Sale of house pending due to Hurricane Irma

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Sale of house pending due to Hurricane Irma

Joe Garvin
Investor · Fort Pierce, FL · Member since 2014 · 94 posts · 46 votes

Hello BP Community,

We live in Florida, in the direct path of Hurricane Irma. In early August, we moved 2 hours north into St. Lucie County (still in the path) and have a contract to sell our house in South Florida. We were supposed to close Sept 7th but the buyers’ insurance and Title Company put the brakes on the sale until after Irma passes. If this storm is as bad as predicted I can’t see the sale happening or even the market recovering for months if not years.

Has anyone dealt with this type of a scenario with the sale of a property during or after a natural disaster. In our contract in Section 18 sub section (g) Force Majeure and sub section (m) Risk of Loss seem to offer the most guidance. Can anyone can offer advice on how to navigate this difficult scenario so we can have a plan in place.

Our new home and a vacation rental on Hutchinson Island are all in the direct path of this massive storm. Thankfully all are insured but any advice the BP Community can offer to guide us in getting ourselves organized would be a great help. My mind is so overloaded I am not thinking clearly.

Kind regards,

Joe Garvin

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Michael Plante
Deland, FL · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
9y

I'm surprised by all the answers 

It is very common to delay closing when there is a hurricane in the area of the property even if you are closing 1000 miles away. 

Think about it what if you close and it turns out the house is destoyed   

Who is to say it was destroyed before or after the closing.   Which insurance company needs to pay, buyers or sellers. 

Just imagine the law suits

I just remembered the one that DID happen for us today was just someone paying us off on a mortgage we were holding.   

So the property was already in their name.  So I guess not technically a closing just a nice wire into our bank account. 

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  • Michael Plante
    Deland, FL · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9y

    It happens. Have patience and all should be fine. 

    I was suppose to close on selling a property today and it went off without a hitch

    I was suppose to buy 2 properties yesterday and has been delayed until next week. So they emailed me a contract extension, signed and sent back. 

    All 3 properties are within a 20 minutes drive of each other. 

    0Reply
  • Thao Kieu
    Real Estate Professional · Totowa, NJ · Member since 2016 · 65 posts · 18 votes
    9y

    Joe, I do not have answer for the question but I wish you and your family will safe. It will be ok. Please take care & keep us posted how you make out.

    0Reply
  • Kurt Traynor
    Investor · Moseley, VA · Member since 2015 · 145 posts · 60 votes
    9y
    Joe Garvin sounds like the buyers could have cold feet, with understanding.. I'm scheduled to close on the 29th and we're still a go, inspection was yesterday and appraisal scheduled for Tuesday. I'm just north of Sarasota, looking like we're going to have Cat4 winds,, I'm just praying my house doesn't get damaged.. Prayers for all of us here in FLA!! This one is going to hurt..
    1Reply
  • Joe Garvin
    OP
    Investor · Fort Pierce, FL · Member since 2014 · 94 posts · 46 votes
    9y
    Originally posted by @Thao Kieu:

    Joe, I do not have answer for the question but I wish you and your family will safe. It will be ok. Please take care & keep us posted how you make out.

    1Reply
  • Wayne Brooks
    Real Estate Professional · West Palm Beach, FL · Member since 2012 · 23k+ posts · 13k+ votes
    9y

    We're certainly not "in the direct path" of Irma over here on the east coast any more.  Probably not even hurricane winds and no significant storm surge.  Maybe some minor damage, maybe none.....if damaged, fix it, close and move on.  Naples to Tampa.....a different story.

    0Reply
  • Joe Garvin
    OP
    Investor · Fort Pierce, FL · Member since 2014 · 94 posts · 46 votes
    9y

    Hi Thao,

    Thanks for your well wishes!   Since my original post the storm has shifted to the west and seems to be taking aim at Naples.  Seems like there is really no safe place in Fla.

    0Reply
  • Michael Plante
    Deland, FL · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9y

    I'm surprised by all the answers 

    It is very common to delay closing when there is a hurricane in the area of the property even if you are closing 1000 miles away. 

    Think about it what if you close and it turns out the house is destoyed   

    Who is to say it was destroyed before or after the closing.   Which insurance company needs to pay, buyers or sellers. 

    Just imagine the law suits

    I just remembered the one that DID happen for us today was just someone paying us off on a mortgage we were holding.   

    So the property was already in their name.  So I guess not technically a closing just a nice wire into our bank account. 

    2Reply
  • Sara K.
    Investor · Winter Garden, FL · Member since 2017 · 86 posts · 74 votes
    9y

    Sorry to hear about your delay. 

    We are schedule to close on a property in West Orange County on 9/13. We're looking to push it back to at least the next day, that should give us enough time to inspect the property prior to closing. 

    0Reply
  • John Thedford
    Real Estate Broker · Naples, FL · Member since 2013 · 9k+ posts · 6k+ votes
    9y

    It appears you may not have the issues we have on the SW coast. If interested, I have 9 SFR for sale in the direct path of Irma. Must close before noon today! Great deal!!!

    1Reply
  • Joe Garvin
    OP
    Investor · Fort Pierce, FL · Member since 2014 · 94 posts · 46 votes
    9y

    Hi John,

    Props to you for maintaining your humor thru this!  Wish you all the best as well as all your properties. 

    I'm a member of the Air Force Reserves at MacDill AFB,  Tampa and I can't imagine what the flooding will be like there.  Luckily the active duty commander ordered a mandatory evac even before the storm changed directions.

    1Reply
  • John Thedford
    Real Estate Broker · Naples, FL · Member since 2013 · 9k+ posts · 6k+ votes
    9y

    @Joe Garvin

    No need to cry or freak out. Deal with it best as possible, keep cool head, and rebuild as necessary.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gyleNs6hsE

    0Reply
  • Mateusz Prawdzik
    Developer · Little Ferry, NJ · Member since 2016 · 426 posts · 226 votes
    9y

    @Joe Garvin I hope that you will be safe during the hurricane, as it moves more and more inland, it's suppose to lose strength so if you moved north 2 hours, then I think you should be okay. Like @Michael Plante was saying, if they don't push closings and people buy a house that is no in the middle of the Atlantic, well then Lawsuits would erupt and no one would have a place to live. They need to push closings because of that fact and it will help people feel more secure that way as well. 

    I am sorry to hear about the house you have in South Florida, but I sent you a DM about it. Please check it out. Once again, be safe. 

    0Reply
  • Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
    Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
    9y

    @John Thedford  best of luck I have 7 or 8 left in Orlando that I funded... I called my agent.. NO changes can be made they will not write new policies until after the storm comes through or change anything.

    I have been checking airnav and here is the real winds.

    Key west:   65 knots gusting 85 kts... so 100mph gust

    Fort Meyers  45 knots gusting 70kts  so about 90 mph.

    Miami  30 gusting  45 knots... so not so bad.

    I mean here in Oregon we get 45 gusting 70 knots each winter just with Alaska storms 3 to 4 times a year on the coast

    and then in the metro area we will get 30 gusting 40  a lot...

    with winds in the gorge  70 knots gustings 90 knots along the ridge line.

    I was worried it was going to be 100 plus knots gusting 120 knots

    I think you will as you say ride it out.. I think the biggest issue is flooding ..

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    0Reply
  • John Thedford
    Real Estate Broker · Naples, FL · Member since 2013 · 9k+ posts · 6k+ votes
    9y

    @Jay Hinrichs

    We will deal with whatever comes our way! Want to buy me out within the next hour???:)

    1Reply
  • Jose Rueda
    Coral Springs, FL · Member since 2017 · 39 posts · 10 votes
    9y
    Joe Garvin the active duty commander ordered a mandatory evacuation for the entire base except for the essential personal on Thursday. My brother in law is with me in Atlanta due to the evacuation. Now they're just worried about the flooding due to the storm surge. Hopefully the homes are okay after the storm passes.
    0Reply
  • Michael Plante
    Deland, FL · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    9y

    Woman next door to us at our  lake house in NY just asked me if I would check google earth to see if their house in FL was ok

    I had to explain to her that google earth does not show a current picture so it would not help

    Not sure if she believed what we told her 

    0Reply
  • Walter Padgett
    Investor · Englewood, FL · Member since 2017 · 1 post · 0 votes
    9y

    You could check this: http://www.weather.gov/tbw/

    0Reply
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