Published: Wednesday, April 17, 2013 at 4:40 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, April 17, 2013 at 8:04 p.m.
BUNNELL ? A seminar designed to educate Flagler residents on how to storm-proof their homes, improve energy efficiency and find funds to pay for it is slated for Thursday night.
Residents who think these improvements are out of reach may be able to get funding through the Florida Property Assessed Clean Energy funding program.
"It's not for everyone, but it will work great for people who don't have other funding mechanisms," said Flagler County Commissioner Barbara Revels.
Florida PACE is a special-purpose local government entity formed collaboratively in February by Flagler County and the city of Kissimmee to provide funding for property repairs and improvements to some who might not otherwise be eligible.
"Flagler County was the first to come online," Revels said. "It's important to know that this statewide funding is not coming from taxpayers and is being funded by participants only."
Besides finding out about funding, the Florida Division of Emergency Management will focus on what homeowners need to do to make their houses "storm ready" for additional insurance savings, according to Flagler County spokesman Carl Laundrie.
Florida PACE is accepting contractor applications and homeowner applications will be accepted shortly, said Jonathan Schaefer, Florida PACE program manager who works for SAIC (formerly Science Applications International Corp.), the third-party administrator of the funding agency.
"Homeowners want to make improvements, but they don't have an affordable commercial lending option and credit card interest rates can be upwards of 15 percent," Schaefer said Monday by phone. "Fifty percent of contractors lose jobs to financing because the homeowner cannot get it."
Property owners, residential and nonresidential, will be eligible for financing through the program, Schaefer said, with the exception of condominiums, mobile homes and government-owned properties. The funding will be tied to a lien on the property.
Loans are limited to 20 percent of the assessed property value and an energy audit is encouraged to provide the "best footprint of the home," Schaefer said. Commercial property owners may be eligible for more than 20 percent with lender consent.
The cost of the project, which must be done by an approved contractor, will be "tied to the life of the improvement" with a maximum 25-year repayment schedule through a special assessment that will show up on the property tax bill.
The seminar, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Emergency Operations Center, 1769 E. Moody Blvd.
"Join us and learn how the type of roof, windows and doors you have can be improved and translated into savings, peace of mind and safety," Laundrie said.
Source: http://www.news-journalonline.com/article/20130417/news/304179958
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