Panhandle real estate boom just starting

[WiLe]

Flood insurance is always wise, because most flooding damage is not caused by actual Gulf storm surge. For example, if there is a frog-strangler rain and water goes into your house, you need flood insurance to cover the damage. Incidentally, damage goes beyond just drying the place out. If the water has touched the ground at all, the house really should be water vacuumed, dehumidified with many of those huge blowers (about $500/day for three days minimum) and then checked for residual moisture. You should also toss any carpet and padding (or other household items) that come into contact with such water.

I live in Orange Beach, Alabama and went through Ivan. I'll second the suggestion that everybody - regardless of whether or not you live on the coast - needs flood insurance. The insurance companies are very particular about what is their responsibility and its better to be covered from both ends. Flood insurance is cheap - for now anyway.

As for the elevation. My home was "built up' 8 1/2 feet above ground level. We got 18 inches of water in our home, but no roof damage. The homes in the development behind us are on pilings (which puts them up a good bit higher than us) and didn't flood but they lost much of their roofs. In a storm the size of Ivan (and Ivan was nothing compared to Katrina), the only thing I believe is "safe" is the newly constructed, steel, concrete and glass condos. Everything else, pray.

Also, I'll offer a suggestion. If you ever have the misfortune of getting water in your home through the roof or from the ground up, save yourself some work and worry, call a water damage restoration company and have them dry your home out. For us, they removed all the sheetrock 5 feet up, all the tile and carpet, all the doors, all cabinets, all appliances - basically everything that the water touched, so that also means all of your furniture and some of your clothing. We had 19 industrial grade dehumidifiers in our home for over a week. Insurance will pay for all this, so its best to get one of these companies before they're to busy to get to you. Some of them - like ours- will also contract to build your house back. Its really amazing what kind of damage water can do to your home in a short time - especially salt water.

 

[Paula]

This is all interesting and useful. What are the names of the water damage restoration companies in the area if we ever need them (perish the thought, of course!)?

 

[WiLe]

The company we used was WaterMark Restoration out of Birmingham. There are many more. You can find them on the net by searching "water restoration" or "disaster restoration." I forgot to say that some of these companies will file your insurance claim and negotiate with the insurance companies. I think the standard charge is about 2% of the claim, but, from what I've seen, they'll get you back a lot more than that, with less effort and worry.

 

[DBOldford]

With the Ivan storm surge, we had about two inches of water in our ground floor. It is imperative to get a water extraction company in immediately, because "black" water (that which has been in contact with the ground) will immediately start to smell and deposit bacteria. We used Beachy Clean, a Destin firm, and were very happy with their work. They ripped out all the carpeting and pads (which we had intended to remove that year and replace with stone, anyway), took out the baseboards, set up 12 huge dehumidifiers, then came back twice to test for moisture/mold with special equipment. The flood insurance covererd every single item submitted, including various items on the floors in closets that had to be thrown away. The deductible on flood insurance is $500. We had a check in hand before the charge card expenses for Beachy Clean came in. After we added the stone tile floors and Dennis came through, all we had was a wee bit of water that was vacuumed up and we had a special mopping to clean for any possible bacteria. My brother put sandbags outside our ground floor door, used duct tape to tape up the doorjam with plastic sheeting, then put more sandbags against that. Worked beautifully and we had no damage claim whatsoever. Duct tape is a miracle of the modern world! Yes, flood insurance is not expensive and the deductible is $500 as compared to $10,000 for hurricane/wind damage.

I agree that one really has to use the services of an experienced company for water extraction and cleanup. They can save you tens of thousands of dollars that may otherwise be spent if this water is given a toehold in your house. Beachy Clean keeps us on a priority list now, so that if a storm does come through, they are checking out our place and getting on the job pronto.

 

[Buckhead Rick]

The travel magizine "Conde Nast" current issure,just published a poll of where people wish to have their 2nd home if it could be anywhere in the world. USA was # 1 country, Florida was number one state and the beach (by 78%) was the number 1 area. 82% wanted a vacation home "in a place I want to return to often", 63% wanted a "resort community", 45% wanted to own and 45% wanted a time share. When you factor in available land it sounds like the Panhandle of Florida.

 

[SHELLY]

I disagree that "newly constructed, steel, concrete and glass condos" are a safe bet when it comes to hurricanes. The "newly" constructed condos on Pensacola Beach called Portofino didn't fare well during Ivan. In addition to extensive (and EXPENSIVE) damage to landscaping, outdoor facilities and ground floor lobbies, health clubs, shops and restaurants, wind-blown water was forced through the patio doors and windows (the ones that remained intact) and soaked carpeting, drapes, furniture and wallboard where mold took hold in a big way. Moreover, the a/c units were ripped off the roof ruining the penthouses and causing rain to pour through the conduits and inside the walls for several floors down the tower blocks. When it comes to the power of Mother Nature, nowhere is "safe"--if she can't rip it up or tear it down, she'll wash the sand out from under it...don't fool yourself into thinking anything less.

 

[WiLe]

The Portofino is still there, isn't it? If it was stick built, it wouldn't be there. When I was referring to "newly built", I wasn't even talking about something that old. Most of the the newly built (and expensive) steel, concrete, and glass condos here have parking on the first 2 or 3 floors. The eminities start above that. I would think that if the Portofino were built today, post-Ivan and Katrina, it would be built different (and cost more). We were hit HARD here by Ivan. I known its a cliche, but it did look like a war zone. When the demolition is completed ALL of the wood structures will be gone from the beach side of the road - and many will be gone across the road. All of the steel and concrete condos are back in business. We have a developer here, Brett-Robinson, who built the Phoenix'. They pioneered concrete and steel here in the 80's. They lost all their pools and landscaping and the bottom floor. The rest did great - and a lot of those are relatively old buildings, built relatively cheap. You insinuated that a lot of the Portofino's glass windows and doors were blown out. We didn't see that here in the newer condos. The glass is amazingly strong. Personally, I wouldn't worry much about my steel and concrete condo on the beach. Odds are the worst thing that would happen is an assessment and some lost sand. Personally, I wouldn't have to do anything. I could go on a cruise if I wanted, and come back when the mess was cleaned up. Having been through a major hurricane in a SFH, I'd sweat until it hit. The destruction is overwhelming and building back is a long, drawn out, draining process. Many, many people here reassessed their feelings about living in a SFH on the beach. I don't know of anybody who abandoned condo-living. Most of the older wood condos have been bought out by developers who are building structures that can withstand a huricane much stonger than Ivan. The way its heading here, everything on the beach will be concrete and steel. That's not what the city planners and most of thr residents wanted, but a major hurricane changes minds.

 

[ecopal]

To Wile:
I agree that any structure on the beach should be steel reinforced conrete. But if the condo's foundation gets undercut by storm surge all bets are off.

If I were to rebuild I would probably build a poured steeel reinforced concrete structure like they are doing in Alys Beach. Their insurance costs are to be half of conventional wood structures.

But I would also make sure I built it on land that was at least 30 feet above sea level. Scenic 30A is unique in that it has the most coastal land available above 30 feet in Florida and in fact more than most any place on entire eastern US coast.

I also would want to be at least a lot or 2 back from the Gulf-I feel beach front is untenable. As long as I can hear and smell the Gulf and walk to it -and even better see it- I would be happy.

In reviewing pictures of past devastating hurricanes it seems evident that a well constructed wood structure-preferrably one story and definately without a tower- can survive most hurricanes as long as it is not hit by storm surge or an embedded tornado. It also appears as though most of the worst tornadoes along this coast-where a tornado from the west to south east has to develop over water (Once a tornado touches the water and stars sucking water it weakens rapidly.)- are less severe near the Gulf than they are inland.

 

[WiLe]

Most of our opinions are formed form past observation and experience. I've owned properties on the coast since 1994 and lived in all of them at one time - beach condo, beach house, wood condo across from the beach, back bay condo, and my present brick home near the beach. I had rather live in a single family home, but when a hurricane is coming my way, I don't like it quite as much.

Ivan was a strong hurricane. We got hit hard. There were no steel and concrete condos that had their foundations undermined here. But all of the beach homes in Orange Beach were destroyed. And I understand the beneifts of elevation, but fact is, the higher the elevation the more likely you are to loose your roof.

You're thinking about being "at least a lot or 2 back from the Gulf" makes sense and could very well make all the difference. From my experience, if you want beachfront, a steel and concrete condo is the best way to go. I believe that the newer ones are here to stay, and the biggest risk would be losing sand - maybe a lot of it.

I've been through 4 hurricanes now and they are all diffferent. The next one might change my thinking again. Katrina would have got us all pretty bad.

 

[Bob]

I disagree that "newly constructed, steel, concrete and glass condos" are a safe bet when it comes to hurricanes. The "newly" constructed condos on Pensacola Beach called Portofino didn't fare well during Ivan. In addition to extensive (and EXPENSIVE) damage to landscaping, outdoor facilities and ground floor lobbies, health clubs, shops and restaurants, wind-blown water was forced through the patio doors and windows (the ones that remained intact) and soaked carpeting, drapes, furniture and wallboard where mold took hold in a big way. Moreover, the a/c units were ripped off the roof ruining the penthouses and causing rain to pour through the conduits and inside the walls for several floors down the tower blocks. When it comes to the power of Mother Nature, nowhere is "safe"--if she can't rip it up or tear it down, she'll wash the sand out from under it...don't fool yourself into thinking anything less.

There is a monolithic concrete dome house ,2nd row PC Beach that can through the hurricane quite well. I believe the personal website is domeofahome.com.