Let’s assume we are being faced with a category three hurricane named Hurricane Andrew Jr. You intend to sell your property during this hurricane season and you want to protect it. Do you go for wood hurricane shutters or steel?
You have multiple options for hurricane shutters. Those which are affixed to the property or those which you manually put on when a hurricane is on its way. The top two least expensive shutters are the steel panels or plywood. The steel panels will have to be stored away when not in use and plywood can be a little tricky to properly place. So you want to choose wisely. On a budget steel and plywood work best. For shutters that are more expensive you can get accordion style which are already fixed to the sides of window and often can just be pulled shut to protect windows and doors.
Where to seek shelter during the storm, is your home safe?
When it’s time to seek shelter it is often announced for given areas that are not safe. You want to stay tuned to all news broadcasts when a hurricane is nearing our coast because it announces all locations open for shelter, usually schools and usually for places nearest the beaches, mobile homes and low lying areas in danger of flash flooding. Evacuation sites are listed on www.miamidade.gov and www.broward.org
Recovering after the storm & Damage Assessment
Sometimes recovery is slow, depending on the scale of the damage. Power can be out for hours, days, or weeks. You might even be showering in the hose with the neighbors you still don’t know the names of, bodies all sudded up with soap in the fall sun. Broward County even has a Home Damage Assessment program that comes out and assesses the damage on your home when you dial 311. While Dade County has the Neighborhood Damage Assessment.
Headache with insurance companies
Now for the annoying insurance company! You know they don’t want to pay out, even though you pay into your insurance plan year round. You’re going to have to get your property inspected to determine the cost of the damage. This can be done for free with the National Storm Damage Center by a certified, trustworthy contractor. But it’s also time to whip out the ole’ insurance policy and see what is covered and what isn’t. You don’t want to take too much time to file your claim since most insurance companies have a time frame in which you can file. This will likely help you determine the finality of the last bullet point in the blog.
Check out www.stormdamagecenter.org for more information
Roof Repair cost estimates
Roof repair can be costly. You can seek damage estimates from the National Storm Damage Center’s reliable contractors or choose your own to learn the cost estimates for repair. Also the National Storm Damage Center warns against choosing the cheapest contractor versus the best contractor and to be weary of Insurance Company Approved contractors you want to do your own research before blindly relying on whomever your insurance company has on their list. But according to homeadvisor.com the average cost to fix a roof is around $1,175.00, the lowest cost being about $309.00 and at the height being around $2,000.00. Home Advisor has a directory of reputable Roofing Contractors.
Should you fix it or sell it?
Now the hard part, should you fix the property or just sell it? Or fix it then sell it? This would depend on the level of damages. If there is minor damage, say a few leaks in the roof and missing shingles, a broken window or two, you could still sell the property as is without much complaint. If there is extreme damages, like deep gashes in the roof, flood damage and mildew and black mold, you are likely going to have an issue selling as is. Base whether you sell on the estimate you get for repair costs. The higher it is to fix the harder it’ll be to sell. The cheaper it is to fix the easier. Choose a trusted contractor for your project estimates, it is always best to check out a friend or family reference first.