![](\"https:\/\/www.floridarealtors.org\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/full_width_main_image\/public\/2022-11\/screen_shot_2022-11-22_at_2.56.57_pm.png?h=b531fce8&itok=-MELYvwH\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The popular program should resume taking applications on July 1, but it may be more difficult to secure the home hardening grants of up to $10,000.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. \u2013 Looks like the free money party is over for many\u00a0Florida\u00a0households. The popular My Safe\u00a0Florida\u00a0Home program is expected to resume taking applications on July 1, but many homeowners might find it more difficult to secure grants of up to\u00a0$10,000\u00a0for such improvements as hardening windows and doors and replacing roofs to improve water and uplift resistance.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Following a year of awarding nearly\u00a0$400 million\u00a0on a \u201cfirst-come, first-serve\u201d basis, this year\u2019s version of the program will only allow low- and moderate-income households to apply for 60 days after\u00a0July 1\u00a0if bills seeking\u00a0$100 million\u00a0in new funds are enacted before the legislative session ends next month.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s OK with\u00a0Florida\u00a0residents who say low- and moderate-income residents need help the most.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis would also help ensure that in the event of the more and more destructive storms, their fortified home should end up less damaged,\u201d said\u00a0Barbara Zaretsky, a Sunrise resident who sought information about the program last year. \u201cSo many people live paycheck to paycheck and if they don\u2019t have the resources to repair their homes, they can end up homeless, which would cause grave hardship.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The\u00a0$100 million\u00a0budget is enough for 10,000 applicants to be approved for the maximum\u00a0$10,000\u00a0grant.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n A qualifying home is defined as a homesteaded property with a building permit for initial construction made before\u00a0Jan. 1, 2008. Except for low-income applicants, the insured value of the home cannot exceed\u00a0$700,000.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Unlike moderate- and higher-income applicants who must spend\u00a0$1\u00a0for every\u00a0$2\u00a0they get from the state (up to\u00a0$10,000), low-income applicants will not have to provide any matching dollars.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n But figuring out who qualifies under the low- and moderate-income definitions used by the program could be confusing.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n As explained in the legislative bills, low-income households refer to those that earn 80% of the median income level for the state, metropolitan statistical area, or county \u2014 whichever is higher \u2014 where the house is located.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Moderate-income households qualify if they earn up to 120% of the median income level where the house is located.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Devin Galetta, spokesman for the\u00a0Florida\u00a0Department of Financial Services, said the program plans to use a database developed by the federal\u00a0Department of Housing and Urban Development\u00a0for rental assistance and other programs to confirm whether households are low- or median- income.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n But that database does not rely upon straightforward calculations. For example, HUD determined that a four-member household\u2019s median income in the 2023 budget year is\u00a0$88,500\u00a0in both\u00a0Broward County\u00a0and the\u00a0Fort Lauderdale\u00a0metro area. But its low-income limit for a four-member household is not 80% of\u00a0$88,500, which would be\u00a0$70,800. It is\u00a0$76,800, because the calculation includes other cost-adjustment factors.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n If the My Safe\u00a0Florida\u00a0Home program uses the latter figure, that would mean more households would qualify.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The bills that would authorize this year\u2019s funding defines \u201cmoderate income\u201d households as earning 120% of the median adjusted gross income of the state, metropolitan area, or county, whichever is higher.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n In\u00a0Broward County, a family of four would not be allowed to make more than\u00a0$106,200\u00a0if the\u00a0$88,500\u00a0median is multiplied by 120%. But HUD\u2019s figure, which again uses other cost-adjustment factors for federal program eligibility, sets the limit at\u00a0$115,200.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Also, qualifying household incomes will vary from county to county.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The state\u2019s four-person median income is\u00a0$85,500. It\u2019s\u00a0$74,700\u00a0in\u00a0Miami-Dade County\u00a0and\u00a0$98,300\u00a0in\u00a0Palm Beach County. For counties in the\u00a0Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area, it\u2019s\u00a0$85,700. The figure is below\u00a0$60,000\u00a0in 11 rural counties.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n With so many figures to check, low- and moderate-income homeowners will likely need help determining whether they qualify to apply during the first 60 days after the program resumes taking applications.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Galetta says homeowners will have to provide their household size and adjusted gross income from Line 22 of their Form 1040\u00a0IRS\u00a0tax statement. Program officials, using the HUD data, will take it from there, he said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Sen.\u00a0Jim Boyd, the bill\u2019s\u00a0Senate\u00a0sponsor, said by text message that he\u2019s confident the\u00a0Department of Financial Services\u00a0will figure it out.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI believe the program administrators are equipped to make the income qualifier determinations,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Technically,\u00a0Florida\u00a0statutes governing the program have always required the program to prioritize low-income applicants. But among the first 23,822 grants approved by the program during 2023, just 2,429 were low income even though participation cost nothing, according to a 2023 annual report released by the department.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Asked how the idea came about to prioritize low- and moderate-income applicants this year, Boyd said, \u201cWe wanted to make sure all our\u00a0Florida\u00a0friends and neighbors could take advantage of this program, especially those that might not have the (financial) resources to do this on their own.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n So far the reauthorization bills have been approved unanimously by five of the six\u00a0Senate\u00a0and House committees. If approved by the full chambers, a merged version would be forwarded to Gov.\u00a0Ron DeSantis.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The first round of funding, in\u00a0May 2022, authorized\u00a0$115 million\u00a0for grants. Another\u00a0$100 million\u00a0was added during last spring\u2019s legislative session, followed by\u00a0$176.2 million\u00a0authorized during last November\u2019s special legislative session. The final outlay addressed 17,617 homeowners who had submitted grants and were awaiting approval.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The program stopped accepting new grant applications in September as officials waited to see if more funding would be made available.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Initially, applicants with approved grant applications were given a year to get their improvements completed, pay their contractor, secure their revised insurance rate, and apply to the state for reimbursement.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n But the program has reimbursed only 56% of applicants who were approved for grants back in\u00a0January 2023, Galetta said. That prompted the program to begin offering six-month extensions, he said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe understand that with impact windows for example, many of the windows are on back order, and it is taking several weeks to get the windows delivered,\u201d Galetta said. \u201cThe program is working to not penalize a homeowner for something beyond their control.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Lawmakers tout the program as a way for\u00a0Florida\u00a0homeowners \u2014 beleaguered by multiple\u00a0property insurance\u00a0cost hikes in recent years \u2014 to save money by qualifying for insurance discounts required under state law for homeowners who harden their homes.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Of the first 4,785 homeowners who completed their improvements and received reimbursements, 2,375 saved an average\u00a0$969\u00a0on their insurance premium, the annual report said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n An additional 1,184 saw no decrease \u201cbut avoided an increase\u201d they would have been charged if they had not made the improvements, according to the report.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n And 718 \u201cdid see an increase but at a lower rate\u201d than homeowners who did not participate, the report said.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Program officials also boast that the program provides free hurricane-mitigation inspections that enable participants to learn how ready they are even if they don\u2019t apply for a grant.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Through Friday, 98,343 inspections have been completed and 29,921 grants have been approved, according to data provided by the department.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Broward County\u00a0tops the lists of inspections completed \u2014 15,954, and grants approved \u2014 6,016. Next in both categories were\u00a0Palm Beach\u00a0and\u00a0Pinellas\u00a0counties.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Another change this year that could help boost participation by low- and moderate-income residents: The program will no longer require applicants to choose from a list of participating contractors.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Going forward, applicants may select any properly licensed contractor as long as they include the contractor\u2019s name and state license number on their grant applications.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Nothing in state law prohibits enterprising contractors from soliciting qualifying homeowners and helping them with the application process, Boyd confirmed.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Providing resources to help low-income homeowners apply will be important if the state is serious about boosting their participation levels, said\u00a0Terry Heagy, a\u00a0Cocoa Beach\u00a0homeowner who was among the earliest applicants in\u00a0December 2022.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Heagy said a friend who qualified for low-income assistance last year ultimately received no benefits \u201cin part because she struggled with the process, with internet access and in communicating with the program.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n He added, \u201cToo often those low-income individuals have fewer resources to support their needs. What seems logical and efficient to a college graduate with years of computer training and experience navigating a bureaucracy is overwhelming to an 80-year-old homeowner on fixed income with limited or no access to internet.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Check for details about the program\u2019s next phase at\u00a0<\/span>mysafeflhome.com<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a9 2024 South\u00a0Florida\u00a0Sun-Sentinel. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n\nLow or moderate income? It\u2019s complicated<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
Low-income participation rates low so far<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
Most say program helped insurance costs decline<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
Low-income applicants will need help<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n