Who else wants a Free Mitigation Report ?

Save on your Florida Home Owners Insurance with this Free Mitigation Report.

Many home owners may have heard about the My Safe Florida Home imitative for Free Wind Inspections on their homes, but as I have recently discovered, just as many do not know that this service is available to them for Free.

Here?s the story, I was in Home Depot recently here in New Port Richey, and noticed a table set up in the front with information about the Free Wind Inspection. Since we live in a new development and our home was one of the first to be built with the new 2007 standards I thought this was of little value to me and was about ready to just walk on by. However the gentlemen running the booth was very nice and we struck up conversation and the result was my education in exactly what this process is and how it can potentially save you money on your home owners insurance.

I am hoping that this gets wide spread dissemination here amongst Florida Real Estate bloggers and anyone that reads this site, as it is very apparent that there are many in the industry besides myself that have no idea about the process or who can use this ? Testament to that was a recent call that we received from an Insurance Broker. We were researching options for Home Owners Insurance for a client who is looking to purchase a home that was built in 1998. The Agent suggested that we hire a local inspector to perform the inspection and obtain a Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form (OIR-B1-1802) to present to the insurance company. The cost of this inspection is typically around $150.00 This was a few days after I had talked to the Inspector at Home Depot. I asked the agent if he was aware of the Free Wind Inspection that could be obtained via the My Florida Safe Home program. While he was aware of the program he did not know the specifics and was quite surprised when I informed him of the facts and that we could save the client a $150.00.

So even thought this program has been out a while , it is still relatively unknown by many in Florida. So if you know about this that?s great, however, I would encourage you to check out the site and the details to gain an updated perspective on who this applies to?

On the site there is also a list of State Approved Inspection firms based upon your locale in Florida. For example there are 4 Regions and associated contract firms with those regions. I have included a copy of the hand out I received from the Inspection firm called SkyTech (see below).

Should you have questions you can call them or call one of the numbers listed on the My Safe Florida Home Web site.

I hope this as helpful for you and your clients as it has been to us.

Get out and Vote on January 29th

It?s our turn here in the Greater Tampa Bay Area. There is a lot of activity going on and all the media hype on the polls can make it pretty intimidating to ascertain what exactly is going on. So, no matter what your political affiliation is or what trash talk you hear in the media, I would encourage you to ignore it and vote your conscience. Of course it helps if you know a little more about the person you are going to be voting for. I personally try to look at their past record as an indicator and not rely on what others think. If you are one of those that is sitting on the fence and think that your Vote in the Primary is not worth the effort, I would ask that you reconsider. If you don?t vote, then you loose your ability to help direct the course of history that will shape the direction of our county, as it moves forward into the future. Every VOTE does count. As they say in show business ?It ain’t over till the fat lady sings?, in this case it is not over until the votes are all counted or even recounted as it may be!. DO NOT LISTEN TO THE POLLS, they are often baseless, inaccurate and just plain wrong!

Besides voting for in this primary election for a Presidential Candidate, here in Florida we have another very important vote. That is for a constitutional amendment that affects property taxes for all home owners and business; that is Amendment # 1.

Weather you are for or against this, you should do yourself a favor and check out this online calculator to determine your actual ?tax equity? While there has been media spin on this a plenty both Pro and Con, I can say this from past experience on a similar vote on property taxes (I experienced in another State several years ago). Local and State officials do not like to cut taxes. What this means is that they will have to work like you and I and and try to live within their means. They will try scare tactics to prevent you from taking any action that might impede on their ability to spend like a drunken sailor. Fiscal responsibility is what they are trying to avoid. I won?t try to sway you one way or the other, just do your part and get out and Vote.