Florida Residents Planning to Sell Homes Flee State After Hurricane Season: ‘We’re Done’

TAMPA, FL. – After a string of storms this hurricane season, many residents are planning to sell their homes to either escape flood zones or leave the Sunshine State entirely. Some wasted no time in signing a contract to build a new home.

“We’re not going to move back into that house, it was very traumatic and I don’t want to go through that again,” said Jodi Hameroff, a St. Petersburg resident. “We’re actually under contract for a new house, we’re just not going to come back here. No joke, my husband had someone looking for us two days after (Helen).”

Right next door, her neighbor in Shore Acres said they, too, would sell the house after they renovated it.

READ: Why weren’t the storm pumps working? Leaders meet about flooding in North Tampa neighborhoods

“Is it worth going through this again? How will I feel next year, let alone two weeks later, like this time?” said Chris Beardsley, a Shore Acres resident. “For peace of mind in the future, it’s more important to move forward and sell the house for what we can get for it.”

Beardsley said his family tried to convince him to leave the state, but he couldn’t leave his law practice in the area.

“Are you wondering if I should move back to where I grew up? Can we move across the country? But my profession keeps me in this area,” he said.

He plans to rebuild the house first, but his relative said she is getting dozens of calls – some from residents wanting to sell their homes while they are still destroyed.

MORE: Residents on the Ridge Estate are saving what they can from homes surrounded by floodwaters.

“They don’t want to do it anymore, and I certainly don’t blame them,” said Tampa Bay Realtor Eileen Bedinghaus. “So they are very disappointed. And of all the people I’ve met so far, all but one are likely to sell out.”

However, she warned that these sudden moves could cause some problems.

“There are other issues when moving out of your area, like costs go up in areas that aren’t in a flood zone, taxes go up when you move, and they’re very concerned about what’s going to happen to their insurance,” Bedinghaus said.

“For some people this is their fourth flood and I don’t know how they survived the first one, but I’m not interested in surviving the second one,” Beardsley said.

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