Buying a Beach Condo After Helene and Milton: What to Ask For

Hurricane Helene made landfall near Perry on September 26, 2024, and Hurricane Milton came ashore at Siesta Key on October 9, 2024. Neither made landfall in Pinellas, but the National Weather Service measured a peak water level at Clearwater Beach during Helene of 6.67 feet above mean higher high water, well past the previous site record of 4.02 feet set in the 1993 Storm of the Century. If you are buying a condo after hurricane damage, the listing will not tell you where a building stands. These are the records and questions that will.

1. Ask how the building’s 50 percent review came out

In a flood zone, a building that is substantially damaged cannot simply be repaired. Pinellas County says a substantially damaged building “cannot be repaired without bringing it into compliance with the current floodplain codes,” for example by elevating or replacing it. For condominiums, the county makes that determination for each building, not for each unit, and the building owner or an authorized representative files a form for each building. A storm repair form posted on the Indian Rocks Beach city site asks for the structure’s market value, the 50 percent limit, and the estimated repair cost for both the common elements and all of the individual units.

• Ask the association whether a substantial damage determination was made for the building and what it found.
• Ask whether all repair permits are closed. The county page covers unincorporated areas, so for a building inside a beach city, check with that city’s building department.
• Our FEMA 50 percent rule guide compares how each beach city applies the rule.

2. Read the master policy and the hurricane deductible

Florida law requires every condo association to carry adequate property insurance, with replacement cost determined at least once every 3 years. The association’s policy covers the building, but it excludes items inside the unit, including floor, wall and ceiling coverings, electrical fixtures, appliances, water heaters, built-in cabinets and countertops, and window treatments. The owner is responsible for rebuilding the parts the owner is required to insure.

The board sets the deductibles, at a board meeting, “based upon the level of available funds and predetermined assessment authority.” In other words, the deductible is tied to the association’s cash and its power to assess owners, so ask how the association would pay it after a storm.

• Ask for the current policy declarations and the named storm or hurricane deductible.
• Florida law requires a condo unit owner’s policy to include at least $2,000 of loss assessment coverage for all assessments from the same direct loss, with a deductible of no more than $250 per direct property loss. Ask your insurance agent how much to carry and whether it would apply to an assessment for the association’s deductible.

3. Find out about special assessments, current and planned

Under Florida law, the purpose of any special assessment must be stated in a written notice to each owner, and the money collected can be used only for that purpose. That notice tells you what a storm assessment pays for.

• The estoppel certificate, which the association must issue within 10 business days of a request, lists the assessments and special assessments owed and those scheduled to become due. It is good for 30 days if delivered electronically or by hand, or 35 days by mail.
• Ask whether the board has discussed an assessment that has not been noticed yet. The minutes will show it.
• Who pays an assessment that is approved before closing is a contract question. Settle it in writing before you sign.

4. Ask the seller for the minutes and inspection reports

Association records are open to owners, not to buyers. For a condominium with 25 or more units, Florida law requires the association to post certain records in a website section that only owners and employees can access, including the approved minutes of board meetings over the preceding 12 months, the annual budget and any proposed budget, and structural and life safety inspection reports. Ask the seller to download them for you. A year of minutes can show how the board handled storm claims, contractors and assessments.

These storm questions sit on top of the standard resale documents. Our condo inspections, SIRS and reserves guide lists what a resale seller must provide and the buyer’s right to cancel if they were not provided before signing.

What this means for sellers

Buyers who ask these questions will ask them of you. Gather the policy declarations, the deductible, any assessment notices, the latest estoppel figures and a year of minutes before you list. Our guide to selling a condo on St. Pete Beach has a full seller document checklist.

Start with the building

We are Realtors, not attorneys or insurance agents, so confirm insurance and legal questions with those professionals. If you are looking at a specific building, start with its guide in our beach condos by building index, then download our condo buyer checklist and bring these questions to the association before you write an offer. John and Nicole can help you request the records.