Real Estate, Hurricanes and Insurance, Oh My!

"Ask Nancy.  She'll Know..."

Real Estate, Hurricanes and Insurance, oh my!

     Ask Nancy, she'll know!  Well not this time.  Here's some really great tidbits that I picked up during the month of September that I found helpful regarding hurricane preparedness:

• Your dishwasher is watertight and a great place to store items that need to stay dry during a storm.  Another inexpensive option for storing important documents from water damage is a marine dry box.  It is waterproof but not fire proof.
• If you have a well, install a hand pump. If power is shut off, you can still manually pump water.
• Reinforce your garage door if possible.  This area is so large that once opened to the winds, it can easily cause your roof to lift.
• Be careful where you store the plywood that you purchased to secure your home.  It can be a termite magnet.
• Check your homeowner's insurance policy for your hurricane deductible.  Most are 2-5% of the replacement value of your home.  So if your replacement value is $200,000, your hurricane deductible is $4,000.  And there is a separate deductible for each hurricane occurrence meaning if you have damage from Charley it is covered under one claim and one deductible and then damage from Frances would be a separate claim and yet another deductible!  Ouch is all I could say to that one.
• Secondly, if a storm enters the state of Florida as a hurricane, any damage resulting to a home in the state that is a result of that storm will be subject to the hurricane deductible even if it was only a tropical storm by the time it reached your area.

   If I can ever assist you or a friend with any real estate needs, please don't hesitate to call because...

I'd love to be your Realtor!

Nancy Dawsey, ABR, CRS, GRI

Signature Realty Associates

2234 Lithia Center Lane

Valrico, Florida 33594

813-624-4968 cell