Latest news with #MySafeFloridaHome
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
New Florida laws will impact property owners: Here's what to know
The Brief The Florida Association of Realtors is claiming victory now that the 2025 Florida Legislative session is over. A key highlight for residential real estate: $50 million has been allocated for down-payment assistance programs for essential workers, including teachers and first responders. Critics say the legislature didn't go far enough on the state's broader housing issues. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - The 2025 Florida Legislative session has wrapped up, and the Florida Association of Realtors is calling it a major victory for property owners and the real estate market. With a combination of targeted budget allocations and new laws, the session addressed a range of housing and property issues across the state. Big picture view A key highlight for residential real estate: $50 million has been allocated for down-payment assistance programs for essential workers, including teachers and first responders. The initiative is designed to help more Floridians "get a foot in the door" of homeownership. "At the end of the day, we gotta put our foot in the door. And I think that's how a lot of people see real estate nowadays," said Jack Cleary, a Florida realtor. READ: New Florida laws taking effect July 1: Here's what you need to know Additionally, the My Safe Florida Home Program received $280 million to help homeowners fortify their properties against hurricanes and other storms. Realtors say it's a step toward keeping more people in their homes safely. "We only have so many buyers in the pool and we have a lot of inventory," Cleary noted, emphasizing the need to support both supply and demand. Perhaps the most significant policy win for commercial property owners is the repeal of the Business Rent Tax, a move Republican lawmakers say could save Florida businesses over $900 million. What they're saying "If those tax breaks give relief to corporations to allow them to grow and prosper in Florida, that is good for the employees, the Floridians that work for those companies," said Rep. Lawrence McClure (R-District 68). The legislature also passed new protections for property owners dealing with squatters, particularly in commercial and vacation rentals. Property owners can now take quicker legal action to remove unlawful occupants. "Being able to have them arrested or have that consequence over their head is great," said Josh Bradley, a vacation rental owner. "They cost me a lot of money." The other side Not all lawmakers are satisfied. Critics say the legislature didn't go far enough on the state's broader housing issues. "Housing affordability is a major crisis right now. Property insurance is out of control. And the reality is that this session did not deliver on any of those problems," said Rep. Anna Eskamani (D-Orange County). Additional legislation passed this session will now require better flood risk disclosures for long-term renters and increased transparency around mobile home park lot conditions. The Source This story was written with information gathered by FOX 13's Genevieve Curtis. STAY CONNECTED WITH FOX 13 TAMPA: Download the FOX Local app for your smart TV Download FOX Local mobile app: Apple | Android Download the FOX 13 News app for breaking news alerts, latest headlines Download the SkyTower Radar app Sign up for FOX 13's daily newsletter Follow FOX 13 on YouTube
Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
Insurance reform fizzles in Florida. ‘We didn't see as much happen as we'd like'
Florida's legislative leaders ushered in this year's session vowing to investigate insurance company profits and holding the industry accountable if it wasn't paying claims. A House committee held rare hearings to grill the state's current and former insurance regulators. Republicans and regulators proposed several pro-consumer bills. But 105 days later, it didn't amount to much. After one of the longest and most contentious sessions in memory, lawmakers left Tallahassee late Monday night without taking significant action to reduce premiums or increase scrutiny on the insurance industry. 'We didn't see as much happen as we'd like,' said Rep. Brad Yeager, the New Port Richey Republican who leads the House's insurance committee. Lawmakers are promising more action in the next session. Committees are scheduled to begin meeting again in October. They did devote $280 million to renew the popular My Safe Florida Home program, which awards $10,000 grants to help homeowners harden their homes. But lawmakers limited future eligibility to homeowners with low or moderate incomes. Legislative leaders began the session by talking tough about reining in the industry, receiving standing ovations in the House and Senate. Miami Republican House Speaker Daniel Perez ordered hearings into a never-before-seen study by Florida's Office of Insurance Regulation revealed by the Herald/Times weeks before the session. The study showed that at the start of the state's insurance crisis, insurers claimed to lose millions of dollars while their affiliate companies made billions. The study was never shared with lawmakers until the Herald/Times reported on it. Yeager's committee held two hearings during which regulators said the study 'raised red flags.' But they said the report wasn't shared with lawmakers because it was never completed. The author of the report, a government contractor, testified that the report was finished but that regulators never followed up with her on it. The hearings were the extent of the House's public investigation. Lawmakers also did not propose spending money to duplicate the study or pass legislation to enhance regulators' oversight. Yeager said the hearings 'validated our concerns' about companies shifting profits, but said there were outstanding questions about the data underlying the report. He said the House is considering hiring a forensic accountant this summer to analyze the full dataset, which was turned over to his committee. 'We're not done. This was not a one-session project,' he said. Insurance executives in Florida have earned incredible paydays over the years by shifting premiums to affiliate companies and away from the eyes of state regulators. Late in the session, the trade publication Insurance Journal revealed that the CEO of Tampa-based Slide Insurance and his wife earned $50.3 million in two years. Perez said the House's work looking into profit-shifting would continue. 'I think it's disgusting,' he said of the compensation. 'Internally, we're having discussions on what we can do to look into that,' he said. 'It is something that we will address. It is not something that we are putting on the back burner.' Legislators cited different reasons for why legislation stalled this year. House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell, a Tampa Democrat, said the session was distracted by Republican infighting, including over Hope Florida. The program created by Gov. Ron DeSantis to move people off government aid was investigated by House lawmakers during the session. 'I think that we lost momentum in terms of big policies and big ideas because so much had to be worked out between personalities,' Driskell said. Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, a Republican from Spring Hill who leads the Senate's insurance committee, said legislation mostly failed because 'some were trying to undo the reforms that have stabilized our insurance market.' Those reforms largely made it harder to sue insurance companies. Some Republicans, including Donald Trump, have been critical of those recent changes. House lawmakers this session introduced bills that would have allowed homeowners to recoup their legal fees when they sue insurance companies. DeSantis repeatedly railed against the idea, and the legislation failed. 'This would have led to increased costs and higher rates for everyone,' Ingoglia said.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
It's hurricane season. Florida's property insurance isn't ready.
Prior to the start of this legislative session, Florida lawmakers were widely expected to make progress toward improving resilience of properties, including increased funding for the My Safe Florida Home grant, while also letting the recent legal reforms credited with stabilizing the state's insurance market continue to work before making additional reforms. However, what played out in session was shocking to say the least. While the Florida Legislature passed legislation that expanded the My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program to help condo owners harden their properties from storms, the Florida House also pursued a reversal of the aforementioned reforms. The House filed legislation to reverse the hard-fought legal reforms and return back to the status quo of a few years ago when Florida had some of the largest property insurance rate increases in the country. This was the wrong call and many lawmakers and the governor balked at this attempt to go back on these reform efforts only a few years into them. Thankfully, the Florida Senate agreed that reversing reforms now would do nothing to improve insurance rates for policyholders and putting a stop to the bill in its chamber to give more time to allow for the reforms to take hold. The bill ultimately was withdrawn from consideration. Opinion: Gov. Ron DeSantis, where's the real homeowners insurance fix for Florida? However, this does not mean that all is perfect in Florida's property insurance market. Floridians still pay among the highest property insurance bills in the country and while the percentage rate of increases have gone down, people are still seeing increases in their bills each year. 'Grotesque': Husband-wife insurance execs earn more than $50 million in 2 years Florida has long flirted with the seductive idea that we can legislate away the price of hurricane exposure by artificially lowering rates. From rate freezes to mandatory rollbacks, we've repeatedly treated high premiums as a political failure rather than a financial signal. But risk doesn't disappear because we vote it down. It simply moves underground, only to reemerge when disaster strikes. For example, when Citizens Property Insurance Corp. underprices risk, or when state regulators restrict private insurers from charging actuarially sound rates, we may enjoy temporary relief. But the market doesn't forget. Insurers leave. Capital dries up. And when the losses come, as they always do, the money has to come from somewhere. It's a classic bait-and-switch: legislate artificially low premiums, then shift the true cost onto the public after the next storm passes and headlines fade. This 'hurricane tax' is a hidden levy we all pay for the comfort of denial. Actually addressing the property insurance affordability crisis requires reduction of risk among new and existing properties and not hiding costs. Opinion: Florida must strengthen its electrical grid before it's too late The National Institute of Building Sciences estimates that every $1 spent on mitigation saves $6 to $7 in future disaster recovery costs. Programs like the previously mentioned My Safe Florida Home grant have already demonstrated their value and continue to see funding increases, providing grants and inspections that help homeowners strengthen their properties. The results for those taking advantage of the program: fewer claims, less damage and quicker recoveries. Florida policymakers have made good-faith efforts into stabilizing the market but there is more we can do to improve the market. Now, we need to allow insurance pricing to reflect exposure to risk and to continue offering mitigation grants to strengthen homes. Mitigation may not offer the same short-term political wins as artificially cutting rates but it does offer a long-term solution that will benefit all Floridians. Doug Izzo is the executive director of the Englewood Chamber of Commerce. This opinion piece was distributed by The Invading Sea, which publishes news and commentary on climate change and other environmental issues affecting Florida. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Florida hurricane season is here. Insurance isn't ready | Opinion
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
How should Florida prep for storms? These top 2025 grads have ideas
As the region continues to recover from back-to-back hurricanes, some of Tampa Bay's graduating high schoolers have insights on where to go from here. The top 3% of Hillsborough County's graduating class were named R.F. 'Red' Pittman Tribune Scholars, named after a publisher of the former Tampa Tribune newspaper and now sponsored by the Tampa Bay Times. Those 455 students with the highest grade point averages were invited to participate in a 300-word essay contest for one of three $1,150 scholarships. This year, 153 students responded to the following prompt: Last year's hurricanes devastated parts of the Tampa Bay community. How have storms affected you personally, and what could we do differently as a community ahead of another hurricane season? Serving as judges this year were Stephen Lambert, quality enhancement plan director at Hillsborough Community College; Yulie Restrepo, assistant professor of English at the University of Tampa, and Jim Verhulst, former deputy editor of editorials at the Tampa Bay Times. The winners, honored at a ceremony Thursday in Tampa, were Calleigh Eakle, of Bloomingdale High School; Julianna Grossglass also from Bloomingdale High School; and Rudra Patel, from Middleton High School. These are their essays. Calleigh Eakle plans to study mechanical engineering at the University of South Florida. Last year's hurricanes left our streets littered with debris from unsecured projectiles, such as trampolines, poorly installed roofing tiles, and outdoor furniture, creating hazardous conditions for residents and emergency responders. Severe flooding compounded the damage, making roads impassable and leaving families stranded. The aftermath highlighted the urgent need for stronger home protection and disaster preparedness measures. Expanding the My Safe Florida Home (MSFH) program would offer critical support to families and communities recovering from these hurricanes. By proposing an initiative to increase funding limits to $2.50 for every $1 spent by homeowners, we can encourage investments in certified, impact-resistant roofing systems, which are often too expensive for lower-income households. This approach could reduce recovery service costs in neighborhoods most impacted by hurricanes — areas that lack resources to properly secure their homes. In addition to MSFH's expansion, the creation of a Storm Awareness and Fortification Education (SAFE) program would help homeowners prepare before severe storms. This program would offer in-depth training workshops focused on securing potential projectiles during hurricanes, such as outdoor furniture and smaller storage units, and providing guidance on proper anchoring techniques to prevent dangerous debris. An educational component would foster best practices across communities, ensuring long-term protection for all homes, not just those designed to withstand hurricanes. Such comprehensive measures would reduce property damage and environmental degradation while laying the groundwork for Florida's recovery and preparedness in future hurricanes. Expanding MSFH and creating SAFE would enhance community safety and confidence, ensuring that more families benefit from advanced storm protection and proactive disaster planning. Julianna Grosslass plans to study health science at the University of South Florida. Last year's hurricanes were horrific events that caused extensive devastation. My loved ones and I were fortunate enough to emerge from these disasters with only fallen tree limbs and a few broken fences. I cannot pretend to understand others' suffering caused by these hurricanes. The storms impacted people's livelihoods through the destruction of homes, businesses, and entire economies. Natural disasters are unavoidable, and the consequences of these events are, frankly, unfair and nonsensical. No amount of preparation, worry, or research can ensure safety as nature cannot be controlled. Many experienced great tragedy, with widespread destruction caused by Hurricane Helene, followed shortly by Hurricane Milton. Everyone copes with disasters differently, but for me, the most profound takeaway was the optimism and sense of community found after the storms. Days after Milton hit, my family and I returned to Tampa to feed the homeless with Thorne Ministries. As we spoke with others, phrases like 'I'm so grateful' and 'It could've been a lot worse' echoed throughout conversations. Despite the damage to homes, flooding, and power outages, people were thankful for their safety above all. The ability to find a silver lining in a tragedy is a remarkable aspect of human nature, one that should never be taken for granted. It's natural — and almost healthy — to expect the worst when facing natural disasters like these hurricanes. By doing so, you will either be grateful you prepared or grateful things were better than expected. This gratitude is a defining characteristic of humanity: after the storm passes, everything seems smaller allowing us to see the positives we normally overlook. Negative events in general, help put life into perspective. They serve as a reminder that tomorrow is never guaranteed and that storms — both literal and metaphorical — are an inevitable part of life. The important thing to remember is that the storms will always pass, one way or another. Rudra Patel plans to study neuroscience at Princeton University. I watched our familiar coastline transform into something alien last year — palm trees genuflecting to winds they couldn't resist, streets becoming tributaries of an angry ocean that had forgotten its boundaries. For me, hurricanes have always been exercises in humility. Helene's surge tore through my childhood home in Keaton Beach, Florida like an ancient leviathan, its foundation cracking like the spine of a drowned god. The walls, once shelter, lay flattened like discarded matchsticks, the roof twisted into abstract art. When Milton followed three weeks later, its winds howled a cruel punchline: You thought it was over? While Tampa was saved from the brunt of the storms' wrath, its $5 billion scars hide quieter wounds. We rebuilt roofs faster than psyches, ignoring how 41% of survivors now startle at rain pattering gutters. Our communal trauma unfolded in supermarket aisles — neighbors wordlessly stockpiling batteries, their eyes haunted by 2024's bread shortages. The storms exposed our fragility theater: seawalls high enough to impress voters, but too low to block the existential tide of our climate denial. Yet in the debris, I found perverse grace. Hurricanes are democracy's equalizers — billion-dollar mansions and fish-shack rentals equally kneel before Nature's fury. We've since weaponized this ephemeral kinship into the Tampa Bay Resiliency Fund, channeling $430,000 toward housing the still-homeless — a down payment to our collective conscience. As the 2025 season looms, preparation demands more than hurricane shutters. We need vulnerability drills — practicing how to say 'I'm not okay' as fluently as we track cone maps. Let's retrofit community centers into mental health bunkers, staffed by veterans of last year's storms. Replace FEMA paperwork with potluck exorcisms — contractors and CEOs trading storm sagas between bites of pub subs. When the next storm comes, may it find us not just storm-proofed, but soul-forged — a community built on shared scars and unshakable bonds.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Condo conundrum: 165 properties OK'd for grant program face tougher new hurdles
A Pembroke Pines condominium's governing board thought it moved quickly to get in line for a roof replacement grant when the My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program opened to applications last November. Now, the association is being told that it's ineligible for a grant under terms of a new bill just passed by the Florida Legislature that, among other revisions, now limits eligibility to condominiums over two stories. Pierpointe V Condo III is a small complex of 24 units in three two-story buildings. It's one of 165 condominium properties in Florida told they were approved for windstorm mitigation inspections and, depending on what the inspections identified, generous grants for storm-hardening improvements. But now those approvals are uncertain. A new law that awaits the governor's signature includes several tougher qualifying provisions that could put Pierpointe V and a number of others out of the running. 'It's really unfortunate, and it's a little bit disappointing,' said Dawn Munera, Pierpointe V's treasurer, who submitted the condo's application. The property still awaits its initial inspection nearly six months after it was approved in December, she said. 'I was also surprised that none of the condo condominiums that applied for this have been been approved for grants yet.' Florida lawmakers pass revamp of condo laws, responding to residents' higher costs Florida condo owners 'need relief.' These proposals move forward in Legislature. Hundreds of South Florida condos now on secret mortgage blacklist The My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program, patterned after the popular My Safe Florida Home program, was originally enacted in 2024. The program aimed to provide $2 in state funds, up to $175,000, for every $1 spent by condo associations to fund mitigation projects. Eligible projects include replacement of windows, skylights and other openings with impact-resistant glass; purchase and installation of code-compliant exterior doors; and improvements to roofs that would require full roof replacements. Officials shut down the application portal on Nov. 19, six days after receiving 174 applications. Those applications were enough to deplete the initial $30 million budget if all sought the maximum grant amount, according to a Jan. 1 report sent to legislators by the Department of Financial Services, which oversees the program. Of the 174 applications, 165 were approved, the report said. The Department of Financial Services confirmed on Thursday that the 165 approved properties will be subjected to new requirements in the amended law if they hope to qualify for a grant. 'Once the grant window is opened, all applications are subject to the provisions of law at the time of approval,' department spokesman Devin Galetta said. Of the 165 applicants, 52 have buildings under three stories, Galetta said. And inspections of 378 buildings at 91 condo associations have been completed, he said. If enacted, the new law would add these requirements: — Condos must be at least three habitable stories. — Window upgrades will be eligible for grant funding only if they are established as common elements in a condo declaration, and not owned individually by unit owners. — Improvements will only be eligible for grants if they result in an insurance discount. — Mitigation improvements must be made to all openings, including exterior doors, garage doors, windows and skylights, if doing so is necessary for the building to qualify for an insurance discount. — All condos approved for grants must have completed their milestone inspections and Structural Integrity Reserve Studies. Munera said her condo completed its milestone inspection and reserve study because Pembroke Pines requires them even for condominiums under three stories. The condo had recently spent $142,000 to replace two of its three roofs before owners heard about the My Safe Florida Condominium program. It canceled plans to replace the third roof, believing it could recover $47,000 in grants before the June 1 start of the upcoming hurricane season. Each unit owner would have saved about $2,000, Munera said. In December, the condo board learned it was approved to participate in the program, Munera said. Eligibility for a grant hinged on what the inspection found and were subject to rules in place at the time, she said. But although she reached out in December to the vendor hired to conduct the inspections, several months went by and no inspector showed up, Munera said. After Munera sent several emails, the employee told her by telephone on Tuesday that the complex would no longer be eligible for a grant under terms of the new law, which the employee said would be signed shortly by the governor, Munera said. Munera said she then reached out to the office of Rep. Vicki Lopez, a Miami Republican who co-sponsored the original and amended bills, and received an email from one of Lopez's aides telling her that her condo no longer qualified. Galetta and Lopez pointed out that one of the revisions approved in the new bill will make it easier for qualified properties to secure a grant. One of the revisions, intended to allow condo boards to bypass individual holdouts, reduces the percentage of unit owners required to approve grant applications from 100% to 75%. The 100% threshold 'was determined to be a significant hurdle,' Galetta said. Munera said she had approval from all 24 of her condo's unit owners to apply for its grant. In addition, Galetta said, the new bill allows larger grant amounts per window and per square feet of roof. Asked if the bill's sponsors made a mistake by not grandfathering in the previously approved applicants under the rules enacted last year, Lopez said she didn't think so. Requirements added to the revised bill, including changing the approval threshold to 75% of unit owners and ordering that all windows be under common ownership, resulted from 'what we learned during the initial implementation phase,' she said. 'What probably should have happened is that (the department) should have notified all who applied for an inspection that the program would most probably be amended and then they should only have inspected the buildings that were aligned with the provisions of the new bill,' she said. 'This would have avoided any confusion that exists today.' The confusion is just beginning for Munera and her fellow residents at Pierpointe V Condo III. They have to figure out how to proceed knowing they'll have to come up with the money they had counted on saving. 'I have to bring all these owners back in for another meeting and explain, 'You know what? We haven't fixed this roof for six months because we were waiting for the grant money. Now, it's not gonna come.' Ron Hurtibise covers business and consumer issues for the South Florida Sun Sentinel. He can be reached by phone at 954-356-4071 or by email at rhurtibise@
