Are Coral Gables OLD houses safe? (Miami, Kendall: for sale, to rent, insurance) - Florida (FL) -Miami-Dade County - City-Data Forum

Sun&Sea · 08-31-2008, 11:11 PM

So we have been looking for houses in Coral Gables on the internet (we currently live in South America), and our plan is to visit the City Beautiful in June 2009 to look for houses in person.

One thing we are worried about is that most houses for sale there are really really old (as most houses in CG ARE old) and we would be fine with that, except for the hurricanes...

As we have read that it's safer (and insurance is much cheaper too) to get a 1993 and later post-Andrew-new-construction-code house, what do you say about all those gorgeous old, some historic, 1 million dollar and up houses in CG?

Should we stick to the newer ones, even though they are like 5% of the houses for sale and then our search options will be really reduced?

Are the new ones much safer, and the insurance much cheaper, as people say?

Thanks!!

bale002 · 09-01-2008, 01:45 AM

It's not so much the age of the house as to whether the house is "up to code".

The main concern is the roof, then whether the windows have hurricane shutters or are impact-resistant, and the house has hurricane-proof doors and garage doors.

Most realtors in Miami are sloppy with their MLS listings, a lot of information is missing. For each house, you must find out to what extent it is "up to code".

Good luck finding conscientious realtors on both sides of the transaction. Do your own research to the extent possible, including, but not limited to, official state of Florida and city of Coral Gables laws, guidelines, and programs; it helps if you know a conscientious insurance agent to explain the details.

doggiebus · 09-01-2008, 08:16 AM

Like bale002 said, you really will not know until you get to the inspection process and then still (make sure you get someone you trust to do the inspection, my in-laws had an inspection on a home they built that the inspector left out like 100k+ worth of work, so get someone that is a trust worthy inspector, hard to find in South Florida I know.) you need to very careful.

I would still consider those homes, but know that the homes in the Gables really haven't been through a Cat 3 storm in over 30 years at least if not longer as they were not really hit by Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

heydade · 09-01-2008, 03:51 PM

Yes, older homes are just fine. In fact, many people say that older homes duing certain periods (I believe the 60's) are better built than the newer homes. My parents live in an older home and it is south of Kendall and made it through Hurricane Andrew just fine. Anything south of Kendall was considered "ground zero" when Andrew hit.

As long as the home meets code, it will be fine with insurance. That usually means adding some hurricane straps to the trusses of the roof down to the walls and some bracing of the garage doors. There really isn't that much to do when it comes to making an older home "up to code". Whatever you do, make sure to stay away from wood frame homes !

Take care

Sun&Sea · 09-01-2008, 04:25 PM

You Guys are the BEST!! This forum ROCKS!!

Thank you very much for the great info!!!!

tallrick · 09-02-2008, 09:23 AM

Hopefully you will negotiate down the prices. We do not need another out-of-towner driving prices and taxes up more than they are. You do realize that the yearly Government rent on a 1 Million dollar shack is 20,000.00 right?

planetsurf · 09-02-2008, 10:37 AM

Bom Dia -- you really are thorough aren't you?

Many of the houses in the Gables were built in the 50s, including mine.
Some older, some newer. (For example, my mother-in-law lives in a 1928 old Spanish.)

By and large they are built great, really solid. We just finished having our house (built in 1956) completely remodeled and the concrete and roofing trusses were in great shape.
(Remember too that most of CGables is in the 5-15' above sea level too so we'll be one of the last to flood.)

I'd still recommend that you buy the cheapest, oldest, least remodeled house possible and do some work yourself.
Depending on when (and if) your house was remodeled, you will almost certainly need to update the kitchen, windows and doors, flooring, bathroom fixtures and probably roof anyway, you might as well not be paying for someone else's remodel.

And as Tallrick pointed out, the cheaper you buy, the less your property taxes will be.

I can't compare insurance rates spcifically, but the codes today are as tough as they have ever been. I believe even tougher than in the 90s, (maybe someone else knows for sure).
Our insurance is about $4500/year.
We have hurricane glass windows (no shutters) everywhere and because our driveway is 12' above sea level, feel VERY safe in a regular ol' Cat 3.

Good luck.

Sun&Sea · 09-02-2008, 03:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tallrick

Hopefully you will negotiate down the prices. We do not need another out-of-towner driving prices and taxes up more than they are. You do realize that the yearly Government rent on a 1 Million dollar shack is 20,000.00 right?

Yes, of course our goal is to negotiate down... and of course we are aware of the high property taxes. Thanks.

Sun&Sea · 09-02-2008, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by planetsurf

Bom Dia -- you really are thorough aren't you?

Bom dia, Planetsurf!
Yes, I am!

And I take it as a compliment... thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by planetsurf

By and large they are built great, really solid. We just finished having our house (built in 1956) completely remodeled and the concrete and roofing trusses were in great shape.
(Remember too that most of CGables is in the 5-15' above sea level too so we'll be one of the last to flood.)

Wow, these are great news, thanks!
Now, I've read that some parts of CG are flood zones, right? The city's official website has a flood zone map, but I can't figure it out... I am really bad reading maps...

Quote:

Originally Posted by planetsurf

I'd still recommend that you buy the cheapest, oldest, least remodeled house possible and do some work yourself.
Depending on when (and if) your house was remodeled, you will almost certainly need to update the kitchen, windows and doors, flooring, bathroom fixtures and probably roof anyway, you might as well not be paying for someone else's remodel.
And as Tallrick pointed out, the cheaper you buy, the less your property taxes will be.

I know, and it sounds like a good idea to buy old and fix, but the problem is we have a toddler and are planning on having another baby. If we get a house that needs a lot of remodeling that means we will have to rent while the house is being fixed, (which means moving twice with 2 little kids) and also I am not sure I will have the energy to take care of my kids and go through a big remodeling process at the same time... But thanks for the suggestion, I will definitley think about it!! My FIL is a great architect and designer, and Argentinean so he speaks Spanish, maybe he will be willing to travel from here there for a couple of months and help us out with the remodeling.

Quote:

Originally Posted by planetsurf

We have hurricane glass windows (no shutters) everywhere and because our driveway is 12' above sea level, feel VERY safe in a regular ol' Cat 3.Good luck.

That's GREAT, good for you! And you are near the UM, right? Great area! Why don't you have shutters? Just curious, I am trying to learn as much as I can, as you can tell.

THANKS AGAIN!!! You are always very helpful!

planetsurf · 09-02-2008, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sun&Sea

Now, I've read that some parts of CG are flood zones, right? The city's official website has a flood zone map, but I can't figure it out... I am really bad reading maps...

YES. The closer to the bay, the more prone to flooding. If we had a strong direct hit on CGables, those giant houses in CocoPlum and Tahiti Beach will be hit hard.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sun&Sea

And you are near the UM, right? Great area! Why don't you have shutters? Just curious, I am trying to learn as much as I can, as you can tell.

THANKS AGAIN!!! You are always very helpful!

We love the little area we're in. Nicer homes - in between the giants on the main streets and/or canals and the smaller houses in North Gables- plus we can walk to UM just to stroll with the kids or to hit a movie at Cosford.

We have ALL new doors (2 french doors in back, front door and garage
door) plus new PGT windows rated to ~150mph. We DO need (and probably will get) shutters in addition to those at some point, we just haven't gotten around to it. Plus we really wanted to make sure we didn't lose any insurance savings -- so we have some homework to do before we purchase.
We feel pretty safe though. I'm much more worried about the big oak in our neighbors yard taking out our porch.

As always, boa sorte!