Administered by the
Florida Department of
Financial Services

IN THIS ISSUE:

CONTACT:
1-800-363-5852
contractorinfo@fldfs.com

 
Welcome

We are excited to present you with the first edition of our electronic newsletter for contractors participating in the My Safe Florida Home program. More than 1,100 contractors have applied to participate and we are still recruiting additional contractors to get involved.

To date, the My Safe Florida Home program has performed more than 14,000 free wind inspections and we have 5,200 homeowners working with contractors to make improvements to their homes in 17 coastal counties. Due to the interest in this program, we are urging our participating contractors to return calls to interested homeowners as soon as possible even if you are already committed to other projects. If you are unable to call homeowners back because of the volume of calls, please contact our Contractor Helpline at 1-800-363-5852 or email us at contractorinfo@fldfs.com to let us know.

Starting today, the My Safe Florida Home program is resuming free wind inspections statewide, with a special focus on our waiting list of 53,000 homeowners. That means additional homeowners will be eligible for grants and contacting participating contractors in our program. We welcome your feedback on how to make this process work more efficiently and effectively.

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HOW DOES THE GRANT REIMBURSEMENT PROCESS WORK?

Homeowners receive homeowner and contractor verification forms in their grant award packets. Once mitigation work is completed, both you and the homeowner are required to complete and sign these forms before mailing them in for reimbursement. The reimbursement check is made out only to the homeowner. If you would like to view the contractor verification forms, you can log on to http://www.mysafefloridahome.com/Contractorverification.asp.

If a homeowner you are working with has any questions about the My Safe Florida Home grant process, or the homeowner reimbursement forms, please have them call 1-866-513-6734.

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DID YOU KNOW?…

Sliding Glass Doors are classified as doors not windows under the My Safe Florida Home program.

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Q&A

To help provide information to you on questions frequently asked by contractors, we offer the following Q&A section. We expect this to be different every week so be sure to check past issues of this newsletter on www.mysafefloridahome.com and click on “For Contractors.”

Q: The contractor bid sheet the homeowner gave me shows that the exterior doors are to be shuttered. The homeowner wants to replace the doors. Does the homeowner need to get new bid sheets?

A: No. The wind inspection report provided to the homeowner will always recommend the lowest cost option for opening protection. However, all homeowners have the option to upgrade the opening protection to a permanently attached solution, such as accordion shutters, or a permanently deployed solution, such as hurricane rated doors or windows.

Q: Do opening protection devices have to meet the Miami-Dade code regardless of the county where the installation occurs?

A: No. Products must meet the Florida Building Code covering the area where the work is being performed. The code-plus requirement does apply, however, for upgrading the roof covering.

Q: The homeowner has a hurricane rated garage door but it was not installed with the proper bracing. Will bracing be eligible for reimbursement?

A: Yes, but only if the garage door on the home is a Florida Building Code approved door that just needs to have the installation corrected. You must attach this explanation to the verification form.

Q: If information in the homeowner’s inspection report does not include a recommendation such as gable end bracing but I can help do this work or if the measurements are substantially different than mine, how will this be resolved?

A: The homeowner’s inspection report will need to be corrected if the contractor is correct. The My Safe Florida Home Program will work with all parties involved to resolve these discrepancies.

Q: Will my job be inspected?

A: Yes, first by a local building inspector. The job may also be inspected by the My Safe Florida Home program. Under the law, mitigation projects are subject to random reinspection of up to 10% of all projects. Upon our request, the homeowner is to make available for review his papers and records supporting the payment, including a copy of your contract with the homeowner.

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Additional Training Classes Available

Additional training classes have been scheduled for contractors who have applied to participate in the My Safe Florida Home program but who still need to undergo training before being approved as a participating contractor. To register, log on to www.mysafefloridahome.com/forretrofitpros.asp.

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