Always the first place to start when considering a home purchase in a new town and being a waterfront home near the shores of the Gulf of Mexico there are special considerations. Always count on your realtor to know what all insurance costs are, predicted taxes, monthly home maintenance costs, etc.
Let’s start with an example of insurance costs. By example, here were the insurance costs from a home I sold in July 2020 on 5011 Captiva Court in Punta Gorda Isles. This home was a fixer upper built in 1982, 2169sf under air, 3/2/2 with pool. Reading directly from the Declaration Page with St. Johns Insurance for coverage between April 2020 and April 2021:
Total basic premium for homeowners $3,247 (without wind mitigation credits)
There was a wind mitigation credit (more on that later) of $1,503 plus an additional $44 for having an Alarm or Fire Protection Credit.
With a few additional incidental charges and the credit, the homeowners policy premium was $2010. That is a very good number! Included in this number was protection for hurricane damage with a small deductible. As such, you do not need a third policy for hurricane coverage like some areas. The two insurances you need here are homeowners and flood insurance.
Important to know that the Wind Mitigation Credit was huge because the home had met most of the requirements which includes hurricane shutters, nail patterns on roof decking and many other factors. The Wind Mit is something that you will need to have done as soon as you put a home under contract. This is the only way you can know what your real insurance costs will be.
Flood Insurance
It is imperative that you know this cost during your inspection phase of the purchase. Just in case the cost of flood is astronomical. However, that is very unlikely!
For the subject house, Flood insurance was a modest $1,787. This is based on the measured flood elevation of the home when compared to what is prescribed by FEMA. The prescribed amount of elevation for a home can be found in the Charlotte County Tax Records, www.ccappraiser.com Just put in the property address and you will find what the required elevation height of the home was at the time of the original building of the home.
IMPORTANT: I always establish what flood insurance costs are during the due diligence period (where your escrow money is refundable) just in case the home was built below the prescribed elevation. I have only seen this once in my 20 year career as a realtor in Punta Gorda. Also, its important to know that many of the oldest waterfront homes were built at a very low elevation and the flood costs might be a factor in your decision making. Homes in the 1960’s and some in the early 70’s may have higher flood insurance costs. You will always know what your are getting working with me. I am an expert in waterfront home purchases and know the ropes.
Very Important: Most often the flood insurance policies and sometimes homeowners policies can be transferred from seller to buyer. This is a big deal! The seller has to sign a simple document agreeing to it and normally will save you lots of money.
