold, hard cash.
State officials plan to begin processing applications in August for a matching grant program that could put up to $5,000 in state money into the hands of qualified homeowners in the next five months.
"It would be fair to say, given how the first phase works, our goal will be to have money in the hands of thousands of homeowners and contractors to begin making improvements before this hurricane season is over," said Tami Torres, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Financial Services, which is overseeing the program.
In May, Gov. Jeb Bush signed a bill that provides dollar-for-dollar matching grants of up to $5,000 in state funds for qualified property owners who want to strengthen their home's chances of surviving a storm. The program is part of a sweeping hurricane-assistance package that also provides aid to governments, mobile home owners and others.
"As I've traveled around the region, I see a lot of people don't even know this is going on," said Rep. Ralph Poppell, R-Vero Beach. "There have been some people calling us about it, but not as many as we would have hoped. That will probably change."
The state is in the process of instituting the $250 million program. The law requires state officials to set up a process that will require inspectors to pass drug screening and criminal background checks.
Approved inspectors also must have some type of hurricane training or experience, Torres said.
The program is limited to owners of single-family homes worth $500,000 or less. The property must be a primary residence. Applications will be evaluated on a series of factors, including hurricane threat, what can be done to improve a structure's survivability and the cost-effectiveness of the improvements.
"We're not talking about mobile homes or condos," Torres said. "This is really a single structure program."
Applicants must first undergo an inspection to determine what, if any, improvements can fortify their homes. The state money must be used for hurricane-proofing endeavors including shutter installation, roof improvements and other work described in the law.
Torres said homeowners living in hurricane-prone areas of the state would be given priority.
"The statute was very clear that this is not an entitlement program or an income-based program," Torres said. "It is a program aimed at reducing hurricane damage in the state of Florida."
Copyright (c) 2006, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Fla. offers $250 MM to help homeowners prep for hurricanes
Moderator: S2k Moderators
Shutters, windows, doors, roof retrofits all will be covered.
250MM is not nearly enough, IMHO.
250,000,000 (funds in program) divided by 5000 (max $ benefit per household in matching funds as I understand the program) = a mere 50,000 beneficiaries!
Get in line folks. It will probably be first come-first served, so get your inspections done early so your application will be on top. That's why I posted this here.
Its a drop in the bucket, but its better than nothing.
250MM is not nearly enough, IMHO.
250,000,000 (funds in program) divided by 5000 (max $ benefit per household in matching funds as I understand the program) = a mere 50,000 beneficiaries!
Get in line folks. It will probably be first come-first served, so get your inspections done early so your application will be on top. That's why I posted this here.
Its a drop in the bucket, but its better than nothing.
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Gee, thanks guys. A bit too late for many here. We all somehow scrounged and saved and got the shutters.
NOW you want to help out? Four hurricanes later? Anyone who doesn't have shutters at this point either can't afford them or don't give a damn.
The rest of us found a way.
Thanks.
Although if this can be used for generators, we got a tiny one this year. One that powered more would be nice.
Nah...we don't need their help. We got by without the help of the "officials". Looking at what happened after Katrina in N.O. merely reconfirmed my thoughts that the only one who will take care of you is yourself.
NOW you want to help out? Four hurricanes later? Anyone who doesn't have shutters at this point either can't afford them or don't give a damn.
The rest of us found a way.
Thanks.
Although if this can be used for generators, we got a tiny one this year. One that powered more would be nice.
Nah...we don't need their help. We got by without the help of the "officials". Looking at what happened after Katrina in N.O. merely reconfirmed my thoughts that the only one who will take care of you is yourself.
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(Good Stuff!)
About ten years ago, the Florida Department of Community Affairs had a hurricane structure improvement plan. It was designed for homeowners in the Florida Panhandle. We had just been hit with hurricanes Erin and Opal in 1995. The program was open to all homeowners but it was limited, so you had to call early and hope you got picked. I got picked.
They sent an architect out to inspect my house. He spent about 3 hours taking measurements, looking in the attic, checking the window frames, door frames, garage door and roof attachments. About 4 months later, I received a very detailed report categorizing all of the strengths and weaknesses in my house and what I could do to improve its resistance to hurricanes.
In my house, everything was pretty good. They did suggest that I strengthen the roof trusses and gable ends of the house and they included detailed plans to show how the work should be done. They also recommended improvements to the garage door and its tracks as well as some other minor improvements.
I followed their advice and made all the upgrades. It paid off big time during hurricanes Ivan and Dennis. During Ivan, we lost most of the shingles on our roof, but the roof stayed on! Many other houses in my neighborhood had partial or complete roof separation. We tarped our roof to keep out rain until (many months later) we were able to get a decent roofing contractor.
The 3 tab shingles I purchased were designed for high wind resistance. I made sure that each shingle was nailed down with 6 nails. I also made sure that plastic roofing cement was used to glue the leading roof edges around the perimeter of the entire roof. I made sure to have each shingle manually glued down with plastic cement according to the Owens Corning high wind guidelines.
All the work paid off again when hurricane Dennis came to visit. The entire roof blew off the house right across the street from me. On another house near me, the brick veneer failed on the north gable end and crashed into the attic. Lots of houses that had just been re-shingled after Ivan, lost a bunch of shingles during Dennis. They had to re-roof again! I didn't have one shingle blow off! All of these major problems could have been reduced or eliminated with a little preplanning and minor structural improvements.
They sent an architect out to inspect my house. He spent about 3 hours taking measurements, looking in the attic, checking the window frames, door frames, garage door and roof attachments. About 4 months later, I received a very detailed report categorizing all of the strengths and weaknesses in my house and what I could do to improve its resistance to hurricanes.
In my house, everything was pretty good. They did suggest that I strengthen the roof trusses and gable ends of the house and they included detailed plans to show how the work should be done. They also recommended improvements to the garage door and its tracks as well as some other minor improvements.
I followed their advice and made all the upgrades. It paid off big time during hurricanes Ivan and Dennis. During Ivan, we lost most of the shingles on our roof, but the roof stayed on! Many other houses in my neighborhood had partial or complete roof separation. We tarped our roof to keep out rain until (many months later) we were able to get a decent roofing contractor.
The 3 tab shingles I purchased were designed for high wind resistance. I made sure that each shingle was nailed down with 6 nails. I also made sure that plastic roofing cement was used to glue the leading roof edges around the perimeter of the entire roof. I made sure to have each shingle manually glued down with plastic cement according to the Owens Corning high wind guidelines.
All the work paid off again when hurricane Dennis came to visit. The entire roof blew off the house right across the street from me. On another house near me, the brick veneer failed on the north gable end and crashed into the attic. Lots of houses that had just been re-shingled after Ivan, lost a bunch of shingles during Dennis. They had to re-roof again! I didn't have one shingle blow off! All of these major problems could have been reduced or eliminated with a little preplanning and minor structural improvements.
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