birdseed
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since September 2004
Posts: 167
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Post by birdseed on Sept 26, 2004 4:02:55 GMT -5
Jeanne is knocking the "snot" out of us this AM... My generator is the only thing keeping us going--May have to move to montana....
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Post by rockyraccoon on Sept 26, 2004 10:45:33 GMT -5
birdseed and doc i hope you keep safe! i imagine y'all are tired of the storms.
kim
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llanago
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2004
Posts: 1,714
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Post by llanago on Sept 26, 2004 11:20:31 GMT -5
I do hope Doc and Bird are okay. Florida is really getting slapped around by hurricanes this year. I really feel bad for all those folks that have lost their homes and such. Been there, done that and it ain't fun! Not sure that I would classify Florida as paradise anymore! Skeeters as big as houses, horrendous humidity, way overcrowded, and that was back in the early 80s when I lived there. Hate to even think of what it's like today. And I would be willing to bet that after this hurricane season, there will be all sorts of property in paradise for sale! llana
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MoonStone
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since August 2004
Posts: 202
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Post by MoonStone on Sept 27, 2004 1:24:38 GMT -5
Birdseed hope that you & your family are fine and safe, hopefully that will be the last of the storms.
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Emerald
spending too much on rocks
Member since August 2004
Posts: 417
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Post by Emerald on Sept 27, 2004 21:31:37 GMT -5
*Sends hugs to our Florida neighbors*
It's been raining here all day....not really windy this time!
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Post by docone31 on Sept 27, 2004 22:16:44 GMT -5
Hey Birdseed, what part of Floriduh? We just moved to New Port Richie. Since we left Punta Gorda, we have seen four eyes of the hurricanes. Everytime we went to close, the day before the closing the house was destroyed. We are talking, Lakeland, West Palm Beach, Melbourne. We have been living in hotels for seven weeks, and half of the time without power. Some of the times, one of us couldn't leave the hotel room as the key wouldn't work without power. Talk about hot, sweaty, stinky. However we could be one of the folks who lost everything. I fear they may not recover their losses. Floriduh has a 51% total loss, and homeowners insurance has a 49% loss. In other words, if you suffer 51% loss, insurance will not cover total loss. The state condemns the property and insureance will not cover the balance. That is a big bite. Most folks do not know that. All the insurance will cover is the balance of the loan. Equity and deposit are lost. Most folks are so tight they cannot afford the demo of the loss, and removal of utilities so they can at least sell the land for some liquidity. Add to that shelter costs, fuel, food, hotel, lost houselhold goods, worst of all, lost dreams. This whole event in paradise is sad, sad, sad. Now bubba is planning on making stringent building codes no one can meet. This will result in tremendous loads on fiduciary income. I think you will find paradise is going to become priced in the exotic category. The scalpers are already here. Home prices are going through the roof. It will be interesting to watch.
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llanago
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2004
Posts: 1,714
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Post by llanago on Sept 27, 2004 22:49:57 GMT -5
Doc, glad to hear ya'll are okay, but, of course, I knew you would be. You are an old pro at sitting out those hurricanes.
It is such a shame that so many have lost their homes and that so many of them are elderly, living on a fixed income. I just don't know how they will ever be able to put their lives back in order after this.
Now bubba is planning on making stringent building codes no one can meet
It's shame that folks that live in hurricane, flood, mudslide, etc. areas don't build their houses to withstand whatever weather comes along, as you did. But, I guess most people are like I was before I lost my house to the flood - things like that happen to other people, not to me. I learned the hard way. I was so sure since my house had been flooded and rebuilt on cement filled cinder blocks 7' off the ground on the creek side that I would never have to worry about the water reaching the house. Well, the water didn't get in the house because it literally floated at least a block down the creek before slamming into some trees. Never occurred to me that floating debris could slam into the back deck support post and knock the whole house off the foundation!! And, I had no flood insurance! So, I guess even when somebody tries to build/rebuild to prevent damage, ya' just can't ever be sure of what will happen.
Home prices are going through the roof I assume you are referring to homes that are being built or rebuilt? Are the property values in the areas hit by the hurricanes going down, up or staying about the same?
So, the house ya'll had settled on was destroyed by Ivan or Jeanne the day before you closed? That's the pits, but would have been really the pits if you had already closed on it and the money had exchanged hands! Of course, it really is the pits for the previous owner!
I think if I was you, I would point that van with all your belongings north and get the heck out of the hurricane prone areas! Maybe ya'll should think about the mountains! LOL!
llana
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Post by docone31 on Sept 27, 2004 23:13:10 GMT -5
Llana. My fair bride is from Los Angeles. I am from Alaska. If my wife could routinely come out of the rain I would move back to the mountains. I cannot get her to not step on a fire ant nest after she has been torn up three years in a row. She knows what a fire ant nest looks like but, this is Floriduh we wear sandals. Only tourists wear sandals. Everything bites in Floriduh. The first thing she did in Punta Gorda was plant an hedge right next to the front door. At night Pygmy rattlers would mate on our front door step. Eastern diamond backs would lay in the bushes. We had tear up the bushes. I told her nobody plants bushes next to their houses here. She at least knows that. This house is unscathed. It was the three others we were going to close on that blew away. A 75,000$ house is going for higher prices than listed on MLS, under that it will cost twice the price of the house to bring it to half the value. There are no liveable homes under 65,000$. I believe the baby boomers are deciding now is the time for real estate or they will not get another chance. I believe, providence aside, the reason the house I restored was intact was, I used to build boats. I changed the internal load on the home and broke the aerodynamics with altered roof pitch. If the house I had bought there was ok, I might not have done anything to it. Losing your house like you did, must have been ....... I cannot even find the word. Jenne and I are real fragile right now, we are ok, but if we went through that I think we would survive but we would look at the world a little differently. When I did stilt homes in the Keys, I used 12ft footings, and 12ft rebar reinforced 4'sq columns. Big bucks but, when hurricane George hit the Keys, the homes I built stood. George was not like these that just hit so I do not know how they would do with those. I cannot even imagine the heartache you must have gone through with your loss. At least you know your house could float! Well, somebody had to say it. I guess I would have been as strong as you ended up, but right now I am not sure. You never know some things untill they happen. You have my respect.
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birdseed
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since September 2004
Posts: 167
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Post by birdseed on Sept 28, 2004 2:46:09 GMT -5
Tampa here.. Love the tax structure in Florida..The weather is a bonus also..Hey doc..Have you tried tumbling or working with "Tampa Bay Coral"? Works well with jewelry projects...Or as they say in the Hood "Jew_ry"...My yard looks like a WWII and the power was out for 10 hours-My generator ran out of gas..Life is a "bitch" without power...... The drawback of Florida is that not much good "rockhounding"--We are a sandstone state...Lots of sand if we ever run out og 220 grit...40 years age I used lots of sand in tumbling projects..Used to crush agate and use over and over in the rough grind..Ahhhh...the good old days----
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Post by Cher on Sept 28, 2004 12:07:32 GMT -5
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Post by rockyraccoon on Sept 29, 2004 9:45:10 GMT -5
birdseed & doc here are the new florida car tags kim
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Post by creativeminded on Oct 1, 2004 9:34:29 GMT -5
That plate is just too funny.
Tami
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