Recovering From Flooding
What I Wish I Knew When I Flooded
Below is what I wish I knew when my home was flooded in Tropical Storm ETA in 2020.
If you have an expert (contractor, insurance company, engineer, adjuster) telling you something different then please listen to what they are telling you.
This is my recommendations based on my personal experience for informational purposes only.
First Steps...
1. Call and start your flood claim. It will likely take a while for the flood adjuster to come by (6-8 days for us after Eta). If it’s FEMA, which most policies probably are, they will only pay what the FEMA rates say to pay. I received $600 for ALL of my appliances. This process is not fun, and will take a lengthy amount of time.
They also unfortunately do not cover rent to live somewhere else while the home is being put back together. They will usually give you some money to get started though, so the sooner they get out there the better. Your insurer will be able to provide you with your specific details about your specific policy. True private flood policies are typically a much better experience, but they are also typically 3-5x the cost in flood risk areas.
2. Be mindful of hazards. Wear boots, heavy shoes, gloves. Be mindful of electrical risks especially if water was was above the outlets.
Clean Up Stage
1.Take photos and videos of everything as it sits before beginning work. Put tape measures next to water and scum lines so that the height of water can be seen / recorded. The insurance adjuster is going to want to see this. Best practice is to leave a couple scum lines / high water marks until the adjuster sees it, both inside and outside the house.
Rebuilding Stage
7. Treat each and every remediation company with suspicion.
This segment and storms in particular attracts A LOT of questionable characters and tactics. If I had it all to do over, I would use a large chain (Dri Rite, ServPro, Paul Allen) to dry and treat the home, but I would NOT use them to put the home back together. I would hire a normal contractor for reconstruction.
Many cities in the area (St Pete and Pinellas County especially) carry additional contractor registration requirements, and many vultures descend on the area to make fast cash and then aren’t properly licensed and registered to do work in the area, and make TONS of promises they can’t back up.
YOU MUST INVESTIGATE THE COMPANY’S CREDENTIALS IN DEPTH.
This remediation industry also tends to want to WILDLY over bill you, many times for things that FEMA backed flood insurance will not reimburse / cover. A frequent tactic is charging thousands of dollars to run fans for weeks. So make sure that “anything that FEMA’s not paying, I’m not paying” is in the contract. Your adjuster will tell you what they will and will not cover.
If they promise the moon, a pain free remediation, that no money will come out of your pocket, that insurance will cover it all, then you’re probably being lied to.
9. Timeframe. This is going to take time. 6-12 months is not unusual. Mine took two years due to covid supply chain issues. Everything tends to slow down and take longer.
Tons of permits will be getting filled, tons of fines for unpermitted work will be handed out, supplies and building materials will run short. Ft Myers has still not fully rebuilt from Ian in 2022. This was flooding which is a bit different from direct hurricane blast and recovery should be sooner, but it will take months.
11. Your situation is likely unique. The above was what I learned from my specific flood experience. Please take the time to check your specific insurance coverages, as well as what your local city requirements are. St Pete for example commonly needs Demolition permits closed prior to beginning reconstruction. Ask A LOT of questions and take a lot of notes.
Final Thoughts
You will make it through this. It looks like a mountain, and it is a lot to deal with.
But it’s one day at a time, one foot in front of the other, appreciate the little things, laugh at what you can, and enjoy and help the people around you.
If you have any additional concerns or questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me, and I will help how I can.
Ready to get started?
If you have questions not answered here, or any concerns about the process of buying or selling your home, feel free to contact me via this contact for or schedule a phone call for a time that works for you.
Tales From the Closing Table Posts
What I wish I knew when my home flooded
Recovering From Flooding What I Wish I Knew When I Flooded Below is what I wish I knew when my home was flooded in Tropical
Florida Land Scams
Tales From the Closing Table FLORIDA LAND SCAMS Florida Land Scams aren’t ancient history… they are still very much with us (and for sale!) today.
Recent Posts (All Topics)
What I wish I knew when my home flooded
Recovering From Flooding What I Wish I Knew When I Flooded Below is what I wish I knew when my home was flooded in Tropical
American Homes 4 Rent MegaCorp Selling Home They’ve Rented For Years! Signs of things to come?
Category: Market Information American Homes 4 Rent MegaCorp Selling home they’ve rented for years. Sign of things to come?PROPERTY TAXES Hello everyone, Kyle Sasser here
January 2024 Mortgage Interest Rate Update
January 2024 Interest Rate Update Overall we’ve seen a continued decline in interest rates, now solidly in the mid 6s to even some high 5s.
Florida Property Taxes – Why Every Website Estimate Is Wrong (except 1)
Home Buyer Information FLORIDA PROPERTY TAXES Greetings, prospective Florida homeowners. I’m Kyle Sasser from Ashlar Home Team. Let’s delve into a truly riveting topic: PROPERTY
Florida Land Scams
Tales From the Closing Table FLORIDA LAND SCAMS Florida Land Scams aren’t ancient history… they are still very much with us (and for sale!) today.