Florida living

[FLSUnFIRE]

One guess is that there is more newer construction on the west side. I noticed some of the older houses with pools in SWFL did not have screens.

I almost suggested that too but it seems the entire state is booming right now as everyone moves to this horrible place we call Florida!

 

[aaronc879]

Hurricanes: Can't control the weather but then you better stay 200 miles inland along the entire Gulf and East Coast to be "safe." Risk can be mitigated with construction and awareness of geography.

Pretty sure that's not even possible since the state isn't 400 miles across below the panhandle.

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

Pretty sure that's not even possible since the state isn't 400 miles across below the panhandle.

We were comparing FL to elsewhere... While FL is objectively the best of the Gulf and East Coast, many other states are exposed and regularly suffer casualties!

 

[finnski1]

I almost suggested that too but it seems the entire state is booming right now as everyone moves to this horrible place we call Florida!

Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded.

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

One benefit of FL IMO that would make me very hesitant to leave is the options on the ACA Marketplace. I am very happy with my plan and there are many to choose from. From what I read here, many states are not nearly as good or downright bad.

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded.

I just came across a photo of Yogi Berra at Al Lang Field in St Pete this morning!

 

[finnski1]

I just came across a photo of Yogi Berra at Al Lang Field in St Pete this morning!

I must be psychic.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

So if Florida has bugs, lizards, snakes, crowds/traffic, hurricanes, heat, humidity, high cost of flood insurance, and high cost to heat a pool - why are so many people moving there? Certainly decent winter weather and no state income tax can’t be enough to draw people to Florida.

We really hate it here; we are masochists and take part in self-flagellation on daily bases. Except for those 3 lovely months in the spring.

Just kidding, Florida does have its good points, especially in some of the more civilized counties.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I assume pool cages are those containers that encapsulate almost every family pool in central and south Florida. I don't know what those cages are holding back, but it doesn't seem to be something that someone would want to live around.

What kind of critters are there that someone would totally enclose their back yards to avoid?

Florida Men & Women.

 

[Aerides]

One thing I’ve noticed looking at real estate listings is that virtually all the pools in SW FL seem to be caged, while many in SE FL are not. Is there that big of a difference in the bug situation, or what is the reason for this?

Because SE FL had Hurricane Wilma in 2004, which, only a cat1 but it destroyed a lot of cages (which, btw, having lived here since 1982 I never heard that term until this forum, was always a "screened-in-pool" to us).

Around that time, insurers changed to require an add on or something, and no longer include it by default. And I think the only paid if you replaced/repaired, you can't just take the money and tear it down.
Also, code changes require a deep perimeter of concrete, not just at the posts, making it far more expensive to add new. + impacts your square footage if you want to maximize your pool space due to offset code requirements.

We added a pool in 2020, didn't "cage" it. I did have to take out our massive bamboo last year as was a constant shedder, but other than that I maintain our pool with no issues. If you travel a lot you get a pool maintenance person and they come by weekly.

Bugs are a thing, mosquitoes, etc., but some people don't get eaten as much as others. I often spend evenings outside, and a little bug spray works well.

 

[TappyGee]

One thing I’ve noticed looking at real estate listings is that virtually all the pools in SW FL seem to be caged, while many in SE FL are not. Is there that big of a difference in the bug situation, or what is the reason for this?

I from SE Florida (60 years). Frances, Jean & Wilma in 2004 and 2005 took out many of the pool cages. After those back-to-back hurricanes insurance companies now exclude them from coverage plus the price of them went through the roof. Many of my friends never replaced theirs after those storms, aging, etc.

 

[cj1717]

That premium increase for flood insurance sounds like a change in flood plain rating.

Yep, and yet his home has NEVER flooded since being built.

 

[pb4uski]

Yep, and yet his home has NEVER flooded since being built.

But premiums are based on the claim experience and risk of similarly situated properties, not his property... so perhaps he has been lucky or perhaps the insurer is misjudging the risk.

How lucky does he feel?

Unless he has a mortgage he could always self-insure.

 

[Scuba]

But premiums are based on the claim experience and risk of similarly situated properties, not his property... so perhaps he has been lucky or perhaps the insurer is misjudging the risk.

How lucky does he feel?

Unless he has a mortgage he could always self-insure.

I have seen a lot of people on other social media forums recommend self-insuring. I get that premiums are expensive, but it seems very risky to me to self-insure. Not only could a hurricane wipe out a home, but also a fire, tornado, etc.

Thoughts, anyone living in FL?

 

[Scuba]

I from SE Florida (60 years). Frances, Jean & Wilma in 2004 and 2005 took out many of the pool cages. After those back-to-back hurricanes insurance companies now exclude them from coverage plus the price of them went through the roof. Many of my friends never replaced theirs after those storms, aging, etc.

Thanks for this explanation. I guess I can understand that, but on the other hand, if I had a pool in South FL, I think I’d enjoy it a lot at night. The idea of having flying palmetto bugs, mosquitoes and noseeums enjoying my pool area with me is not appealing. Aren’t bugs a big issue without a cage?

 

[Lewis Clark]

I have seen a lot of people on other social media forums recommend self-insuring. I get that premiums are expensive, but it seems very risky to me to self-insure. Not only could a hurricane wipe out a home, but also a fire, tornado, etc.

Thoughts, anyone living in FL?

To me, the purpose of insurance is to protect the policyholder in the event of a loss that the policyholder can't afford. How much risk it is worth shouldering on our own? That's for each person to decide.

 

[FLSUnFIRE]

I have seen a lot of people on other social media forums recommend self-insuring. I get that premiums are expensive, but it seems very risky to me to self-insure. Not only could a hurricane wipe out a home, but also a fire, tornado, etc.

Thoughts, anyone living in FL?

I thought about and wanted to self-insure my first home in FL (value was in the land, even moreso for the current owner) but could not buy liability insurance without hazard insurances. Loss of structure is a limited loss but someone tripping in my front yard and suing me could be catastrophic.



I was paying 2-3% of the market value of that home every year for insurance and any rebuild I would have taken a mortgage anyway and built bigger and better. Had I stayed, I was considering moving my house to an S corp or LLC and trying to rent from myself so I could get liability only. Not sure if that would have worked but it's a moot point for me now.

 

[wallygator69]

I have seen a lot of people on other social media forums recommend self-insuring. I get that premiums are expensive, but it seems very risky to me to self-insure. Not only could a hurricane wipe out a home, but also a fire, tornado, etc.

Thoughts, anyone living in FL?

Backround skip to Insurance if you want:



My mom lives in Northport. Her double wide was hurricane rated to 130mph. Durin IAN last year house was fine except the ridge vent let in tons of water. Ruined her ceilings and walls in half the house. They had to practically gut half of it. Had mold mitigation done and put back together. I found contractors for 3/4 of work but the screwed us on the prices. I did a lot of the finish work because she couldn't find anyone for small jobs.


Insurance


She was with same Insurance company for 15 years paying $3000ish a year for $115k in coverage. She has spent over $50k so far and still has another $10k to go. Her Insurance company offered her $30k. We hired a lawyer. Ins. came back with another $5k that's it end of discussions. Kicker is FEMA paid all her friends with significant damage and no Insurance $37k Within one week of the hurricane. yes, $37k!



Her Ins premium was going up this month to almost $5000...



She is self insuring for Hurricane and Flood now but has coverage for everything else for less than $1000.....


Anyway, If you like humidity heat Florida isn't bad other than August. It's the rainy season and it is unbearable. We have been there almost every month....We are in SC and there is not a lot of difference in the summer than FL other than they have 2.5-3 months more of summer and August sucks..


Good Luck!


Wally

 

[pb4uski]

I have seen a lot of people on other social media forums recommend self-insuring. I get that premiums are expensive, but it seems very risky to me to self-insure. Not only could a hurricane wipe out a home, but also a fire, tornado, etc.

Thoughts, anyone living in FL?

To be clear, I was being facetious, not recommending self insuring.

 

[simple girl]

Thanks for this explanation. I guess I can understand that, but on the other hand, if I had a pool in South FL, I think I’d enjoy it a lot at night. The idea of having flying palmetto bugs, mosquitoes and noseeums enjoying my pool area with me is not appealing. Aren’t bugs a big issue without a cage?

No way would I sit outside at night for long without a screened in area (unless the area had been recently treated for mosquitos or is in paved areas which seems to also limit them - aka downtown areas are ok here to sit out for dinner). I am a mosquito magnet and once it gets to dusk around here, especially from late May on, they are terrible.

 

[Dtail]

Not one house in our complex who has a pool doesn't have a cage surrounding it.

 

[Aerides]

Thanks for this explanation. I guess I can understand that, but on the other hand, if I had a pool in South FL, I think I’d enjoy it a lot at night. The idea of having flying palmetto bugs, mosquitoes and noseeums enjoying my pool area with me is not appealing. Aren’t bugs a big issue without a cage?

I have never seen a palmetto out randomly flying - and I spend plenty of evenings outdoors. We're not exactly sitting in the everglades.

If you are on the SE, you don't get no-see-ums hardly. Yes, mosquitoes, but a little bug spray, citronella, etc., can reduce that.

You can of course cage a pool but if you buy one without, be very prepared for sticker shock, probably 20k or more these days. And your insurance won't cover without a big add-on in price, and repairs, etc...

 

[MichaelB]

I have seen a lot of people on other social media forums recommend self-insuring. I get that premiums are expensive, but it seems very risky to me to self-insure. Not only could a hurricane wipe out a home, but also a fire, tornado, etc.

Thoughts, anyone living in FL?

Self-insure is not the same as no insurance. With self-insure there is a risk assessment and estimate of possible losses, and funds are set aside to cover the expected losses. For example, many people do this with LTC insurance. Large companies do this with health insurance.

No insurance is to accept the entire risk, which may exceed the value of the property. In the case of a calamity not only is the asset destroyed, additional money must be spent to remove all the debris. In addition, as pointed out earlier, liability risk probably greatly exceeds the value of the property and continues even if the property is abandoned.

Of those recommending self-insurance I doubt many have a realistic risk assessment.

 

[Scuba]

Backround skip to Insurance if you want:



My mom lives in Northport. Her double wide was hurricane rated to 130mph. Durin IAN last year house was fine except the ridge vent let in tons of water. Ruined her ceilings and walls in half the house. They had to practically gut half of it. Had mold mitigation done and put back together. I found contractors for 3/4 of work but the screwed us on the prices. I did a lot of the finish work because she couldn't find anyone for small jobs.


Insurance


She was with same Insurance company for 15 years paying $3000ish a year for $115k in coverage. She has spent over $50k so far and still has another $10k to go. Her Insurance company offered her $30k. We hired a lawyer. Ins. came back with another $5k that's it end of discussions. Kicker is FEMA paid all her friends with significant damage and no Insurance $37k Within one week of the hurricane. yes, $37k!



Her Ins premium was going up this month to almost $5000...



She is self insuring for Hurricane and Flood now but has coverage for everything else for less than $1000.....


Anyway, If you like humidity heat Florida isn't bad other than August. It's the rainy season and it is unbearable. We have been there almost every month....We are in SC and there is not a lot of difference in the summer than FL other than they have 2.5-3 months more of summer and August sucks..


Good Luck!


Wally

I’ve read similar stories from others. Seems that insurance companies haven’t paid claims very timely and many have had to cough up a lot of their own money anyway. This is pretty scary, at least to me. Seems like a no win situation.

 

[Scuba]

Self-insure is not the same as no insurance. With self-insure there is a risk assessment and estimate of possible losses, and funds are set aside to cover the expected losses. For example, many people do this with LTC insurance. Large companies do this with health insurance.



No insurance is to accept the entire risk, which may exceed the value of the property. In the case of a calamity not only is the asset destroyed, additional money must be spent to remove all the debris. In addition, as pointed out earlier, liability risk probably greatly exceeds the value of the property and continues even if the property is abandoned.



Of those recommending self-insurance I doubt many have a realistic risk assessment.

Good points. We self-insure for LTC as somehow that seems like an acceptable risk for us, but it’s tough to imagine not carrying insurance on our home and not being able to buy liability insurance.