Hurrican Fay Looking to Pay SW Florida a Visit

I called it Hurricane Fay in the title of this blog because she will soon turn from a Tropical Storm into a Hurricane by Tuesday. If the storm remains its predicted strength and heading we should be feeling the effects by Monday night (tonight). let's hope her strength doesn't build.

So... why is a real estate blog talking about a weather system? These storms have a serious impact on our local economy and real estate market. I was in my waterfront home near Fort Myers beach when Hurricane Charlie hit. This storm looks very similar. When Charlie hit in September 2004 my wife Jennifer was almost six months pregnant and we had our 2 year old to look after. Everyone seemed to be in a relaxed mood since the storm was predicted to go to the north of us and was only predicted to be a Category 1 storm. As most of us locals know ... this changed at a moments notice. The storm jumped from a category one to a 4 immediately and took a 90 degree turn into Lee & Charlotte County.

The damage we received to our property was minor and the only significant damage we had was some missing roof shingles and our landscapping was trashed. It did scare tha crap out of us though.

The message I'm trying to convey is be prepared and don't panic. If this storm does hit us with a direct hit similar to Charlie we will see a temporary hiccup in our real estate market. It was amazing how fast the market rebounded after Charlie. I know ... I know ... the real estate market was very different in 2004. Within 3 weeks after Charlie it was hard to tell in most areas that a category four hurricane paid us a visit. There were some areas that received catastrophic damage(close to the eye wall - Captiva, North Captiva and Port Charlotte). These areas took quite a while to clean up and repair all the damages.

I had a house that I sold on Captiva directly on the Gulf that was supposed to close the following Monday after Hurricane Charlie. Needless to say it didn't close right away. The sale did eventually go through. Captiva today is as beautifully as it ever was. It's still missing some/most of the tall Australian Pines along Sancap Road but remains to be one of the most pristine retreats in the world.

Hurricanes and storms like this are a part of the lifestyle we accept here in SW Florida. Below is a link to the weather Channel. Stay informed and be safe.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid823425597/bclid877032950/bctid959746457

www.Buy-in-Paradise.com