PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Many of you have reached out to WPTV overwhelmed by the rise in costs it takes to own a home in Florida.
"Florida always used to be like a nice place to go, because it was quote "on sale," said Ken Freimauer. "That's no longer true."
Freimauer has lived in his historic 98-year-old home in Flamingo Park for the last five years.
"Housing costs are really high for good reason. Insurance because of hurricanes is brutal. Car insurance is more expensive than New York, utilities are high," Freimauer said. "Living in Florida is not a bargain anymore."
Down the street, Hope Hebenstreit said in order to keep her insurance on her 87-year old house, she had to get a new roof.
"If you had to put a tab on how much you've spent on repairs what would you say that number is?" asked WPTV's Joel Lopez.
"I would say upwards of $30,000," said Hebenstreit.
She's a mother of three who moved in two years ago from Chicago, and said she's paying four to five times more in insurance than in Chicago.
'We're spending more on repairs and maintenance than we would like," said Hebenstreit.
The call for help catching the attention of a Florida Senator Blaise Ingoglia.
"The homes that are built at sea level, the ones where you have all the damage exclusively done, those are the ones that are driving up premiums across the state and really hurting communities," said Ingoglia.
He's the new chairman of the state Senate's Committee on Banking and Insurance and is proposing a tax break incentive for homeowners.
HOW IT WORKS:
If you have a house that was built in the mid-90s, or older, and you make the necessary repairs to bring it up to modern day elevation and wind code standards, then you can be eligible for a 15 to 20 year tax freeze on your property taxes.
"It's an out of the box way of thinking to help bring homeowners insurance rates down in the state of Florida," said Ingoglia.
Homeowners that qualify would have their property taxes frozen on the value before the repairs were made.
That could include improvements to roofs, windows and doors that would fall under the wind code standard.
If approved, Ingoglia said this local, state and federal government will save money on relief efforts to pay for extra manpower and resources to help homes that were impacted by storms.
Homeowers would also save money, as their updated homes would be less prone to damage from a storm.
"We think that giving incentives and getting people to build up out of harm's way will be a win-win for local governments and local policy holders and homeowners," said Ingoglia.
Right now he's working on the final details of the proposal to present in the legislative session next year.
Ingoglia said staff is working with the federal government to see if there are any grants or loans to help homeowners make those initial repairs to qualify for the proposal.
Matt Sczesny is determined every day to help you find solutions in Florida's coverage collapse. If you have a question or comment on homeowners insurance, you can reach out to him any time.
Read WPTV's latest "Coverage Collapse" stories below:
-
Costco begins offering early shopping hours for executive members
Costco’s executive members now have access to exclusive early shopping hours. Starting Monday, the wholesale retailer began opening at 9 a.m. for executive members.
How to avoid appliance tariffs, and save big money this summer
Tariffs in imported appliances kicked in on June 23. But there are still ways to avoid them, if you need a new refrigerator, washer, dryer, or dishwasher this year.
Buy now, pay later loans will soon help determine your credit score
By now, pay later loans have helped many people stretch their budgets by paying off purchases through installments. But soon, you'll see those loans on your credit report.
Toy prices rise amid Trump tariffs; bigger hikes possible
Toy prices are on the rise. Prices for dolls, stuffed animals, building blocks and games rose 2.2% between April and May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
