A study by the First Street Foundation suggests that insurance companies may offer discounts to homeowners who take steps to harden their homes, which could reduce the damage caused by disasters. Moore said Florida used to be a leader when it came to measures like building codes, but things have changed in recent years. The state also lacked a disclosure policy requiring property owners to share a property’s flood history with buyers and renters.
Another bill would require landlords to notify tenants if they live in a flood zone, and another would require home sellers to disclose past floods and insurance claims to prospective buyers. . No progress has been made on the initial measures. The second was approved by the Florida House and Senate on March 4 and is now headed for Mr. DeSantis’ signature.
“We have to stop putting more and more people at risk, especially in the state of Florida, where over the next 30 years sea level will rise from a foot to two-and-a-half feet over the life of a 30-year mortgage. It is likely to rise.” Perhaps we should tell people that before they buy a house. Maybe they never issued a permit to build a house there in the first place. “There are revolutionary ideas for the state to consider,” Moore said.
“As long as Florida is determined not to inform people of the risks, the state will reap what it sows,” he said. “All you have to do is take note of the development boom in some of the most dangerous areas in the state.”
Increased risk may cause some homeowners to abandon certain areas.another study The First Street Foundation study combined Census Bureau and flood risk data to identify what the study called “climate abandonment areas.” In this region, the population decline between 2000 and 2020 may be associated with vulnerability.
The region is scattered across the country, but is concentrated in much of the Florida coast, the mid-Atlantic region between New Jersey and Washington, D.C., the Texas Gulf Coast, and especially Houston. These areas also exist in some of the fastest growing metropolitan areas like Miami. According to the study, home values in Miami-Dade County declined by $3.99 per square foot between 2005 and 2017 due to flood risk.
Such migration is likely to be inconsistent and linked to socio-economic means. Porter said the acquisition program is small compared to the broader risks.
Moore said providing migration assistance has proven difficult across the country. Help may take a while to reach the person, and it can be difficult to help the person get where they want to go, he said.
“Most of our energy is in buying them out so they can go somewhere else. But in other areas, especially in fast-growing areas where real estate values are increasing, we have just as many. This also poses challenges,” he said. “That may not be enough to move them to a safer location.”
“There are no easy solutions to this, and solutions become exponentially more difficult in states that are determined to continue developing high-risk areas,” Moore said. “With these dynamics at play, there are no solutions that work in the long term.”
Friedlander added: [insurance] The market will deteriorate. But unfortunately, what does this mean for the average consumer? It doesn’t mean your bill will go down today or tomorrow. We are talking about market stabilization. We hope to see a more gradual rise in interest rates in 2024 than in the past, but we cannot predict. ”
rare natural spot
For Infinger, his family’s property along Little Wekiva is a rare natural setting, tucked away amidst the urban highways and subdivisions of suburban Orlando.
He looks more surprised than worried as he recalls the time he and his wife watched the bears making acorn snacks from the window of their parents’ house. Watch coyotes roaming your yard. He grew up with his neighbors. It feels like home here.
However, that may change. Infinger, 41, who works in the construction industry, said his family has the funds to pay rising insurance premiums. But as his children grow older, he and his wife plan to move to the suburbs of Orlando, closer to his parents. He worries that his beloved Little Wekiva will flood again in the future, his family’s home in a low-lying area.
“We already know there will be flooding,” he says. “It’s only a matter of time.”
