Suprise! (house, neighborhood, buy)

[Foxrivman1]

What would change this cost for you, an installation of a hip roof, hurricane shutters, different windows, just wondering if this is all due to living in the designated high wind areas of Florida?

[Skunk Workz]

Originally Posted by Randy Forbes

We've limited our search to 2007 build date and newer, fueled by hurricane construction standards, and their more favorable insurance rates. Also, it certainly doesn't hurt to have the newest in safety (windows, etc.) and energy efficiency.

I wish we had bought much newer.

Insurance alone will be more than 40% of our monthly payment now (leaving taxes out). Add the cost of electric bills due to the extreme inefficiency of an older house, and the constant upkeep, and we could easily pay for more than twice the house we currently have.

One thing that you can pretty much count on in FL is that another hurricane will eventually hit some part of the state, building codes will be revised, and the insurance companies will cry poverty and get more rate hikes.

[coastal chic]

I'm so sorry your rates are so high. I really truly love the older historic homes and have always wanted one, but based on what you're saying, I will have to reconsider.

[Foxrivman1]

Originally Posted by Skunk Workz

I wish we had bought much newer.

Insurance alone will be more than 40% of our monthly payment now (leaving taxes out). Add the cost of electric bills due to the extreme inefficiency of an older house, and the constant upkeep, and we could easily pay for more than twice the house we currently have.

One thing that you can pretty much count on in FL is that another hurricane will eventually hit some part of the state, building codes will be revised, and the insurance companies will cry poverty and get more rate hikes.

Skunk Workz, I know this might sound stupid, but here goes, if you are paying $5600/year for insurance, not sure how big your home is, but you might be able to put a new hip roof on, and maybe make a couple of changes to it to meet hurricane standards, and who knows maybe even write off the improvements on your taxes. Then get hurricane certification tests and save the extra cash you are now paying the insurance company?? I know, this kind of stuff takes money, but in 3-5 years it might pay for itself?? What do you think?

[stuck-in-mn]

Originally Posted by Skunk Workz

I wish we had bought much newer.

Insurance alone will be more than 40% of our monthly payment now (leaving taxes out). Add the cost of electric bills due to the extreme inefficiency of an older house, and the constant upkeep, and we could easily pay for more than twice the house we currently have.

One thing that you can pretty much count on in FL is that another hurricane will eventually hit some part of the state, building codes will be revised, and the insurance companies will cry poverty and get more rate hikes.

Yikes! All of this scares me about moving down there. What is the oldest home you can buy and still get reasonable insurance? I hope things work out for you. You would think with all of the forclosures, the goverment would step up to the plate. Sounds to me they are bailing out the wrong people.

[Skunk Workz]

Originally Posted by Foxrivman1

What would change this cost for you, an installation of a hip roof, hurricane shutters, different windows, just wondering if this is all due to living in the designated high wind areas of Florida?

We already have a hip roof, and supposedly have a 49% adjustment on the wind premium portion of the policy, but they don't provide a line item breakdown so I don't know what portion of the cost that is.

I think to get any more discounts we'd have to bring several major systems up to current code, and I don't think we'd ever recoup the cost of any of that, even in insurance savings.

I know that our roof isn't tied to the foundation, or even the walls. It's not a truss system either so I'm pretty sure that counts against us. Being wood frame is a negative, as well as the way the roof sheathing is attached to the rafters.

[Skunk Workz]

Originally Posted by stuck-in-mn

Yikes! All of this scares me about moving down there. What is the oldest home you can buy and still get reasonable insurance? I hope things work out for you. You would think with all of the forclosures, the goverment would step up to the plate. Sounds to me they are bailing out the wrong people.

It shouldn't scare you about moving down here. Just keep the "hidden" cost of older homes, and homes closer to the coast, in mind when you are shopping.

If you really have to have an older home, or live on the water, you just have to build it into your budget.

[Skunk Workz]

Originally Posted by Foxrivman1

Skunk Workz, I know this might sound stupid, but here goes, if you are paying $5600/year for insurance, not sure how big your home is, but you might be able to put a new hip roof on, and maybe make a couple of changes to it to meet hurricane standards, and who knows maybe even write off the improvements on your taxes. Then get hurricane certification tests and save the extra cash you are now paying the insurance company?? I know, this kind of stuff takes money, but in 3-5 years it might pay for itself?? What do you think?

Long term it may be the only solution to get out of it. I'll have to look at the cost to make the changes, vs the insurance savings, vs the resale value.

[gypsychic]

Originally Posted by Skunk Workz

It shouldn't scare you about moving down here. Just keep the "hidden" cost of older homes, and homes closer to the coast, in mind when you are shopping.

If you really have to have an older home, or live on the water, you just have to build it into your budget.

Totally agree. Even with our high insurance costs, the cost of living for us is pretty reasonable. Our taxes have lowered every year since we purchased (2008), and factored in with our very low mortgage payment, it works out OK for us, and we love our little home and neighborhood - I could never afford a new home in this location, and ours is very well-built.

The thing to remember is that the really old homes, especially frame will ALWAYS command huge insurance premiums here, and if you are near the coast heaven help you. But for those who really want that and can afford it, there is money to be saved in other ways, it's the price to pay for living in a coastal area.

[Skunk Workz]

Something I really should point out with this:

While this policy and the numbers are very real, and I'm still in shock after getting it yesterday, it will only be in place for about 20 - 30 days at the most. It doesn't renew until July 11th, and we are leaving FL the last week of July or first week of August.

The reason that I was talking to the insurance company last week is that we are going to be rewriting the policy into a rental policy when we leave.

I still don't know what to think, since my agent said that the dwelling and liability would go up, but contents coverage would go down, and the new policy should be a little bit less than the current one. Of course she failed to mention that the renewal on the existing policy was going up so much, but she may not have known.

I also have a $1000 / 2% deductible on the current policy, and I'll probably change that to a higher amount if I can, but I don't know how much it will help.