Sold my house and moved to SW Florida

[Wisefam22]

Hi @PortTobacco II great to see you've ended up in a lovely small town but then again, I'm biased .
If your on a canal, are you in PGI? I know the prices there are higher compared to surrounding areas but IMO worth it, it's deed restricted and very safe and welcoming.
My home is on 9ft elevation and I have no real concerns, even when Irma hit, the water was only at sea wall height. All these climate activists ball ache about sea levels but then they always seem to buy waterfront property .
Unfortunately with all this Kung flu, and as I'm a British national the President has enforced a proclamation, banning me traveling to the US (so much for all the people saying he hasn't done anything) and not even sure if it will be lifted till next summer or whenever? So my poor boat is sitting on it's lift, with it's shift cables slowly seizing .
Anyhow, enjoy the area, and I'm sure when all this shit storm is over, you will able to really appreciate your new home town.

If you need someone to baby sit your home and boat just let me know ill gladly help out

 

[Britboater]

If you need someone to baby sit your home and boat just let me know ill gladly help out

Knew I would get an offer

 

[Britboater]

@Britboater yeah the way I look at it is...if you live next to the water, you just might get wet. Take the good with the bad. And that is what insurance is for I guess.

Yesterday this stupid tropical storm Eta decided to come back in our direction. My wife and I decided to drive past the house we are buying to see how the house/lot & street was handling the storm. Looked like it did OK. But we tried to go to that Irish place (Celtic Ray) for lunch and Nesbit street was underwater so we could not get into the parking lot in back. The historic or least older section (W. Marion, Olympian) had some considerable flooding.

Let me know if want be stop at your place spray your cables or anything. I am here full time.

Some friends of ours mentioned the flooding but thankfully that was from rain and not surge.

Monday night is trivia night at the Ice house, a weekly event for our gang and good fun too, John and Christine are very good landlords. We often go to Laishleys Crab house in the boat, the Gator gill up Peace River is ok, used to be a must when the resident singer, Jim Morris was alive but new owners have not kept the atmosphere.
Try Cabbage Key for good burgers and a nice run in the boat, Pink Flamingo (Bokeelia Island) and Barnicle Phils (North Captiva) good too.

I have thought of asking someone to give the boat a run but its all tied up for the hurricane season and power to the lift isolated. The shift cables corrode inside, I've changed one so I know the other will need replacing but more worrying is the steering was heavier on my last visit in February .

 

[boatman1975]

Sorry about your loss. It`s a new chapter in your life and yeah just give you and your life some time.

 

[poidog]

We finally got a contract on canal home in Punta Gorda. Decent house but needs a bunch of work. Real SELLERS market. The seller bought the house last December and I am paying THEM $165,000 more then they pay 12 months ago. They did put some money into the house...maybe $40,000. They did install a brand new boat lift two months ago...so good for me I suppose. I ended up bidding $5k over the asking price and got the house. There were at least 3 other buyers waiting behind me. We close in early December. The house is in a good location: 10 minutes no wake zone to big water, a short walk to a dog park, a walk to bars & restaurants.

I am learning a lot about this area of SW Florida and building/home improvements. You have to be real careful about the elevation of homes. I paid $250 to have an Elevation Certificate to be created by a local surveyor. My house is right at 9 foot elevation which not great but good enough for my area/street. Anything under that makes Flood Insurance very expensive. Local governments also might NOT give a permit for home improvements if the house is below the desired elevation. I guess they don't want folks improving (investing in) homes that sit below the designation elevation (for my area its 9 foot).

I’m in SE Florida and my house sits at 8’, 7’ at grade. We’re between AH and X zones and our flood insurance is only $500 a year for max coverage.

This was the flood water that comes up to our driveway after all this rain we’ve had. Just a normal day in FL!

 

[Dean P]

I’m in SE Florida and my house sits at 8’, 7’ at grade. We’re between AH and X zones and our flood insurance is only $500 a year for max coverage.

This was the flood water that comes up to our driveway after all this rain we’ve had. Just a normal day in FL!
View attachment 137263

There's an area close by called Shore Acres. They too get flooded with heavy rain. Eta (last week) flooded some homes with up to 12" of water. That sucks! You'd think the city would help homeowners from flooding. Sounds like poor planning to me.

 

[PortTobacco II]

@poidog that looks some fun. My flood insurance ended up being $1230. Once I get in the house maybe I make sure I am not over insured

 

[poidog]

@poidog that looks some fun. My flood insurance ended up being $1230. Once I get in the house maybe I make sure I am not over insured
View attachment 137296

Whoa!!!!!! You need to shop that around. We have the same coverage limits 250k/100k with a $1250 deductible and our yearly is $613 (just got the renewal).

 

[PortTobacco II]

Whoa!!!!!! You need to shop that around. We have the same coverage limits 250k/100k with a $1250 deductible and our yearly is $613 (just got the renewal).

The details of my Elevation Certificate might also be driving some of the premium calculations. Like the insurance folks seemed to be concerned that the attached 2 car garage was below the 9' foot mark and the garage door didn't have the flood vents installed. The garage info is detailed on the EC.