My Safe Florida Home grant program has already launched and I’m tracking my personal journey through the process. If you missed the previous parts of my series where I provided an overview of the My Safe Florida Homes program and the first steps in the process, catch-up with Part 1 and Part 2.

The Free Home Inspection

Applied: 11/23/22
Approved: 12/5/22
Scheduled: 12/8/22
Inspected: 1/4/23

There are a number of types of home inspections in the industry. Since the purpose of the program is protection against damaging winds, the inspection that’s performed is a Wind Mitigation Inspection. This is where a professional comes in and reviews all openings of the home that could be impacted by hurricane-force winds:

• roof
• windows
• exterior doors
• garage doors

As a licensed Florida Realtor, I always recommend my clients have these types of inspections performed when their whole-home inspection is done, as they can potentially provide discounts on the property insurance depending on several factors including:

• how the roof trusses are attached to the building
• how the roof deck and shingles are connected to the trusses
• how strong the doors and windows are OR if you have wind-born debris protection for all of the openings in the event of a storm (…and what sort of protection it is – plywood, hurricane shutters/fabric, impact resistant glass, etc.).

Notifications and Timing

After applying, I received an email from the program notifying me I was approved for the inspection within a week and a half. The Thanksgiving Holiday was in there along with a few weekends, so it would likely have been faster if not for the holiday. I received a call from the inspection company to get scheduled about 3 days later. The earliest date they had was January 3 due to their existing bookings and the new year’s holiday.

When they arrived, the only access to the interior of the home needed was via the attic access to see the attic/roof. I live in a 1-story home with an attached garage and have access in a hallway and in the garage. The inspector was able to use the garage access, so they didn’t need to even come in my home. Then they walked around the exterior to see (and photograph) each of the openings to the home – windows and doors – as well as the roof. Easy and it only took about 30 minutes for them to complete the inspection.

My report arrived a day or two after that via email. I received a full copy of the report, the official wind mitigation form and the supporting photos. I recommend holding on to that when you receive yours. If it’s been a while since you last provided your insurance company with a wind mitigation report and the inspector shows you might possibly have some savings available, you might want to send a copy to your insurance agent to look to see if it could get you any additional credits on your policy.

Applying for the Grant

My Safe Florida Home also received a copy of the inspection report as well. I don’t know what notification they send at this stage, though. As soon as I received my inspection report, I logged into my My Safe Florida Home portal to see if they had it or if there were any next steps. When I noticed a new tab “D. Grant Application” that was available (it was visible in the list and had an un-checked box next to it), I went ahead an completed the application and uploaded the required documents. This was January 12, 2023.

Then it was time to wait for my approval to move forward.