We reached nearly the halfway mark without a hurricane. But letting your guard down is not an option. One quick and relatively inexpensive way to prepare for potential storms is to hire a wind inspector to make sure your home is ready. Preparing now can save you a lot of expense and headache later.
A wind inspector can walk your home and make sure you're up-to-date on the latest storm preps and make sure you take advantage of the recent tax breaks.
The average cost to hire a wind inspector is 150 dollars. Most homeowners end up saving hundreds on their homeowners insurance, which more than pays for the cost.
George Schiessel is a wind inspector on the Grand Strand. "We look to what kinds of windows they have, look at their gables to see if they're braced enough, look at the condition of the shingles because in a high wind situation, we can't have shingles flying all across the neighborhood."
The inspection will provide you a worksheet with what needs fixed and what might already meet current standards. "You'll see this house has roof-to-wall connections present and that is a good thing and that little feature will save the homeowner 3-4 percent on his home insurance,” said Schiessel.
The homeowner can immediately call his insurance company to tell them about the connections to receive his discount.
George Karakus owns a home that needs a new roof. He hired Schiessel to determine whether he could possibly qualify for the state safe home grant.
"The 150 dollars is just worth knowing your house is hurricane resistant or not,: said Karakus. “It's worth it for that and just to know I can qualify for a grant is definitely worth it.”
A South Carolina Safe Home Expo will take place August 9-10 in Charleston. You can learn about hurricane preparedness and more. Registration is required. To register 843-202-6940 or http://www.scafehome.com . You can also find certified wind inspectors on the same site.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement