This video is a little dry but explains by the number how if you do not have flood insurance now you should get it ASAP to lock in the lower rate. 

View in FEMA Multimedia Library

I was looking over an old post on listing terminology. And I thought it was wirth taking a moment to see just how the local MLS defines rooms. The answer seems obvious untill you get into a house that is advertised as a 4 bed and it’s more like 3 plus a big closet.

Bedroom: A room attached to the main structure of a dwelling that includes a door that can be closed and a closet.

Full Bath: Room containing a bathtub/shower or both, sink and a toilet
Half Baths: Room containing a sink and toilet (Entering 1 = 1 half bath)

SqFt – Total (Total Building Square Footage): Overall square footage including living Area
Square Footage and outdoor attachments i.e. garage, carport, patio or atrium space.

SqFt – Living (Living Area Square Footage): Heated / Air conditioned Living space, measured by exterior walls not inclusive of exterior attachments i.e. garage, carport, patio or atrium space.

I sort of already answered this one in an earlier post on hurricane resistant construction HERE.

Frame, as we call it, refers to a house with walls made of wood wood, like 2×6’s, with a cover over them, typically plywood, and then perhaps stucco, shingles or clap board over that.  OR, the plywood itself is painted and it is the finish, which is a T-1-11 plywood finish.  ‘CBS’ is a home with exterior walls made of concrete block (CB) and stucco (S) over that, CBS.

So, to return to the question.  CBS or Frame?

My answer is this.  Everything is worth owning at the right number.  I figure the difference between CBS and frame is worth about 30/s.f. so if the Seller is willing to recognize this and you don’t mind paying higher insurance costs (wind & flood) then why not.  A wood framed house can be just as strong as a CBS one BUT it is much more susceptible to decay from termites, ants or good old fashioned wood rot.  To be clear, there is wood in everyone’s house but the base construction ‘type’ in the MLS refers to the walls. Some homes have CBS on the first floor and wood frame on the second. Some are CBS on the second floor as well.  If you do have wood frame on the first floor then you should have what I call the ‘DMZ’ around the house.  For 2′, all around the house, do NOT let anything grow, not even grass.  This will allow you to see what’s going on at that all important bottom of the wall location, and deter ants and termites.  I was at a property inspection for a home in Jupiter Farms owned and maintained by a person who was in the property maintenance business.  It was the most meticulously maintained home I have ever seen.  Guess what?  At inspection we found termites in the front porch where they had forgoten their own advice and allowed plants to touch the patio.  The only good news is that it’s cheap and easy to fix wood framing, so long as the damage does not get too far along into say that 2×6 wall.

2018 Florida Beach Access

There is a new law governing beach access for the public in Florida.  I copied the article below from the Florida Association of Realtors web site…

This is a link to an old blog I put together on water rights in general

But for us here in Palm Beach County the effects will be minimal because…

Question: I live in a county that has an engineered beach/erosion control line. Does this issue affect me?

Answer: There are 35 coastal counties in Florida. A total of 26 coastal counties have an engineered beach/erosion control line – a jurisdictional boundary established in beach renourishment project areas. If you live in one of these counties, then customary use ordinances are highly unlikely for your area.

Answer: “Customary use” is a common law term referring to public access to private beachfront property. Generally speaking, beachfront property owners in Florida own the “dry sand” area leading down to the mean high tide line – the line of intersection of the land with the water’s surface at the maximum height reached by a rising tide. The land seaward of that, commonly known as the “wet sand” area, is held by the state in trust for the public.

The process known as customary use allows a local government to adopt an ordinance that allows public access to the private dry sand area of beachfront property where the use has been ancient, reasonable, without interruption and free from dispute. (1974 City of Daytona Beach v. Tona-Rama, 294 So.2d 73 (Fla. 1974)

Question: Are customary use ordinances new?

Answer: No. The public trust doctrine is embodied in Art. 10, s. 11 of the state’s Constitution. Further, the customary use process has existed in Florida for many decades.

Question: If customary use is not new, then what does this new law (HB 631) that was passed actually do?

Answer: The previous process for adopting a customary use ordinance was not structured in a way that encouraged active dialogue about the issue between property owners and the local government. The intent of the new law is to allow customary use practices to continue, but in a way that is more transparent, efficient and economical, while requiring active dialogue between local governments and private property owners on the front end to avoid costly legal challenges.

Question: What was the old customary use process and how does it work now?

Answer: Simply put, prior to this law a local government would evaluate its public beach needs and previous public use, draft a customary use ordinance to address the issues they found, and then vote to adopt that ordinance. Property owners affected by the new ordinance could then pursue a legal challenge if they wished to.

Under the new law, the local government must first hold a public hearing to make the public aware of the new customary use ordinance they want to adopt. They also need to notify every affected property owner of the proposed ordinance in writing, as well as identify the use they are seeking and show evidence of the need of that use. They will then bring the proposed ordinance forward for a judicial determination and must notify affected property owners that they have 45 days from receipt of the notice to intervene in the legal proceedings.

Question: Does the new law allow property owners to put up fences and other barriers to block beach access?

Answer: The new law is silent on the issue of fences or other barriers.

Question: Is public access to Florida’s beaches cut off under this new law?

Answer: No. The law only changes the process by which a local government would follow to adopt a customary use ordinance.

Question: I live in a county that has an engineered beach/erosion control line. Does this issue affect me?

Answer: There are 35 coastal counties in Florida. A total of 26 coastal counties have an engineered beach/erosion control line – a jurisdictional boundary established in beach renourishment project areas. If you live in one of these counties, then customary use ordinances are highly unlikely for your area.

Nine counties don’t have an engineered beach/erosion control line. These counties are: Walton, Jefferson, Taylor, Dixie, Citrus, Hernando, Pasco, Volusia and Flagler.

© 2018 Florida Realtors®