Hope everyone will benefit from this. Sherry just closed on her new home. I have asked her to give updates on the progress of her new roof using the grant. Here is the first update and will post as she sends me updates. Please let me know if you are looking to purchase a home. It is in need of a roof you to can apply after you close. Happy reading.
Hey all,
I am Sherry Lawrence, a new home owner in Mobile County. You know the home buying process can be very frantic, right? Also, when you are single, it can be ten times a headache!
Well, as I am getting my boxes unpacked, changing addresses, making important calls, and driving to locations to pick up needed home supplies and paying my service connections deposits, I just had to take a quick moment to tell you about a program called http://strenthenalabamahomes.com.
Well, I did not know anything about this grant program until my realtor, Erica Tivet of Legendary Realty, gave me some insight. Shout out to her for being a bomb diggity realtor! She, of course, after attending a conference about the program, provided me with this pertinent information and website (SAH). She explained that this grant is available right away for new homeowners or homeowners that already have had their homes for a while. If you meet qualifications, the grant will provide Baldwin and Mobile County residents up to 10,000 to have their roof repaired. The homeowners only pay a small fee and do not have to pay any out of pocket expenses to the contractor unless you go over the 10,000 grant limit. There also can be a discount added to your homeowner's policy after the work is completed and you receive your home certificate.
The start process is extremely easy. I typed in the website above, and then scrolled below to read their website information. Next, at the bottom right hand side, I pressed the hi-lighted "begin application" to start my homeowner sign up;answered a few questions about my home, and registered by setting up an user account and providing my name, mailing address, and lastly, hitting the submit button. I provided this information to their website, literally, yesterday evening, and that night, I received an email to confirm my SAH account, in which I confirmed.
From there, I logged into my created account, that took me to a Homeowner's Dashboard, I followed the steps, and was asked to upload my homeowner's policy. I did not have my policy yet, so I uploaded my homeowners reservation form that my homeowner insurance agent provided to me and included my reference number.
I also uploaded a few pages of my 1040 tax form so that my income could be verified, and pressed submit.
Next, I selected a specific company name to have their inspector to inspect the roof, etc. Simple as that! You will be notified if you need to provide more information, and you can mail the needed forms if you cannot upload them.
The next morning, I received a phone call from an Strengthen Alabama Homes evaluator who explained the process further. I was able to set up an appointment for the inspector (from the company I chose)to come out next week.Excited!!! There is a small up front fee of $100 that I will pay to Disaster Smart via check or check card. Also, there is a fee of $275 that I will have to pay after the roof work is completed. That is nothing to pay for having security in your new home, right?
There are more online steps, such obtaining 3 estimates from different contractors, sending best bid, etc, but I am loving the beginning stages of this Strengthen Alabama Homes process. Please tell friends, family, or neighbors to get online, read about this program and start the process!! More to come, so, I will keep you posted!!
Sherry Lawrence
