Cape Coral FL info Storm Flooding , Homeowners Insurance ect. (Lee: short sales, foreclosures)

[Fred Perkins]

As a future Cape Coral homeowner I am interested in the history of flooding in CC and the cost of homeowners INS and Fema Flood INS. per annum
What national Insurance Companies serve CC .ie Stae Farm , Allstate, Nationwide ect.
say for instance a $200K home in 33904 or 33914.
Are homes on a canal more prone to flooding ?
Are those homes higher in terms of Insurance ?
Home owners please tell us what do we need to know before purchasing home ?
What things do Realtors NOT tell you beforehand ?
Tell us about home values ?
Tell us about local crime ?
I am interested in Pentecostal Churches and local shopping like Sam's Club, Lowes or Home Depot and other places to purchase hurricane supplies ?
No children living at home , not interested in schools.
Please tell us about HOA fees ? and restrictions in gated communities ?

[nhkev]

Originally Posted by Fred Perkins

As a future Cape Coral homeowner I am interested in the history of flooding in CC and the cost of homeowners INS and Fema Flood INS. per annum
What national Insurance Companies serve CC .ie Stae Farm , Allstate, Nationwide ect.
say for instance a $200K home in 33904 or 33914.
Are homes on a canal more prone to flooding ?
Are those homes higher in terms of Insurance ?
Home owners please tell us what do we need to know before purchasing home ?
What things do Realtors NOT tell you beforehand ?
Tell us about home values ?
Tell us about local crime ?
I am interested in Pentecostal Churches and local shopping like Sam's Club, Lowes or Home Depot and other places to purchase hurricane supplies ?
No children living at home , not interested in schools.
Please tell us about HOA fees ? and restrictions in gated communities ?

first shop around for homeowners there are big differences between companies, State farm tends to be the most expensive. ask an agent to get you multiple quotes. You can go on lee county assessors sitehttp://http://www.leepa.org/Search/PropertySearch.aspx (broken link) and look up your specific property and see what storm surge level your property is at. Fema ins would run you about $400. As far as home owners ins, the age of the house will matter greatly older than 2004 will be more expensive due to new home discount and not built to current hurrican standards. the insurance companies also "assume" some things such as how far you are from hydrants or firestations, find out what level the area your property is in and make sure the insurance company uses it. Also a wind mitigation survey.

expenses I would plan on is Alarm monitoring (about $30 month) terminix (about $300 yr) lawn service (avg $50 per month). Unless this is going to be a year round residence then you can handle yourself.

http://http://spotcrime.com/fl/cape%20coral (broken link) will show you a map of cape coral and where the crime and what type of crimes. Also run a sex offender search so you know who your neighbors are. Crime has been down 10% each of the last 2 years and the police presence is almost overboard. Most violent crimes are usually committed against people who knew or had some type of relationship with the assailant. In some areas it is just a matter of not making yourself an easy target. As far as home values 10 out of the last 12 months have had increases in the median home price and the latest data showed a 19% increase in year over year median home price, the trend is to the upside but depending on what "you" bought and where you bought it, and how long your plan on keeping it is a lot more important than where prices will be next month, next year.

[monikac21]

Originally Posted by Fred Perkins

As a future Cape Coral homeowner I am interested in the history of flooding in CC and the cost of homeowners INS and Fema Flood INS. per annum

It is hard to say because it depends on the age of the home and the location (flood zone or not) I would say probably around $ 1,000/year and that includes the Hurricane/Windstorm insurance with a deductible around 1,000 per storm. Floodzones can be found in the local phone book and here: Geographical Divisions

What national Insurance Companies serve CC .ie Stae Farm , Allstate, Nationwide ect.
say for instance a $200K home in 33904 or 33914.
Are homes on a canal more prone to flooding ?

Depends on if the home is in a floodzone or not. (Not all homes on a canal are located in a floodzone.)

Are those homes higher in terms of Insurance ?

May be a little higher if the property is in a floodzone

If you have a roof inspection done including a 4 point inspection and your home passes those inspection, this will reduce your insurance for up to 40%.

Home owners please tell us what do we need to know before purchasing home ?

I would have a home inspection done, so you know what all is wrong with the house. A Home Inspection is always worth your money. They will also check for Chinese Drywall, plumbing and electric and a lot more.

If you purchase in Cape Coral make sure you know the assessment issue of your future home. If the property is in SE Cape Coral, there is a very good chance that all assessments (City Water and Sewer) are in and paid for. In all the other areas, you will find some homes with city water and sewer and the assessments are paid off in full, or you find homes which do have central water and sewer but the assessments are still open or just partially paid and in some areas - mainly NE and NW - the homes are still on well and septic - but they too will get central water and sewer in near future. the home owners will be forced to connect to central water and sewer as soon as it comes available. Currently all costs for City Water and Sewer including abandonment of the septic tank, connection fees and impact fees are running approximate $ 25,000/house. The assessments can be paid at once, they can be paid in installments or they can be paid with the property taxes for years to come. About clear, insurable title, the title company will do a title search and the seller has to take care about any liens against the property - unless stated differently in the purchase contract.

Cape Coral assessment link: Cape GIS Disclaimer


What things do Realtors NOT tell you beforehand ?

A Realtor should disclose everything he knows about the property - the good and the bad.

Tell us about home values ?

A good Realtor will run a CMA for you with comparable homes in the same area, that will give you a rough idea how much the property you are intending to purchase is worth.

Tell us about local crime ?

This web site will help you out in that regards

http://www.sheriffleefl.org/

I am interested in Pentecostal Churches and local shopping like Sam's Club, Lowes or Home Depot and other places to purchase hurricane supplies ?

Cape Coral is not that big and everything is reachable very easy

No children living at home , not interested in schools.

Please tell us about HOA fees ? and restrictions in gated communities ?

In regards of gated communites and HOAs, make sure that the community is financially solid. A lot of communities are struggeling right now to pay their bills for the common areas. If a community has a lot of foreclosures or short sales in there, they are loosing the association fees from everyone who is in a foreclosure or short sale - those people can not pay their mortgage, so they for sure will not pay the monthly HOA fees. Less people paying results in either increasing the HOA fees of the "normal" property owners in the community. Also most communities will not allow you to bbq on your property. All the other restrictions you will find in the Condo Docs, the Listing or Seller Realtor have to provide for you to review.

Hope that helped a little One more thing - if you are purchasing a house on the water (canal) make sure that you know if this canal leades out to the ocean or just into fresh water lakes if even. Cape coral has both - Gulf Access Canals and Freshwater Canal. From Freshwater lakes or canals you will not be able to get to the Gulf of Mexico.

[huckster]

I guess State Farm doesn't even sell homeowners if FLA. anymore since 2004.A 150,000.00 house policy is 2000.00 anually with an extra 700.00 mo.
for flood insurance rider. Watch for chinese drywall,built into the walls, very bad affects on people and any copper wiring and air conditioning parts.
Lehigh acres is a bad area.Watch for flood zoning, insurance could cost more. Homes built ater 2004 were built to nigher codes and a more hurricane proof and cheaper to insure, new windows, doors, roofs built to a stonger
specification. And, the foundations are built to higher elevation housing codes to prevent inundation during severe storms.
Buy where ther are already city infrastructures in place, water, storm and sanitary sewers in place or else you will have a tax assessment levied
on your property for the costs of installation of these services I have heard of 20,000.00 costs for this.

Originally Posted by Fred Perkins

As a future Cape Coral homeowner I am interested in the history of flooding in CC and the cost of homeowners INS and Fema Flood INS. per annum
What national Insurance Companies serve CC .ie Stae Farm , Allstate, Nationwide ect.
say for instance a $200K home in 33904 or 33914.
Are homes on a canal more prone to flooding ?
Are those homes higher in terms of Insurance ?
Home owners please tell us what do we need to know before purchasing home ?
What things do Realtors NOT tell you beforehand ?
Tell us about home values ?
Tell us about local crime ?
I am interested in Pentecostal Churches and local shopping like Sam's Club, Lowes or Home Depot and other places to purchase hurricane supplies ?
No children living at home , not interested in schools.
Please tell us about HOA fees ? and restrictions in gated communities ?

[TamRE]

You can shop and compare homeowner insurance rates at the following web site:
Compare Homeowner's Insurance Rates

[debijr]

Great information! We too are thinking of moving to Cape Coral.

[Beth P]

Sounds like a lot of great information. I have been looking for a home in Cape Coral. I was told a few years ago that it might cost us over 12K a year. That is one reason we have been dragging our feet looking seriously. Here in NC our taxes and insurance are very low, fixed incomes can take a hit with high rates.

[Cynthia130]

Wow I haven't heard close to $12,000. That's scary! We are looking too

[rikoshaprl]

Many areas of Cape Coral are not even in a flood zone so you are not required to have flood insurance. If you opt to get it anyway (recommended) it may be only about $400 /Year.
https://msc.fema.gov/webapp/wcs/stor...MapSearch.html

Just put in your address, zoom and pan on the map to find your flood zone designation.

For a general idea: B,C and X do not require flood insurance
Map of Lee County Flood Zones

http://mapmachine.com/SEGMaps/flood_legend.htm

[Ronniewheels]

I was also thinking of moving to Cape Coral. Insurance concerns were greatly on our minds during our search. Remember this, you'll proably be required to carry Hurricane Insurance. Your on the coast. Secondly, whether you are in a Flood Zone or not, if you have a mortage on your property, the Insurance company can require you have flood insurance period. I ran into this and had the county call to show we were not in a flood zone even when the FEMA map showed that we weren't. We did not need the insurance.

So I made a decision not to be on the coast. No flood insurance and no hurricane insurance required. I also chose to live in Collier County because the taxes were lower.

But saying that, my heart was originally set on Cape Coral. Many nice and close ammentities, parks, boat access, etc, which I need to travel to get to. Trade offs are a part of life.

Most of the Insurance companies I never heard of, even the one I have noe. State Farm all my life and they said GOOD BYE.


Good luck with finding the home of your dreams.