Recommended Steps To Apply For Disaster Funds and Energy Funds

A. Individuals who sustained losses in Milwaukee, Waukesha or Washington Counties from August 9-12th should first file claims with their insurance providers.

B. Apply for FEMA assistance at www.DisasterAssistance.gov, by calling 1-800-621-3362.

• FEMA will send someone to your home to determine eligibility funds and how much you may be available for.

• Deadline, 11/12/25. Wisconsinites have $29 million available, first come first served

C. Apply for SBA Disaster Repair Home Loan consideration using MySBA Loan Portal https://lending.sba.gov/search-disaster/

List the date as between August 9-12. You will need to Register for MySBA, click to Start a Disaster Application and complete it.

• Reference Disaster number WI-20004

• SBA will either send someone to visit the home, or accept photos in some cases, to determine eligibility. In general, they want to get you what they need.

• SBA disaster home loan is low interest (3%, or 0% if paid within 12-months), long term (up to 30 years, no pre-payment penalty), up to $500,000 and you do not need to start paying it back for 12 months. Even if you do not need the full amount of time, this can help allow you to start the project sooner, and factor in available grants/ rebates/ tax credits/ payment plans later. 0% interest if paid off within 12 months.

• Green Homeowners United can provide you with a paper application, otherwise the SBA has a recovery mobile site set up where you can get in-person assistance location at 6737 W Washington Suite 2250, West Allis, WI 53214

• Deadline November 10th!

This can be a good option to rebuild flooded basements that were finished with drywall, insulation, wood, etc.

D. Give Green Homeowners United a call at 414-604-6450 and mention "disaster funds". You can sign up for a no-cost visit to look at your basement and get a free “moisture test” of drywall/wood to see if it is a mold risk https://greenhomeowners.appointlet.com/s/schedule-a-visit-to-your-home/housevisit

We will help you prove your income levels with Wisconsin's Focus on Energy program. You can also do it yourself here. https://focus-ira.clearesult.com/prequalificationapps/prequalification/v2

Depending on your income and what your household needs you could be eligible for between $1,500 - $24,000 in funds to pay for energy improvements such as new basement insulation, water heater, electrical panel upgrade, etc. You will need a recent WE Energies bill, plus one of the following

1. Last year's tax return, or

2. Letter of enrollment in Energy Assistance, or

3. Letter of enrollment in Foodshare, or

4. Letter of enrollment in Medicaid

E. Once you have received an email from Focus on Energy with a letter of approval, and either an “LEA” or “MEA” approval number, call Green Homeowners United again to schedule a visit to get a proposal for improvements, and/or to schedule an energy assessment to unlock IRA funds. You could be eligible for between $1,500 - $24,000 in funds depending on household size, annual income and what your house may need done. We will create a proposal that can be shared with the programs above, utilizing all available rebates, tax credits and/or grants available to you.

F. If the SBA Disaster loan is not an option, or you would like to rebuild your basement better than it was before the floods, ask Green Homeowners United instead about the City of Milwaukee's Me2 financing or the WHEDA “More Like Home” financing options.

G. Once signed, the project is submitted by us to Wisconsin's Focus on Energy program for pre-approval to confirm the IRA rebates. This process can take 2-4 weeks on average.

H. Work with FEMA to determine eligibility for disaster individual assistance to help partially cover the costs of what was lost. This is a grant and does not need to be repaid.

I. When the project is done, final signatures are submitted to Focus on Energy and to any financing partner. You would work with your financing partner to set up payment amounts.

J. If eligible for tax credits, and work performed in 2025, fill out IRS form 5695 to claim the 25c Federal energy efficiency tax credit.

Example of How Funding Could Work

For example, if there was a basement flood in the home of a family of 4 in Milwaukee making $70,000 a year, resulting in significant damage including drywall that had to be removed and a water heater that had to be replaced, here’s how they might obtain $44,000 in funding to repair and improve their basement:

They qualify for $24,000 in IRA instant rebates to be used toward basement insulation with mold-resistant water-proof facing instead of drywall, sealing air-leaks in basement to block drafts and moisture, a basement continuous ventilation system, an updated furnace, "heat-pump central air conditioner", "heat-pump water heater", and new electrical breaker box with whole-house surge protection built in. Then, they finance the remaining $20,000 cost via the SBA disaster loan program at only $85/month. If FEMA approves disaster relief for this family, they can then have portions of this work reimbursed by FEMA disaster individual assistance grants. If the family owes federal tax at tax time and the work was completed by the end of 2025, the family would also be eligible for federal tax credits to reduce their financial burden.

This is a hypothetical example, and exact costs of repairs/upgrades and amounts of available incentives will vary between homes.