Accepted! What's Next

You must choose your retrofit contractor from ESS’s Contractor Directory of licensed contractors, who have completed FEMA P-1100 seismic retrofit training.

• Contact contractors on the ESS Contractor Directory and schedule appointments to get bids.
• Review What You Should Know Before Hiring a Contractor (PDF)

Meet with contractors, receive and review bids.

• If the retrofit bid is more than $10,000, you must get more than one bid.

Select a contractor.

• Choose and hire your contractor.
• Upload contractor(s') bid(s) to your Homeowner Dashboard.
  • If the contractor's bid was over $10,000 and you submitted more than one bid, and you chose the contractor who submitted the higher bid; state the reason on your Dashboard.

Get a building permit and upload it to your Homeowner Dashboard.

• Important! You or your contractor must get the building permit after your ESS acceptance date. If your permit is dated prior to your acceptance date, you will not be eligible for an ESS grant.
• Before getting your permit, check your Homeowner Dashboard for specific directions on what wording must be included on your building permit.
• You or your contractor can get the building permit.
• You can use our Building Department resources page to help you find the right building department with which to apply for your permit.

By week 12 (earlier if possible) you or your contractor must have uploaded these items to your Homeowner Dashboard for approval:

• Copy of your building permit
• Plans/Drawings
• Photos of house exterior, garage interior, and crawlspace photos if required; (your Dashboard will provide you with specific instructions and examples)
• Bid(s)
• Proof of occupancy such as a utility bill, if indicated on your Dashboard that it's required
• A completed W-9 form if indicated on your Dashboard that it’s required

Important! To remain eligible to receive the ESS grant, do not begin your retrofit construction work before receiving ESS’s approval of your uploaded documents (Step 2).

After ESS has approved your uploaded pre-retrofit documentation, you will have six months from that approval date to complete your retrofit.

• Instructions on your Homeowner Dashboard will guide you through this process.

Upload the following post-retrofit documentation to your Homeowner Dashboard:

• Required photos, as indicated on your Homeowner Dashboard:
  • Five post-retrofit photos of the exterior of your house, with a date stamp.
  • Two post-retrofit photos of the garage area, taken from the same vantage point as your "before" photos.
  • Two photos of water heater strapping.
    • If you have a tankless water heater, take two photos showing the properly installed tankless heater; no strapping necessary.
  • One photo of the crawl space, if your house requires a retrofit of the crawl space in addition to the soft-story retrofit.

    
    Important! Your Homeowner Dashboard will have exact instructions and examples for what must be included in your photos.

• An image of the signed building permit after the retrofit is complete and signed off.
• Your contractor's invoice that includes:
  • Your contractor's business name, address, phone number, and contractor license number;
  • Address where the seismic retrofit was performed;
  • Start and end dates of work performed; and
  • Pricing broken out by labor, materials, overhead, and profit.
• If the final total amount of your ESS grant is greater than $5,000, and your house is in Flood Zone, you will need to submit a signed, notarized, and recorded  Special Flood Hazard Area Conditions Form (fillable PDF), and a copy of your flood insurance policy.

• Follow directions on your Homeowner Dashboard for how to complete and submit an electronic Payment Authorization Form.
• Indicate whether the payment will be sent to you (the homeowner), or directly to the contractor.
• Grant payments from the ESS program are not subject to federal or state taxation.