Hurricane Ian Impact on Future

[Jarrett Boyes]

We are in the process of trying to close on a property in Cape Coral and obviously have been put on pause with the hurricane.   What are the thoughts on how the area will be able to bounce back from a tourism standpoint?   My main concern with tourism is with the causeway to Sanibel Island being taken out and the access to those great beaches being gone.  This was an investment property for us so we are trying to understand what kind of hit we will take.  Also, thoughts on if insurance rates are going to hold or skyrocket?

[Peter Davis]

Over the past week I've been driving around Cape Coral checking on clients and friends. What I've seen is the older waterfront homes (50's 60's 70's 80's homes) at lower elevations were badly flooded. The riverfront neighborhoods in the Yacht Club, for example, were hammered. Everyone who owns an older home has dragged all the soggy belongings (furniture, appliances, clothes, toys, knickknacks, etc.) out to the streets which are covered in mud, and there are downed trees, fences, pool cages, boats on front lawns, a major mess. But the newer homes at higher elevations appeared relatively untouched. The inland homes had wind damage like I've seen after Irma, but are for the most part recoverable. For example, I didn't see one home with catastrophic roof failure (though I'm sure some are out there) but at most I got glimpses of plywood here and there with lost shingles and underlayment. The level of storm surge was unique with Ian and that's what really devastated the area. The extreme high winds are similar to what we've seen before with other hurricanes and so you see that type of wind damage everywhere, but it's the level of flooding that's new for here. I was helping a friend whose older home was flooded with 5" of water and mud and she was wondering what's the point of rehabbing her current home if she can't change the elevation, which hits the point that @Caroline Gerardo brings up about the 500-year flood event. Hurricanes are only going to get worse, or at least ones with Ian's strength will be more prevalent, it's just a matter of who's going to take the hit; it's Russian Roulette. We thought it was going to be Tampa Bay before Ian took a hard right and crashed into Southwest Florida. I think these hurricanes could potentially be 5 or 10-year events going forward; I hope I'm wrong but if I'm an actuary at an insurance company, that's going to figure in to my analysis. Homes near water will have to be built stronger, higher, smarter. 

All this said, I didn't hear anyone talk about pulling up stakes and leaving the area. One client of mine lives on a gulf access canal just off Bimini Basin in the Yacht Club neighborhood of Cape Coral. The wind tore down her pool cage and the storm water flooded her older home (and car) several inches. She spent the next two days mopping water and mud out her home with no running water or power. When I stopped in to check on her earlier this week she was tired but her spunky spirit was still evident. We laughed over the fact that her German Shepard, Remy, still used his dog door in the one standing section of the pool cage even though the pool area was wide open. Her plan is to make some repairs and stay in her home. She's 90 years old.