North Ft Myers - Canal Home (Punta Gorda, Pine Island: insurance, big house, buy) - Fort Myers - Cape Coral area - Florida (FL) -Lee County - City-Data Forum

sunnygirl694 · 08-08-2009, 06:35 PM

I live in Georgia, but am considering a home in North Ft Myers. It is just south of Pine Island Road, east of Hwy 41. It is on a beautiful clean intersecting canal that leads to the Caloosahatchee River access to the Gulf. I know that it is in the flood zone, but have been unable to determine if it has 'frequent' floods or if it is mainly if / when hurricanes & tropical storms hit. Is anyone familiar with that area? The home is listed as Blue Water Shores, one mile north of Moody Estates.

Thanks for any info.

FYI - I have looked at the Fema flood maps, but I still couldn't quite figure out the frequency - only that it is a hazard.

sunnygirl694 · 08-08-2009, 06:59 PM

Correction - the canal home is just south of Pondella Road, not Pine Island Rd.

Close to Pondella and Moody Rd.

elliswyatt · 08-09-2009, 01:16 PM

We have a house on a canal in N. Ft. Myers too, incedentally....

The only time it would really flood is during the storm surge of a hurricane, I think. The storm surge is greatest on the right side of a hurricane, so it depends on the 'angle of attack' of the hurricane too, as well as if it's high tide when the storm hits. During Charley we had about 2 feet higher water, but it didn't get over the seawall even then (although it was a fast-moving storm and wasn't a direct hit).

Historically speaking, Ft. Myers is in a safer spot than many in Florida/elsewhere for direct hurricane hits.

I wouldn't buy a wood-frame house on a canal. Some insurance companies won't even touch it, and others can charge an arm and a leg. Hope this helps.

sunnygirl694 · 08-09-2009, 03:42 PM

Thanks that helps a lot. The home I am looking at is a concrete block home. The concrete sea wall is a good bit higher than the canal level (at least while I was there looking at it.) It is about 10 minutes by boat to the River, so I was thinking it probably wouldn't get the 'worst' of the flooding, but have no real experience with that.

Thanks again for your response. I think I will be making a trip back down to be sure it wasn't just a dream!

hiknapster · 08-09-2009, 07:26 PM

You will want to contact a local insurance agent for a quote.

Big House · 08-10-2009, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunnygirl694

Correction - the canal home is just south of Pondella Road, not Pine Island Rd.

Close to Pondella and Moody Rd.

Sunnygirl,
Welcome to the board.
I recently bought a canal front home in Punta Gorda Isles. You should definitely check there if you want gulf access. All the homes are beautiful, and the city maintains the concrete sea walls, it has public water and sewer as well.

I wrote a journal when I first started looking for a home like that myself.
If you read the whole thing you will learn a lot and save a lot of time and money.

Good Luck! ! - i hope this helps you!
//www.city-data.com/forum/showthread.php?p=6307260

sunnygirl694 · 08-10-2009, 07:36 PM

Thank you so much for the kindness. I truly appreciate the link and will definitely give it a good read.

mrcoolmrcool28 · 08-11-2009, 06:40 AM

Yep, Big house is a super nice guy and full of great info, so read the post, it helped us with looking at properties in Florida!! Mr.Cool

Big House · 08-13-2009, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrcoolmrcool28

Yep, Big house is a super nice guy and full of great info, so read the post, it helped us with looking at properties in Florida!! Mr.Cool

Thanks for the prop! Mr. Cool - Sorry I'm gonna miss u guys when you come down over Thanksgiving!

Big House · 08-13-2009, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sunnygirl694

Thanks that helps a lot. The home I am looking at is a concrete block home. The concrete sea wall is a good bit higher than the canal level (at least while I was there looking at it.) It is about 10 minutes by boat to the River, so I was thinking it probably wouldn't get the 'worst' of the flooding, but have no real experience with that.

Thanks again for your response. I think I will be making a trip back down to be sure it wasn't just a dream!

Sunnygirl,
If you read my thread, you will see a lot of valuable advice on getting insurance quotes, and elevation certificates prior to submitting a contract offer. Hiknapster made a good point, the thread I wrote goes into why in more detail. Good Luck!