It’s Christmas, and I hope you and your loved ones are enjoying some peace of the season after the harrowing few months we all have experienced. Unfortunately, for many, we’re not done with the restoration and/or rebuilding and understanding Manatee County’s procedures and FEMA’S 50% rule is confusing, to say the least.
Manatee County defines “substantial damage” as “damage of any origin sustained by a building or structure where the cost of restoring the building or structure to its before-damaged condition would equal or exceed 50%.”
They go on to say that if a building is substantially damaged or improved it must be brought into compliance with flood damage prevention regulations. This includes elevating the building to Flood Protection Elevation or Design Flood Elevation. Likewise, all electrical and mechanical equipment, bathrooms and laundry rooms must be elevated as well or removed.
They also indicate that the county, following the National Flood Insurance Program requirements, has the responsibility to determine “substantial damage” and “substantial Improvement.” If it is determined that the FEMA 50% rule applies, then the county will estimate market value by using the tax assessment value of your structure, excluding land and features.
This is a good time to point out that on the Manatee County Property Appraiser website (ManateePAO.gov) there is a new addition in red that will tell you what the FEMA value for your property is. These values are as of Jan. 1, 2024, so they are within a year old, but I can’t guarantee that this is the exact number that the county will consider.
I am no expert on FEMA’S 50% rule and a close reading of Manatee’s post-storm guidance can make your eyes glaze over. This is meant to be a guideline and hopefully I hit on some of the major points in an otherwise complex program. Do yourself a favor and don’t read it on Christmas Day.
We do have the November sales statistics available to report on from the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee: Manatee County closed 15.5% more single family homes compared to last November. The median sale price was $430,000, down 11.5% from last year and the average sale price was $559,764, down 9.4%. The median time to contract was 45 days compared to 24 last November. New listings were up 14% and the month’s supply of available properties was 3.9 months, up 14.7%.
Manatee County condos closed 17.7% fewer properties compared to last November. The median sale price was $309,900, down 11.8% and the average sale price was $345,065, down 12.3%. The median time to contract was 53 days compared to 31 days last year, new listings were up 17.5% and the month’s supply of available properties was 6.6 months, up 50%.
Next week I’ll do a deeper dive into these numbers and what the realtor association’s opinion is. However, as you can see, with the exception of single family homes, all other segments are negatively impacted.
A few weeks ago, I went to the Manatee River holiday boat parade and was so happy and proud that this community has pulled itself together and chose to celebrate rather than dwell on the negative. It was a great turnout and the boat owners should be congratulated for lifting all of our spirits.
As a friend of mine perfectly said, “Let’s not allow the circumstances to steal our joy during this beautiful time of the year.” Have a merry Christmas!
