Entries Tagged 'Cool Sites' ↓

West Palm Beach, FL — After any good sized storm, like our recent brush with Tropical Storm Ernesto, people in Hurricane effected areas become re-energized about improving their Hurricane preparedness. In itself, this is wonderful. People purchase hurricane shutters for the first time, install garage door braces, write hurricane plans, and some even buy high-end products like impact windows. All these things improve your chances of weathering the next storm with less risk to life and property. Unfortunately, the people who make their living by stealing people’s money know this all too well, and they step-up their efforts to separate you from your hard earned dollars in the weeks following a storm.

One of the main reasons we started our community at aBigwind is to call these scammers to your attention. The more we know about who these scam artists are, and what tricks they employ, the more likely we are to avoid them. Recently, we came across an online tool to perform background checks on companies and individuals that can help you with this.

It’s called PeopleFinders. PeopleFinders allows you to run an extensive range of background checks that will flesh out a lot of information about any potential contractor that you’re considering for a job.

Included in their options are a criminal background screening, company background check, and individual background check. Clicking on the Criminal Check link will take you to a page that shows the databases that will be searched, along with the kinds of criminal activity that PeopleFinders will search for. These include things like: Felonies and Misdemeanors, Offenses & Charges, Court, Conviction date and Risk Level.

According to PeopleFinders.com CEO Rob Miller

“Hurricane Katrina showed the world that terrible situations can still be made worse by greedy and uncaring individuals. “Scam artists love to prey on victims of a disaster because they know they are desperate to rebuild their lives and their homes,” Miller states.”

Although PeopleFinders stands to benefit from our paranoia about being defrauded, we think their tool, and our general paranoia about being scammed, are well justified. You don’t have to look very hard in places like Biloxi, New Orleans, or pretty much any town in Florida to see how common this problem is - news reports are filled with sad tales about Hurricane protection scams.

PeopleFinders offers a number of tips to Hurricane Protection consumers to use in avoiding contractor scams which we include here to add to your Hurricane self defense plan.

1. Online People Searches: You would be surprised at the wealth of information that an online people search web site like PeopleFinders.com can provide regarding a potential contractor or company that wants to repair your home. For individual contractors, a background check can tell you if a contractor is licensed, has a criminal record and even how long he or she has been working in your area. For companies, a business search can tell you if a business is legitimate by providing such information as which professional licenses a business holds, its location, who owns it and even what their office looks like.

2. References: Don’t take a contractor’s word for his or her quality of work. Just like hiring a potential employee, it is always a good practice to check references. If possible, make sure to visit these properties to see their work first hand. Also, you can always contact your local Better Business Bureau to obtain more information on a particular contractor or business.

3. Pro-actively Choose your Contractor: Avoid door to door contractors. To make sure that you are only hiring legitimate contractors, only select those from lists provided from state housing and contracting agencies.

4. Never Pay Cash: Paying for home improvements with cash should be avoided because cash is the toughest form of money to recover should there be a problem with your contractor. In addition, never pay for a job completely up front. Any payments should be made only after you have had a chance to review a contractor’s qualifications.

5. Comparison Shop: Make sure to get multiple bids on your repairs before having any work done. Price is not the only aspect of a bid to be considered when reviewing bids as business history, insurance coverage and proper licenses to work in your area or home must also be taken into consideration.”

“GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The wind roared against the house. Shingles and tar paper flew off the roof, exposing bare plywood. The front window buckled, then shattered, shooting glass shards into the living room.” — Aaron Hoover, University of Florida News June 20, 2006

And this was just a simulation.

credit: FIU, Laboratory for Wind Engineering Research

As I’ve dug further into Hurricane protection research I’ve become increasingly frustrated by the lack of hard data that people reference when presenting their recommendations. Perhaps it is because I am a marketer by trade, a field dominated by hard-to-measure subjective information, that I am so focused on quantifiable facts. Is it too much to ask to see published information from reliable sources quoting specific studies that experts base their recommendations on?

If someone like me, who is trained in research and has already dedicated countless hours to actively researching Hurricane Protection information, has little to show in hard facts, what chance does the average consumer have of getting accurate, reliable information? Do we all need to become reporters in order to protect our homes and small businesses from the threat of Hurricanes?

That’s why I was particularly happy to find this University of Florida News page that has some great information on new ‘real-world’ testing that they’re involved with. UF is partnering with FIU and their Laboratory for Wind Engineering Research, Florida A&M, The University of Western Ontario (who knew), and The Institute of Business and Home Safety on this important project that is funded with a $190,000 grant from The Florida Department of Consumer Affairs. I do have to say though, given the millions upon millions of dollars that were squandered in Hurricane Katrina FEMA relief - 190k seems a little slim.

Regardless, what’s particularly great about this study is that the project participants are focused on what retrofits can help an older (pre Hurricane Andrew code) structure survive a Hurricane. That’s the majority of us in Hurricane Country. Even better, the studies are being conducted on real homes, rather than structured laboratory conditions that don’t always tell the full story.

Here are some quotes from the University of Florida News article.

“What we’re trying to do is evaluate how much we can reduce an older home’s vulnerability by applying post-construction retrofits,” said Kurt Gurley, lead researcher on the state-funded project and an associate professor of civil engineering at the University of Florida.”

and this

“We want to quantify how much you reduce your vulnerability to wind with the various retrofits so that people can weigh the options,” Gurley said. “Some homeowners will have limited budgets, so we hopefully we’ll come up with a way for them to prioritize.”

and this

“Engineers have extensively tested building components and retrofits, but the work is usually done in labs, Gurley said. That means that while the results may have merit, they don’t necessarily match field conditions, where rusted nails, rotted wood and other conditions frequently complicate matters.

“That’s about the most important thing: We’re working in real conditions, capturing data from real houses,” said Forrest Masters, an assistant professor of civil engineering and director of the Laboratory for Wind Engineering Research at the International Hurricane Research Center at Florida International University.”

We’ll look forward to more information on how we can protect our homes and businesses as the study progresses.

- Big W

I want to share a great animation with you that demonstrates how a Hurricane’s escalating winds drive an escalation in damage from wind, rain, debris and storm surge. Check it out here. Thanks to the heads-up about this AP link provided by Cecelia Wiedel over at her blog post today on the 42nd Carnival of Hurricane Relief and Canucklehead for finding this great resource on AP’s site.

The Associated Press Hurricane section also has a great animation that allows you to see Hurricane activity by the decade. This is a nice map overlay that shows the Hurricane tracks and category level of the Hurricanes on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Don’t miss the links for 10 deadliest and 10 costliest Hurricanes on the same page.

And about that Carnival of Hurricane Relief.

“The goal of this weekly blog carnival is to keep the plight of the victims of Katrina in the public’s mind, to encourage continuing and long-term support, and to show progress as it’s made.”

Nicely done.

-Big W