Q&A of the Day – How to Get Free Grant Money from Florida’s New Home Hardening Law
Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods.
Email: brianmudd@iheartmedia.com
Social: @brianmuddradio
iHeartRadio: Use the Talkback feature – the microphone button on our station’s page, in the iHeart app.
Today’s Entry: Brian, please explain the home grant program you were talking about. I haven’t heard anything about this program and you said it was first come first served. Thank you for all you do!
Bottom Line: I wanted to prioritize this question for today’s Q&A because the grant program we’re talking about is in fact a first-come first-served program with limited resources available for the grants which will be issued through the program. What we’re talking about isn’t a new program, but the law just signed into existence Wednesday by Governor DeSantis established a record $100 million in grants for home hardening through the My Safe Florida Home Program. The program has been around for 17 years; however, it has been significantly expanded this year with grants of up to $10,000 per eligible homeowner – double what it’s been previously. Last year there were 7,000 more applications than there were opportunities and with the grants being doubled this year, there’s reason to believe demand will be high once again. Especially since the thresholds have been raised to reflect the increase in Florida’s property values. So about how this works and what it does...
The program has two parts. One for wind mitigation home inspections, and one for home hardening grants. Starting with the wind mitigation home inspection – here's who’s eligible:
- All owners of site-built, single-family, residential homes are eligible to make application for a wind mitigation home inspection.
So, if that’s you and you want one at no cost to you, you’ll want to sign up on the website. The state’s guidance suggests they’ll be able to accommodate between 140,000 and 145,000 of those inspections at no cost to homeowners this year. Next up the sexier part of the program, the grants. Here’s who’s eligible:
- Homesteaded owners of single-family properties or townhomes which were permitted to be built prior to January 1st of 2008 with an insured value of $700,000 or less or those who legally are defined as low income under state law
The guidelines are specific, however the average property owner in Palm Beach County, for example, is eligible with these raised guidelines for property value in place this year. And as for what’s grant eligible in terms of hardening projects...
- Exterior Door Upgrades
- Garage Door Upgrades
- Window Upgrades
- Upgraded Roof Coverings
- Improved Roof Deck Attachments
- Reinforced Roof-to-Wall Connections
- Secondary Water Barriers for the Roof
And for how the reimbursement works...
- For every $1 you spend on these projects, you’re granted $2 up to a total of $10,000
So, for example, if you were to spend $15,000 upgrading to impact windows, you’d spend $5,000 out-of-pocket while the state’s grant would cover the remaining $10,000. If you’ve been planning on making any related upgrades to your home and you’re eligible it’s a no-brainer to apply for a grant. The administrators of the program anticipate they’ll be able to accommodate between 11,000 and 12,000 grants this year. The new law kicks in July 1st, which means grants will be accepted after that date, however you’re able to apply for the program right now. And given the first-come, first-served process – if you want to use it, you should do so asap.