St. Augustine - how are taxes and insurance costs? (Hollywood: new home, established neighborhood)

[vigo]

We're considering relocating from south Florida to St. Augustine. One of the things we hate about where we live now is the outrageous insurance cost and high property taxes. We live east of US 1 about a mile from the ocean, so we have to pay for a separate windstorm policy in addition to homeowners and flood insurance. Our taxes are fairly low now because of Save Our Homes, but if we had to buy our home today, the taxes would be unaffordable.

Since St. Augustine is not as hurricane-prone as Hollywood, are the insurance costs a lot lower? I'm assuming that if we wanted to live near the beach, we'd pay a much higher premium than if we lived out by I-95. Is there a dividing line that dictates where the premiums are higher?

What about flood insurance? I've read some posts here in this forum that indicate that St. Augustine is flood-prone. Is it just certain areas?

We're planning a visit to the area in a couple of weeks to scope out the area and see what the housing looks like. We don't care anything at all about being in a golf community and don't like cookie-cutter homes with tiny lots. Actually, we prefer older, established neighborhoods with mature trees. I would LOVE to find a home with a wraparound front porch and a beautiful royal poinciana shading the yard. Is that a possibility?

[Peter the Brit]

Just bought a 1500 sq foot home on Anastasia and without any discounts flood is $450 and wind $1600
If we tie the roof down and change the door etc will get the wind down to about $1000

[vigo]

Thanks, Pete. How has Anastasia Island handled hurricanes? Do people use hurricane shutters or are big storms so infrequent that nobody bothers?

[Peter the Brit]

As far as I can see no one bothers as this place has been around for severak hundred years!

[PokerPlayer1]

Originally Posted by vigo

Thanks, Pete. How has Anastasia Island handled hurricanes? Do people use hurricane shutters or are big storms so infrequent that nobody bothers?

If Anastasia Island ever takes a direct hit, most if it would probably be underwater; like, adios, goodnight Irene to most structures, best case scenario is that you come back to a waterlogged shell. I think you're talking a sealevel-3' elevation range...

St. Augustine (and NEFLin general) rarely gets smacked direct with hurricanes. Some theorize (and it is a very plausible theory, if you look at the historical path of hurricanes) that Northeast Floridas good Hurricane fortune is based on a geographical stroke of chance, where the prevailing gulf stream turns 'outward' towards the ocean precisely where the landmass bows "inward".



Still, one can hit at any time. A large part of the reason the last one (in the 1960's) "wasn't that bad" is because St. Aug was still a wee, little village with most of the coast still being desolate. Put that very storm there today and the result would be very, very different.

Don't let people say "bah-gum, we're not worried! We don't bother taking any precautions!" because those people are idiots/. They exist before and after every hurricane. After the storm, you see them standing over a pile of salt-soaked rubble with a shocked look on their faces; either returning from evacuation and "amazed at what happened" (as if the notion that living on a Florida barrier island might be a wee bit vulnerable to this sort of stuff hadn't ever crossed their minds) or still dazed from having rode it out and actually surviving.

[tamcim72]

we moved up from s.fla several years ago and our insurance is 25% what it was and taxes almost doubled as we had our old house for a while. We were a week too late for the portibility thing but it evened out. The SJC property appraiser website does have a sample to estimate taxes.

After living thru Frances,Jeanne, and Wilma we decided to get shutters. Only a few in my entire development have them (they are probably from south too) just for piece of mind, we live 1 mile west of 95 near WorldGolfVillage. Now required for new homes east of 95 in st johns county. Most people here are clueless about hurricanes just as i was for the first 10yrs i lived in PBC too though.

[riveree]

I don't think St. Augustine is any more flood-prone than anywhere else. All the counties in North East Florida have areas that flood. When you start to target in on a particular neighborhood, you'll want to check the flood zone ratings for the property you're looking at and the surrounding ones as well if need be.

As for insurance premiums, what I've been told by my insurers has been "10 miles". Meaning, if you live inside of the 10 mile mark from the ocean, you'll pay a slightly higher premium. The closer you are to the ocean, the higher the premium. My last home was 7 miles from the ocean, but the extra on my premium was minimal (less than $100, to my best recollection).


Ponciana trees don't grow here, I'm afraid. We do have lovely Crape Myrtles, Magnolias, Live Oaks, Redbuds, River Birch and Maples though .

[vigo]

Riveree, PokerPlayer, Pete and tamcim, thanks. Those posts were helpful.

But no poincianas that far north? Darn!