cujet I live in Sunrise. Which hurricanes would those be? Francis, Wilma, Jeannie and which other? I have my solar setup for exactly the same reason. Gensets just don't work well in an urban setting, unless you have a large battery bank that you top it up with. After Wilma we couldn't get fuel so that wouldn't have worked either.
Going direct 12v is simpler. All my apartment lighting is 12vdc. My fridge is a 12vdc. 40 quart Engel, but a well insulated chest freezer might work better if you have a family. I have piped gas for cooking and hot water. That has never failed. If you buy an apartment sized portable washer you can easily run that from an inverter. I have a 600 watt sine inverter hard wired inside my van, so I could go mobile if I had to.
I have DSL on copper wire. That didn't fail even after Wilma. My dsl box runs from 12vdc and my laptop charger will run from 12vdc or a small inverter. I have a small 12v battery powered tv, box fan and battery powered radio. Electricity wasn't restored until 4 weeks after Wilma at my apartment, so I ate elsewhere if I could and just kept it simple. My batteries are inside (not recommended here) but it works fine for me. The panels are right outside on the ground where I can get them inside quickly if a storm is coming.
I have avoided trying any building wiring mods - not legal and not necessary. You can't make money from off-grid home solar, it's about quality of life after the SHTF.