Undoubtedly, the Hurricane Irma caused a lot of devastation in several parts of the country. This giant hurricane roared into the Southern parts of Florida to rip off the roofs of several thousand homes in the region. This just reminded the people of South Florida of the Hurricane Andrew, which slashed the region during the year 1992. The Hurricane Andrew was so catastrophic that it resulted in sweeping changes in the weather forecasts, insurance policies, and disaster responses. This led to the rewriting of the building codes of the state, thereby, making them the hardest in the whole nation.
But, today, the conditions have changed now. It seems that the lessons learned from the Hurricane Andrew are growing dim. The state’s building codes, which have been considered as the golden standards that other states wanted to emulate, are under assault today. If we think deeply about the matter, we can understand a simple thing. The harder the building codes, the higher it would cost to construct a home. Let’s see this and learn more about hiring a quality contractor to rebuild your home here.
Building Codes in Florida after Hurricane Andrew:
We can say that the hurricane Andrew drove a brand new approach. It made the state leaders study the construction standards, made them negotiate with the home builders, and unveiled a statewide building code. This building code came into effect during the year 2002. These building codes in Florida are known to be dictating the construction methods, thus, making them have wind testing, compulsory extensive training, and oversight for the inspectors. Thus, the inspectors have to approve the building plans and sign them off on every phase of a new construction. The whole building envelope of a home, may it be the window, door, or any other point that could let in wind, should undergo testing and approval.
It’s to be noted that the first test of these standards came after two years of launch. In the year 2004, four hurricanes hit the state in one hurricane season and the newer homes that were built under these tougher codes survived. An official report from “FEMA” proved this. It said that the homes that were built after the launch of the tougher codes performed better than the old homes. This was confirmed by another report from the “Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety”. It said that the insurance claims were 60% fewer and the severity of claims was 42% lower after the launch of these laws.
Although these high standards are said to be adding unwanted costs to the overall expenses by the home builders, the insurers and the homeowners’ association say that the tougher codes would save people’s money in the longer run.
Florida Walks Back:
Actually, Florida should have embraced the success of these new and stronger building codes. But, instead of embracing this success, Florida has started to walk back now. According to the latest reports, the “Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation” has issued an order that allows the suspension of some regulations in as many as 37 counties. The list of these counties can be found in the Disaster Declaration released by FEMA after the Hurricane Irma hit. According to the secretary of the department, it was necessary to suspend some regulations, thereby, providing the resources required during the tougher times. According to him, the suspension of certain regulations will help decrease the time taken for repair or rebuild.
According to the Emergency Order, the licensed general, building, as well as residential contractors can perform the roofing repair and/or installation. The order also states that the local governments can authorize local, as well specialty licenses for the businesses, as well as individuals who already have licenses. Thus, the new order allows them to carry out roofing repair and installation in the affected areas. Thus, the roofing works would not have to be subcontracted from a registered/certified contractor if you want to repair or install the flat roofs. This also applies to the roofs that are made of the following materials:
§ Wood shakes
§ Asphalt
§ Fiberglass shingles
§ Tiles
§ Metal
Another important feature of the new order is that the department waived all the department fees for both the professional contractors, as well as for the occupational contractors who would relocate or reopen due to the damages caused by the Hurricane Irma. The department also has mentioned that the high building standards and the safety requirements of the state will not be affected by these new liberations.
With the suspension of certain regulations, do you think it’s easy for you to find a good contractor? We don’t think so. The higher standards of Florida are not in place anymore. So, being a homeowner, how should you go about the process? How could you succeed in rebuilding or repairing your affected home? Let’s see them here now.
Understanding the Importance of Workers’ Compensation:
As homeowners, you should be aware of the workers’ compensation, which is a form of insurance providing medical benefits, as well as wage replacement to the employees in the course of their duty. This factor is critical when you hire your building contractors. In Florida, the workers’ compensation insurance is a state-regulated system. As such, the workers’ compensation insurance in the state has to cover medical expenses, as well as lost wages for the workers who get hurt on the job.
But, the current scenario is that several companies are running an illegal scheme when it comes to workers’ compensation. Such schemes are being run to avoid paying the workers who get hurt on the job. This fraudulent act, which is sometimes called as “the Florida Plan” pertains to the construction industry of the state.
According to the construction industry experts, this is known to be the widespread, as well as a highly organized form of fraudulence taking place in the state. If you are a Floridian homeowner, then you must
be aware of the biggest scam that is happening in the state. Knowledge on this will help you while hiring a construction contractor for your repair or rebuilding activities. With the suspension of regulations in the state, these fraudulent activities are expected to increase. So, try to learn about that here:
How do this work?
According to the state regulations, in Florida, the building contractors must purchase the workers’ compensation insurance policy for the employees. It’s to be noted that the contractors can’t be hired on the construction sites without the certificate of insurance. But, the problem here is that the premiums for such policies are higher.
In order to get along with the expensive premium rates, there are some people called “facilitators” out there. These people would set up shell companies in vague names. In reality, these companies won’t perform any construction works or hire employees. But, they will purchase some cheap insurance policies and will rent them to the subcontractors who have no insurance. This way, the uninsured subcontractors can present the shell company’s certificate of insurance to the general contractors as their evidence of coverage. Thus, these contractors are keeping a majority of their workers off the books and uncovered by the workers’ compensation insurance.
The scenario in other states is different. The construction companies need not have to buy workers’ compensation for the independent contractors. This facilitates the unethical companies to simply classify the workers as independent contractors rather than classifying them as regular workers just to avoid paying the premiums. But, this is not the case in Florida, which needs to have insurance coverage for both the workers, as well as independent contractors. This is where the “Florida Plan” comes into play. So, as homeowners, how can you deal with such kinds of bad contractors? Let’s see here:
Dealing with a Bad Contractor:
It’s not that you need to sit idle and watch the bad contractors doing illegal things. In the current circumstances, the regulations have been lifted and there are lots of chances for the bad contractors to take their upper hands and do bad business with you. So, what can you do if you are fouled up by your contractor or he disappeared altogether? Remember, you always have recourse.
Yes, we all are aware that remodeling is a hassle, especially when you have to do that in the time of natural disasters. Every other homeowner will also want the same work to be done and the demand for the contractors is high. Even though you have thoroughly vetted the contractor, as well as the remodeling contract before hiring them, there are several chances for the contractors to disappoint you. While hiring, all you have to make sure is to verify the workers’ compensation insurance with the contractors. Check whether it’s a real one. If you have any questions about this, feel free to contact us here.
Now, let’s see what you need to do about a bad contractor here:
Firing the Contractor:
This might seem quite obvious to you. But, it will not be that easy when things are not right around you. Your contractor may take you to court as a case of breach of contract. Here, you must be able to prove that it’s the contractor who breached the agreement first. For this to take effect, you must document each and everything that the contractor does, which are not complying the specifics of the contract. You can even send a return-receipt to them stating that if the problem is not rectified within a specified timeline, it would be a breach of contract and that they will be terminated.
Request a hearing:
There are some construction contracts with a binding arbitration clause. With this, the disputing parties can agree to resolve the problem through arbitration instead of taking it to the court. This is a low-cost process when compared to the court expenses. In this, an independent authority will make a final decision. Remember, even if your building contract does not have such provision, you can still request a hearing. There are some non-profit associations out there, who will offer mediation services for free or at nominal costs. For doing this, you need not be the member of the association.
An important thing that needs to be remembered here is that you must make your contractor ready for the hearing. Also, as mediators or arbitrators will look at your contracts thoroughly during the mediation process, your contracts should have no flaws. You need to have a nicely written contract at your hands in order to succeed in the process. If you have a badly written contract, you have chances to lose out. Therefore, reading and understanding the contract before signing is crucial for the homeowners.
These are the simple ways to resolve your issue with the contractor. If you can’t succeed in these, you may go to next steps like hiring an attorney and take the contractor to the court. However, you need to spend a lot in the process.
As a leading service provider in the industry, we recommend you to be sure about the contractor before hiring. This will save your time and money that could be spent in unwanted things!
