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I read about the fish market closing down.
Does Punta Gorda have any Farmer's Markets? Are there any road side fruit and vegetable stands in Punta Gorda? How about in the area?
If SoFLGal or anybody could answer me that would be great!!! I'm wanting to buy a lot so I can build my retirement home in about 15yrs. I found a home lot in Rotonda West and was wondering how this area is? The actual area is around apollo dr/ boxwood lane
I think Punta Gorda is a nice place. I haven't been there since the rebuild of the town after Charley came through in 2004, but from what I understand, they build it up again and it looks really nice!!
If SoFLGal or anybody could answer me that would be great!!! I'm wanting to buy a lot so I can build my retirement home in about 15yrs. I found a home lot in Rotonda West and was wondering how this area is? The actual area is around apollo dr/ boxwood lane
Thank you in advance
I think Apollo is actually classified as Rotonda Heights, we own a lot there and looked at some in Apollo Im sure. We love the area as it is nice and quiet yet only 15 mins drive from everything. Port Charlotte has the malls and restaurants, Emglewood beach is close and even Sarasota is only about 45 minutes drive. Rotonda Heights has a huge amount of unbuilt land and should stay fairly remote for many years-which is a feature we like very much. it is also cheaper than inside the circle of Rotonda West, although there are starting to be some real bargains there now as well.
For retirement i would say as long as you can drive its pretty near perfect, and its a great time to buy
I was reading through some of the other messages on the board, and saw that Punta Gorda had a fish market. It stated it was shut down. Are there any plans for it to reopen?
Maryland has a huge fish market that opens very early in the morning. Generally it is used to serve all stores and restaurants, and I believe it transfers seafood to a lot of places / cities up and down the Mid-Atlantic. Is there any place in SW Florida that has a place like that?
The fish market that shutdown was called Laws. I used to buy my blue crabs there. There is a place on route 17 called Peace River Seafood, their prices are higher but they are retail while Laws was wholesale. Miss Cindy down in Placida is a good place to get fresh caught fish. I'ts a bit of a drive from Punta Gorda, about 1/2 hr. There are also 2 places in Placida to get crabs.
Now that Laws has closed I'm flagging down crabbers and buying right off the boat.
If you are buying a home in Punta Gorda make sure you get a flood insurance quote BEFORE you submit an offer or sign any contract. Here's why:
Many of the properties in Punta Gorda have been grandfathered in and get special flood insurance rates. The only way to tell if they get this rate is to go back and pull the old FEMA flood maps which can be found at the Charlotte county zoning dept or possibly a local insurance agent might have these. The old base flood plane elevation, back in the 70's and early 80's was 9ft. It is now over 10ft for the base flood plane elevation. If you can get a FEMA Flood Panel Map back in the early 80's and submit this to FEMA who issues the flood insurance rates often times you can get a huge rate decrease.
Many of the local Realtors and insurance companies that sell in Punta Gorda are not aware of this and I would imagine there are many people in Punta Gorda and other areas of the state that are paying MUCH higher flood insurance rates than they should. If you call FEMA they most likely will not be aware of this or they often times don't give the correct information out. The only was to know is to pull the old maps. Here's an example of what I'm taking about:
Home "A" that is in Punta Gorda and is not grandfathered in with the new flood maps, the home was built in 1982 and is at an elevation of 7.2'. The flood insurance would be $6998. That's just for flood. If it was grandfathered in on the FEMA maps the flood would be $1024. The savings on this home per year for flood is $5974.
Home "B" that is in Punta Gorda and is not grandfathered in with the new flood maps, the home was built in 1979 and is at an elevation of 9.4 feet. The flood insurance would be $5387. Just for flood. If it was grandfathered in on the FEMA maps the flood would be $998. This difference on this home is $4389.
You can save a ton of money by having this information. Just thought I'd pass it along
I read this post and although well received I felt I need to respond.
As a Realtor that has been selling in Punta Gorda for years. Most if not all experienced Realtors in the area are familiar with FEMA Insurance Rate Maps, and the issues that arise when selling in a flood or hazzard zone.
Adrressing the "grandfathered in" issue. The industry term for this is pre-FIRM. The concept is that the house was built prior to the Fema Insurance Rate Map being developed for the area.
Here's a quote from the FEMA website
Pre-FIRM buildings are those built before the effective date of the first Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) for a community. This means they were built before detailed flood hazard data and flood elevations were provided to the community and usually before the community enacted comprehensive regulations on floodplain regulation. Pre-FIRM buildings can be insured using "subsidized" rates. These rates are designed to help people afford flood insurance even though their buildings were not built with flood protection in mind.
In most areas once the community has been given the FIRM data, the elevations become part of the building code. In Charlotte county and the City of Punta Gorda this is the case. This issue is not just in Punta Gorda but everywhere federal flood insurance is sold.
Areas are rated by FEMA for the effectiveness of their flood control measures as well as the support for midigating FEMA's risks through implementation in the building codes. A good rating provides all residents with reductions in the flood insurance rates. Local govenments have been rated highly and as a result everyone receives lower rates. Charlotte and Sarasote Countys have a community rating of 5 and receive a 25% rate reduction. Punta Gorda's and Venice have a rating of 6 and receive a 20% rate reduction.
It would be extremely difficult to obtain an accurate flood insurance quote without a recent elevation certificate. The elevation certificate will be supplied by the surveyor of the property. An elevation certificate that is more than a couple years old may not be honored by insurance companies. The best way to get an idea of the flood insurance rates prior to making an offer on a property anywhere, is to request that the seller provide a copy of their current policy.
Recently (early 2002-2004) FEMA has re-evaluated Charlotte county and revised the FIRM in the area. So it is possible to find homes built after the first FIRM data but before the current FIRM data that are built below current FIRM elevations.
Finally, I have never seen flood insurance quotes anywhere near the $5000 to $7000 in the Punta Gorda area. Rates like that are even high for property on a barrier island.
In the example of a house being built in 1982 at 7.2' there is an assumption that a house was built that would not have met the building codes at the time it was built. While the possibility exists it's not very likely.
I read this post and although well received I felt I need to respond.
As a Realtor that has been selling in Punta Gorda for years. Most if not all experienced Realtors in the area are familiar with FEMA Insurance Rate Maps, and the issues that arise when selling in a flood or hazzard zone.
Adrressing the "grandfathered in" issue. The industry term for this is pre-FIRM. The concept is that the house was built prior to the Fema Insurance Rate Map being developed for the area.
Here's a quote from the FEMA website
Pre-FIRM buildings are those built before the effective date of the first Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) for a community. This means they were built before detailed flood hazard data and flood elevations were provided to the community and usually before the community enacted comprehensive regulations on floodplain regulation. Pre-FIRM buildings can be insured using "subsidized" rates. These rates are designed to help people afford flood insurance even though their buildings were not built with flood protection in mind.
In most areas once the community has been given the FIRM data, the elevations become part of the building code. In Charlotte county and the City of Punta Gorda this is the case. This issue is not just in Punta Gorda but everywhere federal flood insurance is sold.
Areas are rated by FEMA for the effectiveness of their flood control measures as well as the support for midigating FEMA's risks through implementation in the building codes. A good rating provides all residents with reductions in the flood insurance rates. Local govenments have been rated highly and as a result everyone receives lower rates. Charlotte and Sarasote Countys have a community rating of 5 and receive a 25% rate reduction. Punta Gorda's and Venice have a rating of 6 and receive a 20% rate reduction.
It would be extremely difficult to obtain an accurate flood insurance quote without a recent elevation certificate. The elevation certificate will be supplied by the surveyor of the property. An elevation certificate that is more than a couple years old may not be honored by insurance companies. The best way to get an idea of the flood insurance rates prior to making an offer on a property anywhere, is to request that the seller provide a copy of their current policy.
Recently (early 2002-2004) FEMA has re-evaluated Charlotte county and revised the FIRM in the area. So it is possible to find homes built after the first FIRM data but before the current FIRM data that are built below current FIRM elevations.
Finally, I have never seen flood insurance quotes anywhere near the $5000 to $7000 in the Punta Gorda area. Rates like that are even high for property on a barrier island.
In the example of a house being built in 1982 at 7.2' there is an assumption that a house was built that would not have met the building codes at the time it was built. While the possibility exists it's not very likely.
Thanks for the back-ground information. We were looking to propose on a house and experienced a certification that was wrong; the garage slab was stated as being higher than the dwelling unit. That was physically not the case. So the elevation certificate was wrong. We provided it to the insurance company because we wanted an accurate quote that we could rely on. They told us that after checking - they could not find that the house was in the grandfathered area/zone. Thus we received more than one quote that was in the $8,000.00 - 10,000.00 per year range. We really pressed for the insurance agents that were familiar with the area to let us see the map, but did not prevail. That was too much for us to risk ((especially over time)) We agree that it could not be right, but that was what it was. We could not get the Owner to get a new certification done, so we went no further. We are going to be looking at other houses soon. We noted this because it is important for others to nail down what their exposure will be - especially if they have such an exposure. It should be a simple process, but we tried to get 5 quotes.
Buyers need to be able to verify what their cost exposures are.
As a buyer, I expect that I should receive from the sellers agent proper and accurate information. That was not done! The agent should have vetted the seller to see that they are serious, before they list a house for sale, and ensure that accurate information is available or can reasonably be provided to interested buyers. To me that should be considered mal-practice, of some sort, on the part of a licensed real estate practitioner. I'm not looking for any kind of recourse - not worth it, but it seems wrong. I went through a great expense to travel down there and do so much research and were approved to make a reasonable deal.
I can tell you my agent ((in a very professional manner)) put forth a great deal of effort to try to get this done as well.
I read this post and although well received I felt I need to respond.
As a Realtor that has been selling in Punta Gorda for years. Most if not all experienced Realtors in the area are familiar with FEMA Insurance Rate Maps, and the issues that arise when selling in a flood or hazzard zone.
Adrressing the "grandfathered in" issue. The industry term for this is pre-FIRM. The concept is that the house was built prior to the Fema Insurance Rate Map being developed for the area.
Here's a quote from the FEMA website
Pre-FIRM buildings are those built before the effective date of the first Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) for a community. This means they were built before detailed flood hazard data and flood elevations were provided to the community and usually before the community enacted comprehensive regulations on floodplain regulation. Pre-FIRM buildings can be insured using "subsidized" rates. These rates are designed to help people afford flood insurance even though their buildings were not built with flood protection in mind.
In most areas once the community has been given the FIRM data, the elevations become part of the building code. In Charlotte county and the City of Punta Gorda this is the case. This issue is not just in Punta Gorda but everywhere federal flood insurance is sold.
Areas are rated by FEMA for the effectiveness of their flood control measures as well as the support for midigating FEMA's risks through implementation in the building codes. A good rating provides all residents with reductions in the flood insurance rates. Local govenments have been rated highly and as a result everyone receives lower rates. Charlotte and Sarasote Countys have a community rating of 5 and receive a 25% rate reduction. Punta Gorda's and Venice have a rating of 6 and receive a 20% rate reduction.
It would be extremely difficult to obtain an accurate flood insurance quote without a recent elevation certificate. The elevation certificate will be supplied by the surveyor of the property. An elevation certificate that is more than a couple years old may not be honored by insurance companies. The best way to get an idea of the flood insurance rates prior to making an offer on a property anywhere, is to request that the seller provide a copy of their current policy.
Recently (early 2002-2004) FEMA has re-evaluated Charlotte county and revised the FIRM in the area. So it is possible to find homes built after the first FIRM data but before the current FIRM data that are built below current FIRM elevations.
Finally, I have never seen flood insurance quotes anywhere near the $5000 to $7000 in the Punta Gorda area. Rates like that are even high for property on a barrier island.
In the example of a house being built in 1982 at 7.2' there is an assumption that a house was built that would not have met the building codes at the time it was built. While the possibility exists it's not very likely.
Believe me I spent weeks on the flood insurance issue. Out of the five insurance agents I contacted one knew how to read the maps correctly, 4 out of the five were Punta Gorda insurance agents.
One of the Realtors I dealt with, quote, "wasn't an insurance agent and wasn't going to get involved in helping out." The other had no clue about the flood map issues. So that's why I wanted to point out that not everybody is aware of the FEMA flood maps and how they impact flood insurance. If you can point something out and help the next person out looking for flood insurance in Punta Gorda or elsewhere. Why not point it out? Right?
I never said that all of the Realtors or insurance agents in Punta Gorda very unprofessional. I did run into several that weren't as knowledgeable as they should be though. That's why I felt the need to point it out.
I have several quotes for property in Punta Gorda that the flood insurance is $5K-$8K per year. This information came straight from FEMA and several Punta Gorda insurnace agents-some of the information that was given out was correct and some wasn't.
If SoFLGal or anybody could answer me that would be great!!! I'm wanting to buy a lot so I can build my retirement home in about 15yrs. I found a home lot in Rotonda West and was wondering how this area is? The actual area is around apollo dr/ boxwood lane
I read this post and although well received I felt I need to respond.
As a Realtor that has been selling in Punta Gorda for years. Most if not all experienced Realtors in the area are familiar with FEMA Insurance Rate Maps, and the issues that arise when selling in a flood or hazzard zone.
Adrressing the "grandfathered in" issue. The industry term for this is pre-FIRM. The concept is that the house was built prior to the Fema Insurance Rate Map being developed for the area.
Here's a quote from the FEMA website
Pre-FIRM buildings are those built before the effective date of the first Flood Insurance Rate Map (FIRM) for a community. This means they were built before detailed flood hazard data and flood elevations were provided to the community and usually before the community enacted comprehensive regulations on floodplain regulation. Pre-FIRM buildings can be insured using "subsidized" rates. These rates are designed to help people afford flood insurance even though their buildings were not built with flood protection in mind.
In most areas once the community has been given the FIRM data, the elevations become part of the building code. In Charlotte county and the City of Punta Gorda this is the case. This issue is not just in Punta Gorda but everywhere federal flood insurance is sold.
Areas are rated by FEMA for the effectiveness of their flood control measures as well as the support for midigating FEMA's risks through implementation in the building codes. A good rating provides all residents with reductions in the flood insurance rates. Local govenments have been rated highly and as a result everyone receives lower rates. Charlotte and Sarasote Countys have a community rating of 5 and receive a 25% rate reduction. Punta Gorda's and Venice have a rating of 6 and receive a 20% rate reduction.
It would be extremely difficult to obtain an accurate flood insurance quote without a recent elevation certificate. The elevation certificate will be supplied by the surveyor of the property. An elevation certificate that is more than a couple years old may not be honored by insurance companies. The best way to get an idea of the flood insurance rates prior to making an offer on a property anywhere, is to request that the seller provide a copy of their current policy.
Recently (early 2002-2004) FEMA has re-evaluated Charlotte county and revised the FIRM in the area. So it is possible to find homes built after the first FIRM data but before the current FIRM data that are built below current FIRM elevations.
Finally, I have never seen flood insurance quotes anywhere near the $5000 to $7000 in the Punta Gorda area. Rates like that are even high for property on a barrier island.
In the example of a house being built in 1982 at 7.2' there is an assumption that a house was built that would not have met the building codes at the time it was built. While the possibility exists it's not very likely.
As a follow up, I am in the construction business. I build large multi-family housing communities in MD, and am apart of large development teams. I am familiar with putting together proformas for development deals. I know you have to understand all your costs, and make sure the information you are going to rely on is accurate, and read what you are provided, not just accept it with an explanation and trust it is correct - Before you submit a Contract - that you will be bound to. In this case, I refused to offer a contract until I had received all the proper and accurate facts that I deserve and demand including but not limited to a proper and accurate elevation certificate (not some piece of crap that contained obvious errors) and corresponding insurance quotes that are based on accurate verified information (and not on wrong information) that in the event of an actual flood (god forbid) the insurance company won't honor, because the information provided to them for the basis of the quote/contract was incorrect, and they won't be held responsible for that.
I pressed my real estate agent to help me get the public information, and other information that I am entitled to in order to make a fair deal. I will not make a deal where I will get hammered later because I did not do my own due diligence and get all the facts I need. Buyers and Seller have to sign liability/risk transfer clauses (that all real estate agents make us sign) that will let the real estate agents off "scott free" if for any reason there is a problem.
Sorry, but if real estate agents are going to walk away, then I'm going to make sure I get everything right before I make the deal! Everyone should.
I STRONGLY ADVISE EVERYONE TO GET THE INFORMATION RIGHT - AND IF ALL AGENTS DON'T ACT PROPERLY BY PROVIDING ACCURATE INFORMATION - DUE THE BUYER WHEN REQUESTED - THEN THEY SHOULD BE REPORTED TO THE BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU, AND THE STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL.
The other real estate agent should have ensured that the information they provided to me was accurate - it wasn't, and they should have ensured that their seller was required to provide ensure that information they put forth to a buyer was accurate - it wasn't. THAT IS WRONG!
I am angry because I traveled down there, and spent a lot of time and expense looking at this property that was not represented properly by someone.
Below is advice directly from the FEMA source you linked above:
"Protect Your Property
Everyone faces the risk of natural disaster and no plan to protect property can be complete without insurance coverage against potential damage and loss. It is important to know exactly what coverage you may need and what coverage is available to protect your property against all of the natural hazards it may be exposed to so that you are not underinsured or not insured at all. Check with your insurance company or local insurance agent.
FEMA strongly encourages property owners and renters to fully explore their insurance needs and obtain adequate coverage before a disaster strikes."
I am sure, you would agree - that buyers need to get proper and accurate information so they don't get screwed - Right!?! I am sure that you would want to do everything you could do to get that for your clients - Right?!?
I am sure that is how you would advise your clients and others on this board - Right?!? After all you and all real estate agents want to ensure that your industry represents everyone ethically right? I understand, that certain information is withheld and confidential, but the information I demand is not confidential - it is available for those that require it.
I would like to note that I have not named any names - I described accurately what my experience was and I hope it helps others to make a good deal.
I would like to add, that my agent, did a very professional job for me, and helped me avoid making a potentially poor real estate transaction. She should be applauded for her efforts to get good information to her client. She is a great representative of your industry, as I can tell you are, because of your helpful posts.
My venting - is intented to be directed at this issue, and not at you FlBob. Although my conversation/discussion here is with you, it is not directed at you. That is hard to express when things are put in writing. I am not trying to slam any real estate agency (I did not name one). I think most agencies want to do a professional job - in my particular case - the ball was dropped though. Underscoring the importants for pointing this out - so others don't walk into a problem. I'm sure you agree.
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Punta Gorda- YES!
