Insurance-scarred Florida emigres stream to Atlanta

Wave of transplants affects new architecture, real estate marketing campaigns, schools ___ When Warren Lambert's insurance company canceled his homeowner's policy, it was the last straw.

Even though he had never filed a claim despite a punishing year of hurricanes in 2004 and had absorbed a 40 percent rise in his insurance premium, Lambert was among thousands of Florida homeowners left in the lurch by retreating insurers.

For the short term, Lambert bought a policy that added yet another $600 a year to his payments. Then, he came house hunting in Atlanta, where he had lived in the 1990s.

Pleased by the growing urban sophistication of the intown areas, he settled into a Peachtree Street loft.

Lambert, 44, is among a wave of transplants migrating to metro Atlanta from coastal communities, driven by soaring insurance premiums, devastating weather and a volatile real estate market that has priced much coastal housing beyond the reach of average workers.

Leslie Johnson, vice president for business development at Coldwell Banker The Condo Store, said recent research about the Midtown market shows that 33 percent of all the buyers there over age 55 are moving from Florida.

"I think there will be more when those people in Florida can sell their houses," Johnson said.

Lambert confirms that a number of his Florida friends have shopped for homes and jobs in Atlanta while waiting for a buyer.

Johnson even notes that the numbers of homebuyers coming from Florida are having an effect on the architecture of new construction and the style of real estate marketing campaigns.

At Aqua in Midtown, for example, developer Scott Leventhal acknowledges drawing inspiration from the design of condo towers in Miami.

And the Related Group, Miami's signature residential developer, is currently in its design phase for CityPlace Buckhead near Lenox Square, its first Atlanta project.

This geographic shift is not just being felt inside the city. In fact, every part of metro Atlanta is absorbing a notable share of coastal transplants.

Gainesville real estate broker and analyst Frank Norton Jr. said his data is showing that former Floridians comprise the largest identifiable group of regional transplants now buying homes in north Georgia.

"About a quarter of people relocating here are from Florida," Norton said. "It's our largest source of relocation."

Georgia State University insurance professor Martin Grace said the uptick in severe hurricane activity in recent years has produced widespread insurance-company re-evaluation of risk levels and loss protection throughout East Coast and Gulf of Mexico communities.

"This is having the greatest effect in Florida because that is where most hurricanes hit, where they do the most damage," Grace said.

But the effect of increased hurricane activity is being felt all over the East Coast, said David Colmans, executive director of the Georgia Insurance Information Service.

"People who want to live in paradise have to realize there's a cost to that," Colmans said. "Now, all of a sudden, people in the Northeast are realizing they are vulnerable as well."

With insurance companies withdrawing from the Florida market and the remaining companies raising rates to shocking levels, Florida legislators attempted to provide government relief for strapped homeowners, only to discover the loss estimates driving insurance company premiums were accurately calculated, according to Grace. An attempt earlier this year by the Florida Legislature to stem the rising tide of premiums did little to reduce rates.

"The insurance industry wasn't pulling a fast one," Grace said. "It really was expensive."

For a growing enclave of Florida transplants in Henry County, those costs combined with a growing market of attractive salaries made moving to metro Atlanta a no-brainer.

Miami teacher Nannette Bradley, 34, said the annual $3,000 insurance cost for her three-bedroom, two-bath townhouse was straining her public-servant salary to the breaking point.

"The bills were piling on," Bradley said. "You couldn't see the end to anything."

In January, she visited friends already living in the Hampton area and found a lot to love about the area, including higher teacher salaries. With a job secured in the Henry County schools, she will close on a new home this month for herself and her 8-year-old son. The new five-bedroom, four-bath house in a Hampton subdivision was the same price as her Miami townhome.

Terrilyn Jones, also a teacher in Henry County, moved into her Liberty Square home in May. When she was living in Miami, she said, she had to rent because homeownership was so expensive.

Miami's loss is Atlanta's gain, especially for real estate agents like Clifton Gerring, an agent with Jenny Pruitt & Associates who has enjoyed a lot of referrals from his Florida transplants to friends and family who are joining them in metro Atlanta.

Gerring got his first two Florida clients in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans.

"Then, they started referring their friends and relatives," Gerring said. He estimates he has helped as many as a dozen of these referrals over the past two years.

The problems in coastal communities are also helping to stabilize the Atlanta area by making retirees reconsider their beachcomber dreams.

Vinings resident Ruth Stockinger and her husband were considering a move to Florida after his retirement from SunTrust Bank in September. But the costs that emerged as the couple shopped in the Naples, Fla., area for a home changed their minds.

"Homeowners' insurance is so difficult to get for us because we had a very small claim" at their Vinings home, Stockinger said. "They won't take on any new customers in Florida if they've had a claim in the last five years."

So, the Stockingers decided to stay in Atlanta, which they have loved since moving here from Richmond, Va., four years ago. They'll use the money they save to fund shorter beach getaways throughout the year.

I had hoped to retire to my childhood home of Florida some day, but now I’m not too sure. I hear the beaches are mostly privately owned and you can’t just go out there anymore. The insurance is crazy or unavailable, and the taxes on newcomers are withering. Maybe I’ll just stay here in Atlanta and visit the Savannah beaches now and then.

We live in Florida, near the beach (about 10 minutes from the beach, but we’re in a no evac zone), there’s no problem with access to the beaches. Yep, we’ve seen an increase in insurance rates, and property taxes (due to increased assessment) but we don’t pay a state income tax, so that compensates for some of the burden.

All depends what you like, I guess. We’ve lived in other places, but always kept our home here (we bought many years ago, and taxes are harder on newcomers, granted.)

We’ve moved away to the usual places, like NC, lived in the Caribbean for a stint (due to husband’s job,) traveled and lived for a time overseas (job related)...but we’ve always come back to Florida.

We have relatives in Atlanta...my husband avoids it like the plague (the traffic does him in, LOL.) But we’re in a great spot, close to beaches (and once again, there is no problem with access,) close to launch areas for the boat, always have fish in the freezer due to plentiful fishing expeditions, and the sunsets (we’re on the West Coast) can’t be beat.

Theres an upside and a downside to everyplace. The woman in the story didn’t mention her commute, and maybe she doesn’t have one, but commuting into Atlanta in the traffic has to be raising some people’s cost of living there.

Little things like that figure into our decision...for now, we’re staying put. (we didn’t have any hurricanes last year...but our insurance rates didn’t go down, but if we have some this year, I guarantee they’ll go up, but no place is immune from “acts of God” be it tornados, earthquakes, wildfires, hurricanes, etc.)

I’m inland from Tarpon about 5 miles. Going ANYWHERE during the morning or afternoon rush is an awful commute. I don’t set any appointments until 10 or 11 usually. I have a lot of business in S Tampa and St Pete- and the traffic has gotten so much worse during this last building boom.

Personally, I’m glad fewer people are coming here. And I have considered building a house on my mountain lot (an hour north of Atlanta- absolutely zero traffic) and getting out myself. Sure, FL is nice, but I was born here, and the mountains have a beauty that intrigues me too.

Just thinking....

You guys only have US 19 still...pretty bad up that way. Are they planning any traffic relief for your area?

We live near the tip of the peninsula (Pinellas) and my husband works downtown, so commuting is no problem. My son does travel to all three campuses of USF (Tampa, Sarasoata, and St. Pete)...his trips to Sarasota or Tampa campus take him about 35 minutes, but he plans his classes around rush hour, and if he does have a 6 pm class in Tampa, he leaves around 4 to beat the traffic.

We lived in NC...nice, but there again, the more affordable house is outside the city, which means a commute, and traffic around major cities in NC is just as bad as ours. The 7 percent state income tax didn’t make us too happy either.

I’d like a place in the mountains, as well, but maybe in retirement, not a lot of jobs in the mountains. In the meantime, I tell my husband, as we’re crossing over a bridge watching the sailboats sail under or watching the sunset while our dogs play in the surf...people pay big bucks to vacation here. We’ve lived here most of our lives, so we don’t appreciate the beauty as much as they do.

There’s an upaide and a downside to anyplace you live, the important thing is to concentrate on the upside while you’re living there, and move when the cons outweigh the pros...but be realistic about the place you’re moving to, because there will be cons there as well.

Pleased by the growing urban sophistication of the intown areas, he settled into a Peachtree Street loft.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Displeased by the demise of true redneck independence of spirit and the lack of appreciation for Hank Senior’s lyrics, Rip Sawyer considers moving deep into the Pee Dee river swamp.

I’m in Odessa, and the people here resist development like rabid pitbulls. I have a cow field and an orange grove across the street, and I own an acre on a lake! Gunn Hwy needs to be expanded, but the people here refuse to allow it. I guess they’d rather have the bad traffic to discourage the crowding- and honestly, it is better long term for property values.

As for the mountains, it’s definitely a different mindset. No crowds, but you have to learn to live with NOTHING going on too. If you’re not an oputdoors type, you need the city to keep you occupied- if you want to go out, you can always find something. I’m a rock climbing/canoeing/hiking/camping type, but my wife is a beach girl- so I don’t think the mountains would work for her.

“I hear the beaches are mostly privately owned and you can’t just go out there anymore.”

Not true, the beaches are not privately owned in Fla, and access is pretty easy in most areas, especially compared to some other states.

Insurance is a big problem. A lot of insurance companies have cancelled coverage for many individuals, and not just in waterfront areas. My parents live several miles north of the city of Panama City (not PC Beach), well away from the coast, and in an area that will never flood, and they still had their insurance cancelled.

I love the mountains, but you’re right, it’s not like there’s lots to do in the tiny towns. We spent our vacation a couple years ago in a cabin on a 50 acre farm way up in the mountains. There was a stocked trout pond on the property so hubby and son were catching whoppers. We even took our dogs...they loved roaming and all the woodsy scents. But there was lots of down time, which I enjoy, personally. Trips into the grocery store were a hassle though, you’re so used to making quick trips that you forget that you have to plan better when you’re far away from a store.

Last year my guys went to British Columbia and Alberta and did rock climbing. They loved Revelstoke for rock climbing..check out the online sites, it’s gorgeous. They also do the whitewater stuff (not me, LOL) but have to go up to N. GA or upwards to do that. Like I said, definite pluses in all parts of the country.

As to your traffic woes, does the Veteran’s help you at all? We have friends that travel from here to the Brooksville area pretty regularly, and although the interstate is faster, they often take the Veterans because they like the road better.

Not much rock climbing around here...ever been to Vertical Ventures in Tampa?

I grew up in Pinellas Park, about 7 miles from the beaches we usually went to, as I remember. At the time, traffic was not a problem. That was in the 1960's.

We had a one-story house made of concrete blocks covered with real stucco and a heavy Spanish tile roof. We went through numerous glancing blows from 'canes and never lost anything more valuable than a lawn chair, although they made my Mother extremely scared.

Here are some things I remember from my youth:

Pass-a-Grille Beach (where we often stayed in Summer)
The Don Ce Sar (big pink building which was a VA hospital at the time where my Dad worked, now a luxury hotel again)
Ted Peters smoked fish
cast netting for mullet
pulling up blue crabs with a string tied to a chicken neck
mackerel roiling the water when they ran, easy to catch with anything shiny
semi-molten asphalt, which one would run across barefoot very quickly, only to leap into...
sandspurs :)
bridge jumping (strongly discouraged by my parents)
eating flan at an old Cuban restaurant in Tampa
the most wonderful Greek food in Tarpon Springs, including baklava, still my favorite dessert
swimming parties on Christmas eve, with fake snow sprayed on things around the pool

We eat Ted Peters fish sometimes...but we just go out to the smokehouse and pick up some fish and some of their potato salad, then bring it home and make a meal around it. It’s a lot pricier now than it was years ago (and what isn’t, LOL.) I think last time we went we picked up two mackeral fillets (we took one by to my folks) and the bill was around $28 for the fish.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.