Scared to buy a house in Florida

[HurricaneGirl]

Interesting. They sure built a sturdy house there. Thanks for that link r_u_. I will show that to the hubby later. I would love to have a home built like that in a few years.

[Matt-hurricanewatcher]

I would not moved to Florida or any other area near the ocean(In the tropics) with a normal house ever!!! It would have to be made out of steal or rock. Paying 100,000 of thousands of dollars to see it get distoryed the same year is not worth it.

[HurricaneGirl]

I would not moved to Florida or any other area near the ocean(In the tropics) with a normal house ever!!! It would have to be made out of steal or rock. Paying 100,000 of thousands of dollars to see it get distoryed the same year is not worth it.

That's exactly what I'm afraid of happening. It would be just my luck. Having grown up in Michigan I never had to worry about hurricanes. Sometimes I want to move back there closer to my family. But if I did I'd have to go alone. The hubby would never want to live there. He's lived in FLorida all his life and detests cold weather. He'd never survive a Michigan winter.

[gizmo]

We have owned both frame and block in Florida (close to beach). The frame house did as well as the block. If you carry a termite bond ($250,000), and take care of your home, have treatments every year you are fine. The downfall of owning a frame home in florida is resale. People are "afraid" of termites, and will not even look at a frame homes. If people educated themselves about termites and prevention, they could actually pick up a house much cheaper being frame! We currently have a block home with brick covering it, did awesome during the storms last year, and we are on the beach, the drawback of brick, very expensive. Our old frame house weathered the storm fine, but it was on the mainland. Hope this helps!

[NFLnut]

Ditto .. concrete block. I've had three major "tree events" the last two years. Two Hurricane sponsored, one not. If I lived in a frame house, I would be dead. With the concrete block, the damage was still extensive, but it was limited to the roof and the block held the tree up despite a MAJOR impact.

Also, ditto the underground utilities, although you are still vulnerable if the feeder lines to your neighborhood are still above ground. This is the problem where I live, and we were without power for 17 days total for Charley, Frances, and Jeanne despite underground utilities.

I WOULD be very concerned about termites! It results in more damage annually than any other cause(s).