Condo with shutters or impact glass in Miami (Orlando, Fort Lauderdale: real estate, insurance)

[moomit21]

Hello everyone:

I am looking to buy a condo with a view in Fort Lauderdale or Miami. Beach view, city view.. . Just has to be a high-rise I guess. My first criteria is just that I'd like the building to be fairly hurricane proof. Can anyone suggest buildings that are completely shuttered or have impact glass? My budget is under a million though, so I need to stay away from the brand new Trump-style buildings.. but please suggest any that perhaps you live in and are sure they are completely shuttered, etc.

Thank you very much!

[jambo101]

Most high rises i've seen dont come with shutters,Impact glass? maybe.
Most houses i see in Florida have just for show shutters or the shutters are mounted upside down,
Shutters or impact glass?I'd tape the glass and close the shutters as i'm thinking impact glass is going to be hard to see out of after being sand blasted for a day by a hurricane..

[harrycrat]

In theory & possibly,in reality,a shutter system is inherently tougher than impact glass.

Glass is glass.
In order to be really though,it has to be really expensive,like the glass surfaces of the Presidential limo...

[Robyn55]

What are you trying to avoid? Windows are only one part of the equation. And there is no such thing as "hurricane proof". You live on the water for a while - there's a good chance you'll have some kind of loss.

We went through Andrew in 1992 in a sturdy 18 story condo on Biscayne Bay about 10 miles north of the eye wall (where we were hit as a cat 3 storm). We had accordian shutters in our unit. No breach. But many units without shutters blew out. Also - a lot of our "commercial roof" was peeled off - maybe 5 layers out of 8. There was flooding down from the 18th floor for about 10 floors (we were on 11 - and had some minimal water damage - it was a lot worse higher up). Also - our lobby imploded - the garages flooded (we had a 14 ft. storm surge) - all our landscaping was washed out to sea. Etc. Oh - and we didn't have water/power for 6 weeks (insurance company paid for us to live in a hotel). Good news is we evacuated before the storm and were in Orlando when Andrew hit! We had about $10k in assessments not paid for by insurance (insurance doesn't cover things like landscaping losses).

Impact glass hasn't had much testing in real life yet. The Four Seasons Miami has newest generation mpact glass - but some panels failed in recent storms. The house we built here in NE Florida has first generation impact windows. We've been through several tropical storms. Not a drop of water has come through - but since these first generation windows are made out of Lexan - they do - when exposed to the elements - graze (OTOH - those windows not exposed to the elements - like those facing out on the back porch - look perfect after 15 years). Robyn

P.S. Even if you never see a hurricane - there's a good chance you'll have water damage when the guy above you who's gone for the summer has a hose in his washing machine break.

[FranckDossa]

I work in Miami and Miami Beach as a real estate broker and I have seen all the new and old buildings.

You won't see hurricane shutters on the new buildings because they have to have the new hurricane proof windows : Hurricane-proof building - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

They are supposed to resist winds up to 150 miles.

And honestly I live here since 9 years now and most of the times hurricanes are just an opportunity for TV channels to get more advertising revenues since everybody will be glued to their TV.

Clear your balcony, fill up your tank, get some food and water (not too much, just 4 days supply) and you are good to go.

Every places carry their own natural challenges, and I'll take a hurricane coming with 2 weeks notice anyday instead of a terrifying earthquake with no notice at all.

Welcome in our little Paradise in South Florida.

[Robyn55]

Originally Posted by FranckDossa

I work in Miami and Miami Beach as a real estate broker and I have seen all the new and old buildings.

You won't see hurricane shutters on the new buildings because they have to have the new hurricane proof windows : Hurricane-proof building - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

They are supposed to resist winds up to 150 miles.

And honestly I live here since 9 years now and most of the times hurricanes are just an opportunity for TV channels to get more advertising revenues since everybody will be glued to their TV.

Clear your balcony, fill up your tank, get some food and water (not too much, just 4 days supply) and you are good to go.

Every places carry their own natural challenges, and I'll take a hurricane coming with 2 weeks notice anyday instead of a terrifying earthquake with no notice at all.

Welcome in our little Paradise in South Florida.

All it takes is one big storm - and you apparently haven't been through one.

You do not want to be on/near the water if a decent storm hits - no matter how good your windows are. We had a 14 foot storm surge during Andrew - and our friends to the south topped out at about 22 feet. Also - if you are in a mandatory evacuation area - the management of your building will probably shut it down - turn off all the utilities - and have all the employees leave. I do agree that in the vast majority of cases - people have ample notice in terms of evacuating (and they should follow mandatory evacuation orders). Robyn