Florida repairs necessitated by Hurricane Ian are still being made

On Sept. 28, 2022, Hurricane Ian came to Charlotte County. By the time all repairs are figured, it could become the costliest tropical occurrence in the history of recorded storms, in terms of damage (at the time this article was written, Ian was the third costliest storm). Immediately after the winds slowed down, the building industry went into action. Many contractors went to work on triaging homes and businesses for customers, friends, neighbors and those who called the Charlotte DeSoto Building Industry Association.

Even before Hurricane Ian, we were experiencing horrible delays receiving building supplies. Prior to the uptick in home improvements necessitated by the storm, we were begging for more people to join our industry with higher wages.

Many people are frustrated. It is four months since the storm and there are many reasons why repairs haven't been completed.

¦ Insurance – This has been, and continues to be, an issue for many in Florida. In May, our state legislators had a special session regulating changes to insurance. This allowed for homes with older roofs to have coverage, although that coverage was limited. When the price of homes and repairs increased, some people made changes to policies to pay less money on insurance, which decreased the amount insurance companies pay. This is why some people might receive $2,000 (an adjusted cash value) versus the full replacement value.

¦ Estimates – If you provide your contractor with an estimate of how much your insurance company will paying you for the job, many contractors will try to work to get you close to that price. Right now, many building supplies — including shingles, drywall, concrete, windows and AC units — are still higher priced mainly because of a shortage. In order to make a bid, a contractor needs to get estimates from subcontractors, have plans drawn and price out supplies. Gathering this information can take a month or more. Many contractors add a stipulation that the price quoted is good for a small amount of time because prices are changing so quickly..

If you have the skill set, many updates can be done yourself. You just might fall in love with your home all over again.

¦ Permits – It is your responsibility as the homeowner to ensure that the company your hire pulls a permit and closes it out. Access your local building department online and search your home address to see any permits that have been pulled. If you do not have proper permitting, your insurance company might not reimburse you, or might drop you for not having work completed and inspected to the state building code.

Be wary of any company asking you to pull a permit for your home. If you pull an owner builder permit, you will not be able to sell your home for at least a year. As an owner builder, you must provide direct, onsite supervision of the construction; you cannot hire an unlicensed person to act as your contractor or to supervise persons working on your property. As on owner builder, it is your responsibility to ensure that anyone you employ has the licenses required by law. Any person working on your building who is not licensed must work under your direct supervision and must be employed by you, which means you must comply with laws requiring the withholding of federal income tax and Social Security contributions under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act and must provide workers compensation for the employee.

We have a link on our website to help answer many of your questions. Visit www.cdbia.com then click on "After a Storm – Help for your home or business." We are here to help you through this process.

The website also has a link to our member directory of licensed contractors who can assist you through the process.

Now is the time. Today is the day. What are you waiting for? ¦

— Adam Riley is the president of LTD Contracting. Reach him by calling 239-400- 3318 or emailing [email protected].