August 30, 2019
Preventative Governmental Measures Recommended by Experts
If one thing has become clear over the past few years, it is that natural disasters are on an apparent upward trajectory, and that this trend poses a decided threat to various communities all over the country. As we saw in the hurricanes that hit Texas, Florida, North Carolina, and Puerto Rico, and the more recent flooding in the Midwest, this can result in catastrophic destruction to property, resulting in scads of repair work (and, in some cases, property abandonment).
In one November report, Zillow made a prediction that 2019 would likely see a record number of homes impacted by such natural occurrences, and that when 2050 rolls around in excess of 385,000 homes (worth northward of $200 billion) “are at risk of permanent inundation or chronic flooding … due to rising sea levels, and homes are still being built at striking rates in areas that face high risks of future flooding.” Naturally a relatively high number of these homes would fall within our service area of Florida.
However, it is not the case that most experts recommend solutions relying on government-supported insurance, or even mandatory insurance, to resolve this issue.
In a recent survey, Zillow reports that the majority of the 100 real estate experts and economists who responded related their beliefs that superior solutions were likely to come in the form of preventative measures and construction regulations—in forms such as zoning, construction code that meets “state of the art resilience standards,” declaring moratoriums on building in high-risk areas, and investments in defensive infrastructure “such as seawalls, jetties or de-forested zones—rather than via governmental requirements for or provisions of insurance. Indeed, only 19 percent of respondents recommended such governmental insurance underwriting or subsidy solutions. The latter, they believed, would be more likely to make taxpayers liable for the bill for repairing destroyed property.
Here at Topouzis & Associates, P.C., we make sure a home buyer is receiving true and unencumbered title to a home, and we provide title insurance to back our title services. Whether you’re a lender, an investor, or purchasing a new home, the policies we connect you with provide peace of mind that your new property will not bring along any nasty surprises. Whether you live in Providence, Rhode Island; Cambridge, Massachusetts; or Miami, Florida, feel free to contact us for more information.