Scared to buy a house in Florida

[HurricaneGirl]

The hubby wants to buy one but I'm scared as soon as we do a Category 3 or 4 hurricane will hit Jacksonville. Plus the hurricane insurance will probably cost a fortune, especially if this season is out of control in Florida like last year.

[Terry]

Buy a well-built house and get good storm shutters and you'll be fine.

[HurricaneGirl]

I want brick but he wants wood frame.

[StormChasr]

I want brick but he wants wood frame

If you buy a frame house, you will have trouble insuring it. Go for concrete block, or you will pay dearly through Citizens. Major storms UNLIKELY in Jax---backdoors from the West are not unusual, but landfalls from the Atlantic are a .2% probability--almost nil.

[CharleySurvivor]

You need to do a search and see why 'concrete block' is best for a state like Florida. Hurricanes aren't the only thing to consider with a frame house, termites loves frame houses down here!!

Nothing against people who owns/live in a frame house, I would NEVER buy anything but a concrete block home in FL.

[cswitwer]

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0922/p14s01-lihc.html

[HurricaneGirl]

You need to do a search and see why 'concrete block' is best for a state like Florida. Hurricanes aren't the only thing to consider with a frame house, termites loves frame houses down here!!

Nothing against people who owns/live in a frame house, I would NEVER buy anything but a concrete block home in FL.

Yes, termites scare me almost as much as hurricanes as far as owning a house goes.. I definately want brick or block. Gotta have it.

[StormChasr]

I definately want brick or block. Gotta have it.

There are very few true brick houses in Florida. Most brick houses are brick on frame, which defeats the purpose. The house is basically a frame house with one course of brick as siding. Termites love brick on frame houses.

[HurricaneGirl]

http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0922/p14s01-lihc.html

A dome house would be great for the beach. I personally would not live that close to the water. I want to stay in Jacksonville but well inland and not in a flood prone area.

I remember the floods that happened to the Riverside area after Jeanne and we did not even get anywhere near the worst of that storm. The St. Johns River was coming over the walls.

[cswitwer]

Years ago, the stately old houses in Charleston, SC got a "face lift" when the owners started adding brick walls outside of the already-existing wood exteriors. Brick homes were too expensive to build. THose who could afford to adorn their frame houses in brick are said to be "braggin' in brick".

I love that term!

[HurricaneGirl]

They're building some real nice, sturdy concrete block condo's near my current jobsite in Orange Park. They start around 120,000 and go to 260,000. I've been watching them go up since February. I wouldn't mind buying one of those but they're on the wrong side of town for us.

[FlSteel]

I live in Jax and I own a frame house with brick siding. First I would like to say that it is not termite magnet. Learn about termites and find a good termite prevention system with a 250,000$ bond and you are good.
Next. If you are trying to buy a new construction house in north east florida and you want a block home good luck. Most production builders will not build them because of the added expense and they can sell stick homes just as quick. If you are looking for a concrete block home, best bet is to look for preexisting or go to a true custom builder if you have the money. As far as a "true" brick home, Once again good luck. Old Norweigen brick homes are hard to find, and unless you have a heck of alot of money and can find a builder to build you a solid brick home you will be out of luck.
As far as hurricane insurance goes, that is sort of a cloudy subject. When you buy a home you have to get it insured. That is not hard as long as there is not a storm already coming our way. The insurance for hurricanes is simply a 2% deductible that is seperate from your normal deductible. It's not the insurance that costs you alot, its the deductible should you have to make a claim against it for hurricane damage. ( ie......... for every 100,000 your home is worth your deductible will be 2000). Also read the fine print on your policy or talk to your agent to see what they really cover. I had a few rude awakenings last year when a tree fell on my house from Frances. Basically, all my damage did not even come to my deductible. I was out over 4,000 and the insurance company did not pick up squat. It sucked.
Hope this answers any questions.

[jdray]

They're building some real nice, sturdy concrete block condo's near my current jobsite in Orange Park. They start around 120,000 and go to 260,000. I've been watching them go up since February. I wouldn't mind buying one of those but they're on the wrong side of town for us.

I live in Clay County. I do not have to evacuate for anything, although I would leave if a strong 4 or better would come this way.

Frame house, but recently built (under 3 years old) and is better built now than most concrete block homes of the 1970s and before. Ive lived in both.

We had major winds from Frances here, while not of Hurricane Strength, a tornado did start forming over our house and the house did not shudder or anything.

Some of the concrete block homes going up now and thrown up rather shoddily. They claim to be concrete block, but I would not live in some of those developments. (half of them had cracked walls before the roof was even on)

A well built concrete block home is always the better option, but make sure to have it built properly first. Remember, that roof and/or second story is still a wood frame house.

[flnative]

Am Florida native. Own new block home. Went through 3 storms in Orlando last year. Here are some keys:

1. Look for higher land. Lot of developments built on old swamp land. With major rainfall they will become swamp again. Stay away from Cypress trees unless they are around a lake. they mean water.
2. Buy new or newer homes. Codes changed after Andrew. If built in last 4-5 years, you should be okay. I like new homes best.
3. Stay away from big oaks or make sure they are well trimmed. This includes your neighbor's yard. Oaks caused the most trouble when they fell. Only safe oak is a live oak that is well trimmed. They live to be over 100 and have a very deep root system. They are the true native oak in FL. Laurel oaks have a very shallow root system but grow fast so people plant them. Big mistake.
4. Make sure the power is below ground. Newer areas handle it this way. Old ones have above ground power that will go out. We never lost power in 3 storms last year.
5. Buy now. In spite of storms, real estate is appreciating at an incredible rate here.

Hope this helps.

[HurricaneGirl]

Thanks for all the replies and and advice everyone..

We live in a concrete block apartment and I feel pretty safe here. It's one story and our complex did not lose electricity at all last year, even though most of the surrounding neighborhood did for days.

We'll probably stay here for another year or so, then find a suitable house for ourselves. I just hope we can agree on what we get.

[jdray]

my neighborhood is underground utilities.....

of course the feeder lines for both power and phone are above ground. I lost both during Frances and Jeanne. all it takes is a down line anywhere.

power was only two days, phone was a week.


* we are on the priority list this year though for power.

[yzerfan]

I'd be confident buying a house 10 miles inland that's built under new construction codes. As others have said, what you need to look for are:

1. High elevation/good drainage. Do not buy something in a 100 year flood zone. Next time you get one of those ordinary stalled storm systems that dump 6 inches of rain in 24 hours, go driving in the areas you're thinking of buying in once the rain lets up. You don't want to be buying in areas prone to flash floods, tropical-caused or not. (and some of the worst flooding I've seen in these parts had nothing to do with tropical systems)

2. Underground utilities. My burblet is all underground, and our house is close to the trunk lines. We never lost power or cable service during Ivan, which was pretty mind-boggling to me.

[HURAKAN]

If you buy one in Miami, the hurricanes won't scare you, the price will scare you for sure.

[HurricaneGirl]

Thanks yzerfan. That is amazing you didn't lose power during Ivan. Hope you're staying safe and dry today.

[r_u_stuck2]

Just an FYI, scroll down to the bottom of the page and you can see pictures. Ivan came right through here and I do not think they had any damage.

http://escambia.ifas.ufl.edu/windmit.htm

"The Florida Department of Insurance entered into a contract with the Shimberg Center for Affordable Housing at the University of Florida to supervise the design and construction of several "Hurricane Houses." These Hurricane Houses are located in various areas around the state.

The concept of the training and demonstration center was to construct an educational facility using materials, products and methods of construction which are available to mitigate damage, enhance survivability and protect the occupants of residential structures during high wind storms such as hurricanes. In addition, energy efficiency was built into the structure. The materials, products and methods used can be applied to new structures during construction and in retrofitting existing structures in order to mitigate damage and improve survivability and efficiency. "