Homeowners Protection

Here is an interesting article:  The state is scrambling to meet its self-imposed goal for the My Safe Florida Home by completing 12,000 home inspections at the end of November - The program promises a free inspection of homes that are site-built, residential property, including single-family, two-family, three-family or four-family units. 

At least 64,000 Floridians have applied for inspections through My Safe Florida Home. The state is seeking to complete a fraction of those as part of the pilot phase of the program in 11 counties.

In August, Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher, whose agency oversees the program, set a deadline of the end of hurricane season to complete 12,000 home inspections. As of Nov. 13, inspectors were halfway to their goal, with 6,133 homes completed.

The Legislature created the $250 million My Safe Florida Home program earlier this year as a way to strengthen houses against hurricanes and to lower insurance premiums.
Initially, the program is available in Broward, Miami-Dade, Lee, Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee and Sarasota counties.

The inspectors review the homes for seven issues: the roof deck attachment; secondary water barrier; roof covering; bracing of gable ends; reinforced roof-to-wall connections; opening protection, and exterior doors, including garage doors.

If inspectors find a need for improvements, the state pledges a dollar-for-dollar match up to $5,000 to homeowners for the amount they spend for them. The home must have an insured value of $500,000 or less.

Low-income residents can apply for a grant without having to produce any money.

But homeowners must use inspectors and contractors from state-approved lists.

The state picks homeowners for inspections on a first-come, first-served basis.

After Nov. 30, the state will suspend the program to review how it is operating, then restart it after New Year's Day, leaving more than 50,000 applicants on hold for months.