Hiring local businesses in Freeport

The WPI-8 is the Certificate of Compliance that shows a job met TDI's standards. Inspections are done by TDI windstorm inspectors or by a Texas-licensed engineer appointed by the Commissioner of Insurance. If a house fails, it can be certified once the problems are fixed, or it may qualify through the TWIA waiver program.

Before you hire, look the property up on TDI's windstorm website or call 800-248-6032, option 3: existing WPI-8 certificates are there, and so is a contractor's WPI-1 enrollment. Ask any roofer or builder for that enrollment and for the WPI-8 when the job is done.

Freeport insurance basics

TWIA (800-788-8247) is the insurer of last resort for coastal wind and hail. A flood policy doesn't cover wind or hail damage, and TDI says lenders typically require wind coverage. In federal Coastal Barrier Resource Areas, a property is TWIA-insurable only if a building permit or plat was filed before June 11, 2003.

Freeport is in an ERCOT retail-choice area. PowerToChoose lists CenterPoint Energy Houston Electric as the only wires company for ZIP 77541, and you choose your own retail electric provider. Call City Hall before you start a job or open a utility account: ask who provides water and sewer at your address, what needs a building permit and whether contractors must register.

The Velasco Drainage District, 915 Stratton Ridge Rd in Clute (979-265-4251), manages land drainage to cut flood hazards in the Velasco area; ask the district whether your address is inside it. Look up your flood zone by address at FEMA's Map Service Center, msc.fema.gov. The National Weather Service says more than 500,000 people within 10 miles of Galveston Bay and in Brazoria County may face tidal flooding in a major hurricane.

Freeport incorporated on February 10, 1917, and absorbed the old town of Velasco on July 27, 1957. It's a deepwater port city about three miles from the mouth of the Brazos River, home to Port Freeport, and had 10,696 residents in the 2020 Census.

The Brazoria County Mosquito Control District sprays by air and truck; request a spray at 979-265-4261, ext. 1532. The Brazoria Central Appraisal District values property and takes protests online.

• At home: AC repair.
• Health and fitness: dentists and gyms.
• Legal help: attorneys.

For roof and storm work, start with the Texas roofer guide. The wider area is in the Houston and Gulf Coast region; nearby are Surfside Beach and Angleton.