How the hell are we supposed to retire?

Its all about base flood elevation not raw elevation and distance. Check the fema tables, they recently updated them and the insurance companies made adjustments as needed.


Yes ours didn't change. We have always had flood insurance just in case.
 
our first floor condo on tampa bay just after the last storm...

it is a golf course - there is a storm drain there - it reversed!

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372689613_10227384873701798_2861059657076445842_n.jpg
 
our first floor condo on tampa bay just after the last storm...

it is a golf course - there is a storm drain there - it reversed!

372623486_10227384873941804_8322512948020821612_n.jpg


372689613_10227384873701798_2861059657076445842_n.jpg
Does the HOA hit you with costs for dealing with this, or do they have insurance so that it does not impact owners?
 
Story time:

A few years ago I had to put a flowmeter in a river with a control panel. USGS guys and the Army Corps engineers brought out the 100 year flood plane maps, figured out the height I would need to be above the 100 year flood plane.

Contractor cuts down about 50 feet worth of trees between a dead end street and the river. Get this huge truck out there that drives this metal piling into the middle of the river. They go to cut off the excess 5 feet of the piling that the machine used to grab onto and I'm like "Whoa, why bother? Just slap my panel to the top, it's fine if it's 5 feet ABOVE the 100 year flood plane and it saves you some effort."

They install my panel & flowmeter, test it, works great.

2 weeks later, underwater in a storm.

That was the *start* of seeing lots of spots in NY/NJ go above the historic flood planes due to various storms. Elevation & Distance do matter when you have the surges like we saw during Sandy where there's flooding in spots that never got flooded before. More buildings lead to less permeable land & flooding.


Rick is probably fine though. Hurricanes are probably way more of a concern.

NJ great flood of 2021 via Ida. How many lost their homes or had significant damage and no flood insurance?
 
Does the HOA hit you with costs for dealing with this, or do they have insurance so that it does not impact owners?

Depends. Some of the communities around us (like Plantation golf club) had a hefty special assessment for cleanup costs. Ours was covered by insurance and development district.
 
I'm not sure of the frequency of the determinations but meant the insurance companies just readjusted rates for flooding. I recall rates will be going up about 50% across the next 10 years. RN my flood insurance is twice the home owners insurance and more than my primary home which is considerably larger. That's also with the house lifted up 12 ft, the bfe is 11ft. The cost of jersey shore home ownership has a number of additional costs especially if you have a mortgage. I'm actually next looking for a place on Greenwood lake on the NY side. Yes there will be flooding, but no storm surges which floods my garage every other month.
Two houses at the Shore, Bay-side on lagoon. One had water damage from Sandy due to emergency vehicle traffic wakes (yes, you read that correctly). The other house right next door was fine. Subtle elevation differences can be huge. Have flood insurance on both without issues, and no water from the NJ Ida flooding at all. I can honestly say there is no way my primary home will ever be in or near floodplain.
 
Does the HOA hit you with costs for dealing with this, or do they have insurance so that it does not impact owners?

interesting question! the golf course is not owned by the HOA (it used to be) - the grass off the course - near side - will survive, so it is just cleaning-up the crap that was left behind.
They'll do it over a few week period. They have catastrophic insurance - but when hugo (?) came through and tore the roof off the carports, it was a special assessment. Same when one of the flat roofs took a hit. I'm not sure why they don't have a capital fund???

we've insured the inside of the condo, and contents. the condensate drain backed-up one time and took out all the rugs and some furniture.
insurance came through on that.
 
the condensate drain backed-up one time and took out all the rugs and some furniture.
insurance came through on that.

How does that happen? Our line has clogged many times not being there fulltime. Auto shutoff always kicks in - one higher, one in the pan.
 
How does that happen? Our line has clogged many times not being there fulltime. Auto shutoff always kicks in - one higher, one in the pan.

Float sensor failure, now have both electronic and mechanical, and alarm for when not there.

I wasn't there for that. My dad handled it. I never looked to see if the drains from the floors above were connected before the clog.

I had a float sensor in my attic pan at my house. Drain got clogged, it was so hot in the attic that the float stuck to the pan. There was no secondary drain in the pan.... overflow! Took out bathroom ceiling

Gravity drain doesn't have a condensate pump sensor
 
Float sensor failure, now have both electronic and mechanical, and alarm for when not there.

I wasn't there for that. My dad handled it. I never looked to see if the drains from the floors above were connected before the clog.

I had a float sensor in my attic pan at my house. Drain got clogged, it was so hot in the attic that the float stuck to the pan. There was no secondary drain in the pan.... overflow! Took out bathroom ceiling

Gravity drain doesn't have a condensate pump sensor

FL AC systems need to be serviced 2x a year. Otherwise asking for trouble!
 
What is the life expectancy of an AC unit in FL?
@Santapez what is your HVAC setup in NC?
Remember, I'm in a spot with the windows open today while you guys are frying up in NJ. Low/Mid 80's this past week. It's 73 degrees inside, 81 degrees outside with the windows open.

1600square foot shaded house with a 2.5 ton unit installed in 2010. Up until last night we were running it for a few days mostly to get out the humidity. Turn it on about an hour before bed to bring down the temperature and humidity, doesn't really run during the day with the windows shut. Originally I thought it was oversized but it's probably the right size.

If the temperature is low enough overnight with the windows open the house stays cool enough during the day.

120kBtu 80% gas furnace installed at the same time. If it dies I'd replace it with a 100kBtu 80% unit as it's oversized for our winters as it cycles a lot. Preferably 2-stage unit.
 
So Rick's AC lasts half as long as a unit in NJ, but he doesn't have a boiler for heat.
Steve's HVAC will probably last longer than NJ stuff with a shorter on cycle.
How often do people work into their budget the costs of HVAC replacement?
Just another thing to think about.
 
So Rick's AC lasts half as long as a unit in NJ, but he doesn't have a boiler for heat.
Steve's HVAC will probably last longer than NJ stuff with a shorter on cycle.
How often do people work into their budget the costs of HVAC replacement?
Just another thing to think about.
We just replaced one of our two 25 year old units for $10k. We have a 10 year parts and labor warranty. I have serious doubts it will last till the 11th year.

We just assume $5-10k/year for general repairs.
 
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