How My Client Got a New Roof for Little to No Cost
I received a text message from a recent client who just purchased a house in Park Circle. He got the home for a great price (I mean, that’s to be expected! He worked with the “Real Deal!”), but he also knew that he would have to do some work on it and that included getting a new roof. I received a text message from him a few days later and he let me know that not only is he in line for a new roof, but this roof is going to cost him almost nothing! If that sounds too good to be true, then you’re probably right, but I asked him for more info and learned about a couple of programs that made his claim absolutely true! I thought if it helped him, then it might help other people, so that’s why I’m sharing this.
His text message to me read:
I’m in line for a roof in May. It will be paid with about $7,000 in grants and a combo of a low-interest loan paid back by a reduction in Home Insurance (because of the new fortified roof) so I’ll pay pretty much nothing!
Pretty cool if you ask me! A new roof for next to nothing? How can this be? I dug a little further. The program that he is referring to is from a company based out of Columbia, SC called “My Strong Home,” which according to their website is an “Insurance company that buys you a new roof!” This is how it works:
- I own a home that needs a new roof, but unfortunately, I don’t have the money needed to pay for one right now.
- I contact My Strong Home and they send a contractor to evaluate what I’ll need to do to repair or replace my roof.
- I review their proposal and say “Yes” to a new $10,000 roof.
- Construction begins and my roof is replaced and fortified.
- The catch here is that after the construction is done, I will now have to purchase new home insurance through one of My Strong Home’s participating insurance carriers. Afterall, with the new roof, you’re bound to save some money on insurance!
- The insurance company tells you that your new insurance costs $200 a month, but because of your new roof, the after savings cost is actually $100 per month.
- What you pay is $200 per month, but the “savings” of $100 per month + some interest gets paid directly to My Strong Home until you have paid off your roof (about 5 – 7 years).
- After your roof is paid for, your insurance goes down to $100 per month, and now you reap the savings of the lower insurance.
Now, how did my client end up not paying anything for his roof? He used a program called “SC Safe Home.”
He was able to secure a grant from the South Carolina Department of Insurance. Since 2007, they have operated the SC Safe Home Mitigation Grant Program which provides grant money to individual homeowners to make their property more resistant to hurricane and wind damage. The funds provided by this program are for the sole purpose of retrofitting owner-occupied, single-family homes. SC Safe Home funds may not be used for remodeling, home repair or new construction. You can read all about this grant program and how to apply here. The unfortunate thing is that they have already run out of funds for 2018. If you would like to be notified when the SC Safe Home Mitigation Grant Program reopens, you may create an account using the SC Safe Home on-line portal. By doing so, you will receive an email from SC Safe Home indicating the program is again accepting applications.
So there you have it! My client is about to get a new roof for next to nothing by combining two programs that are available to anyone in South Carolina.
*Disclaimer – Of course, this isn’t for everyone. I am not endorsing My Strong Home, or SC Safe Home, I am just merely letting you know that it’s there, and if that knowledge helps someone in my community then that is the best thing that could happen! Like everything in life, you will have to know if it makes sense to you before you agree to do anything. One question I asked myself is, “Is it better to just spend the money upfront and get a new roof, or am I ok with deferring my payment over 5-7 years and overpaying slightly for the roof in the end (because of interest) and keeping that cash I would have used to pay for the roof in my pocket? That’s for you to decide. Good luck!
Learn about the two programs here:
My Strong Home
SC Safe Home
