[RAINBOWWAVES]

The goal was to not have to buy someone elses house but to have a brand new one built and that was accomplished by moving here. But now it would be impossible...we wouldn't get enough for this house to be able to buy a lot and build anywhere in the USA except a ghetto area. We also came here for warmth, to get away from freezing cold and snow.

[sami]

I am the opposite of wanting a new home, at least with an older house and one or two good!! inspections, I know what I am getting, roses and warts and all. There are great new houses out there but I feel sorry for people have no idea that they are not as good as they look. I hope you CAN get that new house....but if you can't, try and enjoy your older house. Many people do adapt, especially if they can personalize the home their way, Heck, being both a realist and easy to please can be a blessing! LOL

Oops, you already have the new house.......maybe others can use the "advice"........

[RAINBOWWAVES]

LOL...yes i do. We lived in a complex while the house was being built and it was just 3 mins away so we went every single day to watch as my father-in-law was a builder and my husband knew alot. We even videotaped every step of the building so we know every single nook and cranny of our house. We are happy knowing no one but us ever used anything in this house. I love new....plus i was able to pick and choose rugs and tile and tubs and sinks and cabinets and everything. All the appliances came with the house as well which was a huge bonus.

[Tjam]

Originally Posted by tjamiga

Jammie, I believe is was certain counties and areas. My insurance informed me that in December last year thay had a 17% increase in my area without informing me then when my renewal was due in July the increase was around 79% and included the increase in December on my premium...

Are the insurance increases the same for block and steel houses as for wood frame???
Do ppl continue to build wood frame houses in Florida? (The frame looks like a bunch of match sticks put togather). No wonder the insurance is so high.
I've never heard of a hurricane blowing away a block and steel house.

[sami]

Originally Posted by Tjam

Are the insurance increases the same for block and steel houses as for wood frame???

I lived in Puerto Rico for over 13 years.....and they have plenty of hurricanes. Through personal experience, cement houses almost always perform better than wood houses. A correctly built solid cement block house should take the hit with NO problem, though you could lose windows, roof, etc. Poorly built cement houses--with too much sand in the concrete mix will compromise the integraty of the structure. Also well built wood houses with plenty of anchoring have a good chance of surviving hurricanes. If you have a choice, go with cement. I am not sure about insurance, though hurricane protection such as window panels or shutters help lower the costs slightly.

Originally Posted by bamboosmom

If this keeps going on, nobody will be able to afford the insurance.

One thing I picked up on fast: houses are either in good shape or not for insurance purposes, and this is not always based on reality. One house may be cement block and the house next door may be wood. USUALLY the cement block will perform better often much better yet the insurance may be similar. If a hurricane comes..........the damage will probably be much greater in the wood house, especially without the proper clamping. Both may lose roofs, windows, sheet rock, whatever, but as long as the cement block house is not too near the beach, the basic outside walls should hold up.....and that makes damage elsewhere (like the roof) at least a little less likely. Hurricane panels, shutters, or even wood panels are not used by everyone. Some people do not realize the damage a bad hurricane can do..... When the BIG ONE does hit your area, the better built better protected houses will eventually pay higher house insurance BECAUSE the insurance companies had to pay out big time on the other houses. Nothing is guaranteed in life, and not everyone can buy or protect a house properly but your neighbors' damage affects YOUR homeowners' insurance. Hey, that's life.......

[choyak]

Originally Posted by sami

Forget a comparison with Southern California.....Florida is a giveaway. ......LOL

Umm?? giveaway? Perhaps only considering the present house prices here. My homeowners insurance is $530 for this year, in Cali, we have to buy another policy to cover for earthquake damage, however. The property tax is huge in Florida also. I do not have earthquake insurance, since my one story toothpick house should escape without catastrophic damage. The toothpicks are bolted to the cement slab!!

[Tjam]

It might be time for Fl state to mandate building homes only with concrete block & steel. Then following a hurricane the'd only be fixing damage instead of picking up demolished homes. Not to mention the thousands of people who will need temporary shelter, financial aid, etc.
I have a house in Jamaica my parents aquired in the "70's and it has seem many hurricanes. The house is of cement block with steel rods standing inside the cement blocks from the floor to the roof. The roof is also cement and most of the windows are wood venetian blinds, as good as storm shutters. Cement blook is standard construction for homes in Jamaica (excluding very low income structures and shanties put up by those who can't afford regular housing). Following a hurricane the only thing we needed to do is clean up the yard and replant trees. Way to go imo.

[pslOldTimer]

Originally Posted by Tjam

It might be time for Fl state to mandate building homes only with concrete block & steel. Then following a hurricane the'd only be fixing damage instead of picking up demolished homes. Not to mention the thousands of people who will need temporary shelter, financial aid, etc.

Sorry, I totally disagree. First of all, very few houses in Florida have ever been totally destroyed by a hurricane. Other than older generation mobile homes, the only houses I can recall that were totally destroyed in the modern era were those in Homestead during Hurricane Andrew in, I thinm 1992. But, recall that Hurricane Andres had gusts to 200 mph and spawned tornadoes which actually destroyed the houses. Here's the capper -- it knocked down as many concrete block houses as it did wood frame.

A couple of other points; wood frame houses actually tend to flex in the face of wind forces and often are more resistant to the storm than concrete block, which tends to resist until it fails, and then it fails all at once. Second, most of the damage to houses in Florida is to roofs, not to walls. Since almost all houses have wood trusses, there is no difference in a storm.

Almost all of the damage in the 6 hurricanes that have hit the state in the
last two years has been to shingles. In some cases once the shingles have been removed the roof leaked, the drywall ceilings inside became sodden and collapsed, and mold made the houses unlivable. This would happen regardless of whether the houses were wood or concrete. There is a distinct trend among those who could afford it to go to metal roofs, which will help. But, in truth, all of the roofs in good condition escaped without damage.

I live in Port St. Lucie, where we took direct hits from Frances and Jean in 2004 and had some of the strongest winds from Wilma in 2005. I can't recall even any windows broken. A few garage doors blew in, a lot of trees blew down, and almost every roof over 5 years old suffered damage. But, that's it -- nothing remotely close to the devastation you have pictured.

[Racelady88]

Well put pslOldtimer. I was 10 miles from where Charley made landfall. I saw all too well the damage to the strip malls (all concrete) and the houses both wood frame and concrete block alike. Once the roof/windows go and the wind and water get in the damage comes.

Most of the homes in my old neighborhood were wood frame. The most damage in my area came from falling/uprooted trees and flying patio furniture hitting windows that had not been covered, and in one case someone had a sprayed on roof that came off in its entirety. I can not imagine sitting in my house and having the whole of my roof leave in one motion, but the people were sitting on the couch when it happened and everything in their home was ruined by the rain.

My 1964 built wood frame house survived Charley, Frances, and Jeanne in 2004 and Wilma in 2005. I replaced the tabs on 6 shingles and one downspout. The people next door did not bother to drop their shutters as Charley approached and the wind ripped them right off of the house. They had to replace all of their siding and several windows, plus many items in their home were ruined. If they had taken 5-10 minutes to drop their awning shutters they could have saved themselves a lot of heartache. Sometimes the damage is simply a matter of an ouce of prevention.....

[lulu]

Ohh...I remember Andrew so vividly, what a horrifying night! We had a brand new roof at the time and I'd hear sounds like bombs going off on top of the house & it was the clay tiles popping off - it was the scariest moment of my life. I drove thru the devastation to Homestead the next morning and literally cried when I saw the homes that ended up like matchsticks & people wandering lost & aimlessly as they had just become homeless. What a horror...there's got to be a law set against these developers that are out for a quick buck.
We need cement roofs like my ma's 1920's old home had & is still there in it's full glory, & what's this norm of having wood trusses under the decorative tiles/or shingles...? & w/termites nonetheless that feast on it...I don't get any of this. I know wood is cheaper but w/expensive prices nowadays what's a few more thousand dollars when buying a home that will offer a bit safety? No developer should be allowed nowadays to put cheapo roofs, that simply fly away and then one gets the domino effect after that. I think construction got too lax around here. The little known historical Fl fact that we are in the Hurricane belt was simply forgotten/taken for granted as time went on - like, "naahhh, it won't happen again."