Hints, tips and plans for Florida’s famous hurricane season are this week’s topic, even as we anticipate the arrival of hurricane Irma. Palm State Mortgage doesn’t just work with financing homes, we also work with minds, lives and hearts, because you are our friends and neighbors as well as our clients.
We know you invest much of your financial and emotional wealth in your home. So, we submit this timely information both as a review for veterans of storms and new information for newbie Florida homeowners and vacationers
Palm State Mortgage Presents Top 6 Hurricane Hints for Homeowners
1. Evacuation Notices Should Not Surprise You: Plan Your Get-away far in advance
Hints for Homeowners who Hunker Down for Hurricanes.
Coming in at number One on Palm State Mortgage Company’s list of Homeowners’ Hurricane Hints is planning your getaway. In other words, you should stay connected to Evacuation Notices from Authorities.
The director of the National Hurricane Center, Rick Knabb, said, “If you do not live in a coastal region, this might be new to you.”
- Do you know what newscasters mean when they announce the “surge?” It sounds pretty awful, doesn’t it? Well, it is. We want you to know that it is defined as a “rise of water generated by a storm’s winds that can reach heights well over 20 feet and can span hundreds of miles of coastlines…”
- One of our favorite hints within this hint involves a little test drive with your family in tow. Long before the storm, take a drive to actually test the evacuation route you would use to get out of town. Do not wait until the day of the predicted landfall of the storm to familiarize yourself with the route.
So, be sure you are aware of it, if your home or hotel is in an area likely to be affected by a hurricane. And keep a wary eye on the weather forecasts and emergency messages.
2. The Tough go Shopping!
Second on our list of Homeowners Hurricane Hints is not surprisingly, gather your supples. You do not want to wait until the last chance for buying supplies, and once you buy them, you need to keep much of them together in storage.
Our Hints and Tips Cannot Hold Back the Storm
Because in Florida, Hurricane Season repeats every year, longtime residents are quite accustomed to collecting the items for the Emergency supply kit…So, organize your supplies far in advance of the storm. Folks who live in evacuation areas soon become accustomed to keeping a handy kit stored within easy reach. All our good hints and tips won’t help you if you don’t act in advance of the storm. We hope you turn our Hurricane Hints into a check list for yourself and your family.
Special Note: Get Your Emergency Kit and Kaboodle Ready
While evacuation shelters do provide supplies, Kottlowski reminds Floridians, “Shelters can get overrun and may not have enough supplies.” Below is a list of the most vital, non-perishable items:
- First Aid Kit,
- Battery powered or hand-cranked radio,
- Flashlight and batteries,
- Local maps,
- Whistle or air blast horn to call for help.
- Local maps.
Kottlowski added that residents should have their kits gathered into a suitcase, tub or sturdy bag. Don’t let waiting to the last minute for your emergency shopping spree put you in a fit of high anxiety or in the hands of unscrupulous price gougers. Plan ahead. Far ahead.
3. Check insurance coverage
Of all the Homeowner’s Hurrican Hints, this one seems to be the most difficult to convey. We advise you to avoid gambling with flood insurance if you are in Hurricane Warning areas, flood zones or coastal residences. Many people still seem misinformed, about flood insurance. Although at closing on your home loan, Palm State Mortgage Company always emphasizes that flood insurance is typically not included in normal home insurance. Likewise, it is decidedly not normally available in renters’ insurance packages.
Even if your neighborhood is not directly on the coast, we have seen enough footage of floods to know that perhaps it is worth the investment. Contact your insurance provider and purchase your flood insurance.
Tenants and home owners can contact their renters or home insurance provider to buy flood insurance. And they should do so even if they do not live right along the coastline.
Just a Little Hint on the side: If your home is your most expensive possession, chances are your second is your car or extra vehicle like a camper, RV, boat or spouse’s car. Did you know you can contact your insurance company and move your extra vehicles off-site, or to a secured building? “You won’t be able to take every vehicle you own to the shelter, but if you leave the vehicle outside, it could be seriously damaged,” Kottlowski said.
4. Document Your Property
It makes perfect sense to have copies of proof of ownership. You could need ownership proof on your house, car, boat, rare stamp collection, grandma’s antique silver service. Especially, those living in or near hurricane areas should make copies of proof of ownership documents of any property of value. Keep them with your kit or send them into storage at a safe location. It’s proof of ownership and inquiring authorities will want to know.
5. Make Your Home Safer
Okay, we are not sure any structure is 100% hurricane proof. However, you need to inspect your home before storm season and make sure the hurricane won’t increase the damage that you already have.
Hints to get Ready for Hurricane – checking off the items on the emergency preparedness form.
Make it a priority to fix shingles or roofing because the wind will look for an avenue to get an edge. Any issues with the overall structure should be repaired, including loose shingles or damaged roofs.
Store the lawn furniture and other yard fixtures to prevent them from transforming into flying debris.
Seriously, shutters are a great investment. Our friends at Nationwide tell us, “According to the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS). Shutters do more than protect your window panes during a natural disaster. They also close your house off to the rain and severe wind that can damage the structural integrity of the home.”
Likewise, they advise installing “fasteners so shutter panels can be put in place quickly and easily during a storm.” The IBHS dislikes the idea of plywood, but it’s almost a tradition in some Florida areas. IBHS says it is not an effective alternative but grimly notes ply-wood rates as good last-minute defense.
6. Back up your electronics
Palm state advises you to back up your home and business computers offsite. That way you will have your data, although you might lose your devices in the wind, rain and blowing debris.
Florida Homeowners Learn to Be Prepared for Hurricane Season.
Naturally, you will also want to keep extra batteries, chargers and cords available. Aside from keeping extra batteries and chargers around during a hurricane, people are also encouraged to backup any electronic devices. Even if your business is small, it pays to back up your information at a remote site.
Remember if your home is blown away or drowned under 12 feet of beach sand and water, you still have to prove it is—or was—yours.
Now you have the top 6 Palm State Mortgage Company Hurricane Hints, but it is only a basic list. On top of the above items, now you need to collect your pet carriers, food, water, bedding and family.
Our Prayers For Your Safety
Palm State Mortgage sends Floridians the same heartfelt prayers as we issued on behalf of Texas and Louisiana last week. We hope you hover in the safe embrace of your family while the wind howls and the waters surge. Whether you are a homeowner who has chosen to wait out the storm or you have hit the road for the designated evacuation shelter, we applaud your courage and self-control.
A homeowner knows that mortgage papers and houses can be replaced. Lives cannot.
