Skip to main content

Tag: Surfside

Castles in the Sand

Condo takeovers

Written by Louise Bolger on . Posted in Business, Castles in the Sand.

Condo termination. Those are fighting words to condo owners who are living in prime waterfront locations in Florida. However, it’s going on right now in Southeast Florida, all because of the collapse of the Champlain South condos in Surfside.

Developers in the Miami Beach area and all along the barrier island going north are swarming to the area in order to acquire older waterfront condominium buildings, and there are plenty of them. Hundreds of condo buildings, representing more than two-thirds of condos in the Miami area alone, are either approaching 40 years old or have reached that age and gone beyond. At that age, the county requires a recertification to make sure the property is still structurally sound.

Although the Surfside collapse is still under investigation, engineers have determined that a combination of problems likely was at fault. They have confirmed design flaws, poor construction and delayed maintenance because owners were reluctant to spend the money required to retrofit the property.

The Miami Herald recently reported in their e-edition that an investigation of the court records after the collapse revealed as far back as five years ago that contractors of a new building next door were concerned about the vibrations affecting the Champlain South building. At that time, they halted drilling, then resumed, but according to the engineers, that alone could not have been the cause of the collapse five years later.

It was recently reported by the Wall Street Journal that at least eight waterfront condo buildings in the Miami area are in sales discussions with developers. These buildings are in prime locations and developers are frequently offering to pay owners above market value for their condos. The buildings will then be demolished, and high-end residences will be built to accommodate wealthy buyers who are relocating to Florida in droves.

Developers of one of the condos going through termination are offering more than $750,000 for studio apartments that sold for around $55,000 in the late 90s. However, condo termination is not easy even when developers are offering more than these owners ever dreamed. In addition, condo regulations for every association are different and sometimes can be ambiguous. Some buildings require as few as 75% of its residents to vote in favor of termination; others can require 100%. And of course, every resident has a different take on what’s the best thing to do; many are facing the prospect of having to relocate from an area they may have lived in for 30 years and will likely not be able to replicate what they had and certainly not the view.

Developers are taking the position that they are offering a private sector solution to the problem by buying out residents who probably couldn’t afford the assessment to bring the building up to a recertification level. Owners have their equity and can move on and builders are offering high-end brand new condos built to today’s standards, revitalizing the area.

In March, the Florida legislative session ended without any new building recertification requirements. Holmes Beach is taking it into their own hands and are considering creating their own safety measures. The commissioners will again take up the issue of recertification on older buildings on the Island in an effort to protect both homeowners and visitors.

The real estate market is nothing if not fluid. Whoever would have guessed not that many years ago that condo termination would be a phrase the average waterfront homeowner would be adding to their vocabulary? So goes Florida, never a dull moment.

More Castles in the Sand

Is it worth the walk?

Does anyone know what’s going on?

Castles in the Sand

Legislators toss condo rules out

Written by Louise Bolger on . Posted in Business, Castles in the Sand.

For a while there I thought we would have one more headache to worry about in addition to insurance rates and hurricanes. On March 11, Florida legislators failed to reach an agreement on a bill to improve building structures. So, one less headache but far less oversight.

Therefore, let’s take a quick review of what is going on. Because of the Champlain Towers South collapse on the east coast, everyone woke up to the possibility of older condos, especially those on or adjacent to barrier islands, being in jeopardy. Florida lawmakers attempted to pass legislation that would require specific inspections for condo buildings. However, at the end of the legislative session, they were not able to come to an agreement. Some of the legislators cited hardships on condo owners and associations who are not in a financial position to bear the brunt of the inspection results.

These discussions have been going on for a while and about a month ago the Florida House passed a bill outlining measures to help alleviate the possibility of older condo buildings being neglected. It was passed in the Florida Senate to little avail since they closed the session without any agreement between the two houses. This came as a surprise since most of the legislators and the governor expected something to come out of the negotiations.

The House bill stated that condo buildings that are three stories or taller need to be inspected and recertified at 30 years of age. In addition, those that are within 3 miles of the coast would require recertification at 25 years of age. After that, recertification would be required every 10 years. The Senate bill was similar, changing the benchmark to 20 years for buildings near the coast and inspections every seven years thereafter.

I wouldn’t get too excited about the end of this legislation. First of all, it could easily come back in the next legislative session. In addition, it’s possible that insurance companies and financial institutions may now impose reserve requirements on buildings, stepping in where the state official has been absent.

In spite of what happens or does not happen in Tallahassee, Manatee County’s real estate is still rolling along. These are the February sales statistics published by the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee.

Single-family homes closed 4.3% more homes in February this year compared to last February. The median selling price was $478,000, up 25.8% above last February and almost the same as January of this year. The average sale price was $693,229, up 25.3% from last February. The median time for properties to get into contract is six days of being listed.

Condos closed 16.8% fewer units in February compared to last February. The median sales price was $325,000, up 41.3% compared to last February, and the average sale price was $371,367, up 36.1% from last year. The median time for properties to get into contract is five days of being listed.

The primary problem our market faces is low inventory which is resulting in fewer closed sales. With mortgage rates going up, that will put more pressure on the market from buyers looking to purchase before they go up even further. According to the Realtor Association of Sarasota and Manatee, the imbalance of supply and demand contributes to the rapidly increasing prices.

This is Florida, and for all our success in attracting new residents and having improving housing prices, we still have everything related to living on the water to contend with. I predict this isn’t the end of condo recertifications and a review of condo reserves.

More Castles in the Sand

 

Surfside: More collateral damage

 

When will the real estate market return to normal?

 

Feng shui your entry

Castles in the Sand

Surfside: More collateral damage

Written by Louise Bolger on . Posted in Business, Castles in the Sand.

It’s not surprising that as time goes on, more and more of what I’ll call “collateral damage” surfaces related to the Surfside building collapse on the east coast. This time, it’s related to mortgage qualifying regulations.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the quasi-government agencies that set the standards for residential mortgage financing, are asking questions about the viability of condo buildings before approving financing. Specifically, they said they would stop buying mortgages from lenders in buildings with significant deferred maintenance or safety issues.

Fannie and Freddie have provided lenders with new in-depth questionnaires to be completed by condo management companies, associations or boards about the condition of the building where financing is being requested. The Catch-22 on this is that the individuals responsible for filling out the form aren’t sure of how – or are indeed qualified – to answer all the questions. Some of the questions really need to be answered by a structural engineer, or at the very least, a home inspector.

This is a huge potential problem for buyers requiring financing on a condo since the lenders are worried about their financial exposure related to the condition of the buildings they hold the mortgage on. This is already slowing up the loan approval process, particularly for condos in the more affordable price ranges. Of course, this could have a negative impact on the condo market for both condo values and the ability to sell.

Another aspect of this is how mortgage qualifying regulations will affect volunteer board members and management companies. The more complicated the process and the more likely the risk of liability the more difficult it will be for associations to recruit residents to serve on a condo board. In addition, management companies will have to ramp up their staff to understand and complete additional paperwork. This additional work will certainly be billed back to the associations.

Fannie and Freddie have taken the position that these measures are meant to protect residents from unsafe buildings and to ensure that aging condos are undergoing the necessary repairs and are funded to do so. They have indicated that they will work with associations to minimize disruptions related to the questionnaires, but how long that will take is anyone’s guess.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have enormous power in the real estate market and although they do not set building codes, they do have the power of the purse when it comes to approving financing. Since they control approximately half of the country’s home loans, and between 7% and 9% of condo and co-op loans, we’re talking about what could be a big impact on the market.

Before you give up on a condo purchase that involves financing, most of what is stated above will not apply to the average condominium association. Buildings that obviously have major structural defects that have been put off and are underfunded will certainly have an issue, but the average building that has been maintained will likely be approved. It may take a little longer for the paperwork to be processed at the beginning, but the end result may actually be beneficial to buyers.

As I’ve said before, collateral damage as a result of the Surfside collapse will be around for a long time, but we’ll get through it.

Castles in the Sand

What’s Surfside got to do with it?

Written by Louise Bolger on . Posted in Business, Castles in the Sand.

Florida is a big state, but not big enough to ignore disasters that happen four hours away.

In June, when the Champlain Towers South condo in Surfside collapsed, we all knew there would be more to this story, way more.

At that time, local politicians and engineers tried to put a positive spin on the disaster – if that was even possible in the wake of 98 deaths. The building had structural problems going back to the original construction; that was something we heard a lot about. But the fact that it was built basically on a sandbar surrounded by water could not be ignored.

In case you haven’t noticed the geography of Anna Maria Island, it too is built on a sandbar surrounded by water and the Island cities are starting to pay attention to that fact. Holmes Beach is the first of the cities to look into developing a recertification program for large buildings to identify structural issues, particularly in older condominiums. The recertification in Holmes Beach would apply to condos that are three stories over under-building parking.

The proposed program is structured so qualifying buildings would be inspected by a third-party engineer to determine if they are structurally sound. The inspections would occur every few decades subject to fines if any issues are not properly addressed. Holmes Beach will vote on this proposal at a future commission meeting.

This Holmes Beach proposition is modeled somewhat on the Florida Bar task force recommendation to the Legislature, also recommending structural inspections within the next three years for condominiums three stories or taller. It is still unclear if this recommendation means three stories above under-building parking or three stories from ground level. In addition, the Florida Bar task force recommends certifications for roof structures, fireproofing, elevators, plumbing, electrical systems and other items.

An interesting note is that the victims’ families of the Champlain Towers South collapse are suing the developers of a neighboring luxury condo. They are alleging that the nearby construction destabilized the building and helped lead to the collapse.

In spite of all the conversations about the stability of condo buildings, it doesn’t seem to be affecting the southeast Florida real estate market. The Miami area residential market is a popular destination for South American buyers. During the pandemic, however, this fell off because of travel restrictions into our country. Now that those restrictions have lifted, it is anticipated that the southeast coast of Florida will have a renewed sales boom from international buyers from Mexico, Columbia and Argentina.

On another note, I would be remiss if I didn’t point out that the federal government is about to back mortgages of nearly $1 million for the first time. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are expected to increase the maximum size of home mortgage loans early next year. This is a reaction to the rapid appreciation of home prices nationally over the past year.

The expectation is to raise their conforming loan limits to about $650,000 from $548,250 and up to about $1 million in what is considered “high-cost” markets from $822,375. There is no small controversy going on about this increase and the view that the American taxpayer is subsidizing affluent homeowners.

It’s pretty clear that what happens on Florida’s east coast doesn’t stay on the east coast. All barrier islands and waterfront communities throughout the state will be taking a serious look at the age and condition of condos in their area as well as the state of Florida setting future recertification guidelines. Hang on – there’s more to this story.

Commissioners talk building recertification regulations

Commissioners talk building recertification regulations

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Featured, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – Building Official Neal Schwartz is working with Holmes Beach commissioners to develop a recertification program for large buildings to identify structural issues before they become a serious safety hazard.

After the collapse of a condominium building in Surfside, Holmes Beach commissioners became concerned about the safety of older buildings in their city, which are subject to harsh conditions due to water, sea air and erosion. Schwartz began researching and gave a staff report on Nov. 9 on building recertification guidelines that need to be implemented in Holmes Beach.

Under such a program, applicable buildings would be inspected by a third-party engineering service to determine if they are structurally and electrically sound. These inspections would take place every few decades, with the results given to the city and all issues corrected within a specified time for the building to be recertified. If the inspection and/or repairs are not completed, the building’s owner would face potentially hefty fines from the city.

Schwartz suggested adopting the same guidelines for reinspection used by Miami/Dade counties and the city of Boca Raton, with a few adjustments.

A Florida Bar task force is recommending that the Legislature require structural inspections within the next three years for condominiums three stories or taller, with re-inspections every five years.

The Condominium Law and Policy on Life Safety Issues Advisory Task Force issued a report on Oct. 12 with recommendations on how to avoid another condo collapse like the Surfside disaster on June 24 that killed 98 residents.

State condo law contains “no express maintenance, repair, or replacement standards for boards to follow in the act, or in most governing documents,” according to the report, which recommends revisions to the law requiring inspection protocols for 13 items, including roof, structure, fireproofing, elevators, plumbing and electrical systems.

The report also recommends that by Dec. 31, 2026, associations be required to establish a fund that would be equal to or greater than 50% of the cost of replacing each component in the inspection report “based on the estimated remaining useful life.”

A provision of Florida condo law allows condominium associations, with a 50% vote, to waive a state requirement to maintain adequate reserves. The report recommends that the threshold for waiving the requirement be raised to 75%.

He also suggested that all single-family and duplex structures be exempt from the recertification requirements, regardless of size or age. The recertification requirements would apply to all buildings that are more than three stories tall, meaning three stories over parking if there is parking on the ground level, all mixed-use buildings over one story and all commercial buildings that measure more than 3,500 square feet. The commercial building requirement would apply to all shopping centers in Holmes Beach. Schwartz said he would look into whether or not churches would be required to participate in a recertification program.

Each building would need to be initially reinspected 30 years after a certificate of occupancy is issued for the structure, with additional recertifications taking place every 10 years afterward.

To pass the recertification, the engineer inspecting the property would ensure the structure and electrical systems meet the minimum guidelines for building safety as outlined in the Florida Building Codes and Holmes Beach building codes. Once any repairs were completed, a second inspection would be needed to verify all repairs were completed and up to code standards. Schwartz suggested a $300 fee for the reinspection, which would not include the reporting or inspection fees charged by a third-party engineer or any repair costs.

The city would notify the building owners when recertification was due for the property but would not be responsible for having the recertification completed or hiring an engineer to do the work. City building inspectors would not be on the property as a part of the recertification process.

Schwartz said he believes there would be about 30 buildings in Holmes Beach that would be affected by the program.

Once the program was adopted by commissioners, Schwartz estimated it would take a year to fully implement.

The matter will go for a vote before city commissioners at a future meeting.

Related coverage

 

Building evacuated due to structural issues

 

Former Island building official last to inspect Surfside condo

 

Island building owners warned to investigate structural issues

Castles in the Sand

Just when you think you’ve seen it all

Written by Louise Bolger on . Posted in Business, Castles in the Sand.

At the end of June, every waterfront condo owner in the state of Florida had what may have been the shock of their real estate lives. The collapse of the oceanfront Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Florida changed our waterfront living comfort zone from a little risky to outright dangerous. The question is, is this a temporary spike in the risk factor radar, or is Florida in for a sea – so to speak – change?

According to realtor.com, many property owners, at least in southeast Florida along the barrier islands, are expected to put their condos on the market. In the near term, this is going to have a big impact on the luxury real estate market. Frightened buyers will be more hesitant even at discounted prices to go forward with a purchase, particularly in older buildings, but newer buildings will feel the fallout as well.

Since it will take at least a year to determine the reason for the building collapse, it will take at least that long as well for the southeast Florida beachfront real estate market to stabilize.

For those properties already under contract, buyers will be looking to modify the contract insisting on the results of additional inspections prior to concluding the transaction. Going forward, we can expect engineer and building inspections of properties on the beach to expand with specialists in this field being hired in addition to regular home inspectors.

Overall, condo fees are sure to go up. Condo boards will be more inclined to hire experts to review work on the building structure and have them sign off on major improvement projects. Some of these extra expenses may not have been budgeted for, leaving special assessments as the only option. I’ve talked a lot in this space about choosing the correct condo board and if this incident doesn’t reinforce that, I don’t know what will. Gone are the days where condo boards make structural decisions without a professional study, or at least those days should be gone.

Anna Maria Island thankfully only has one tallish condo complex. The Martinique is a mid-rise complex with two buildings built in the 1970s with each building having seven stories, built directly on the sand with magnificent Gulf views. After these were constructed, the zoning for all three cities on the Island changed so that no more high buildings were allowed. We can consider ourselves lucky that town commissioners at the time made this decision, avoiding high-rise condos lined up on the beach like so many other barrier island towns in Florida.

So, what’s next? To start with, a task force has already been created to investigate Florida’s laws surrounding condominiums and make recommendations for legal reforms to the governor’s office and state Legislature. Their goal is to determine whether regulatory changes could minimize the likelihood of another tragedy like the Surfside building collapse. Gov. Ron DeSantis has not fully signed on to the task force and is of the opinion that Champlain Towers South has been shown to have had structural problems from the beginning. Nevertheless, he left the door open as to whether he would support the outcome of the task force’s findings.

Is this the tip of the iceberg, or the one-off event that we hope it is? Is it a teaching moment and a warning, or is it a knee-jerk reaction? Either way, never underestimate the lure of the ocean. Buyers will be nervous, but this too will pass, leaving in its place the possibility of better building codes and regulations for older buildings and new ones going forward.

Holmes Beach building department

Former Island building official last to inspect Surfside condo

Written by SUN contributor on . Posted in Community News, Featured, Holmes Beach.

HOLMES BEACH – Just hours before the 12-story Champlain Towers South condo collapsed on June 24, former Holmes Beach Building Official Jim McGuinness inspected it.

The next day, he told the town commission that he saw nothing that would indicate the building would soon collapse.

McGuinness, who resigned from the city of Holmes Beach in 2019, is now the building official for the town of Surfside, and was the last person to inspect the building before its collapse.

He was on the roof of the doomed tower 14 hours prior to the building’s collapse to inspect the installation of anchors installed to allow window washers to safely lower themselves over the side of the residential condominium building. In addition to the recently installed anchors, McGuinness said other work was being done on the roof, but had been delayed due to ongoing rainfall in the area.

The building owners’ association, McGuinness said, was in the process of conducting the required inspections and tests for its 40-year recertification, due before the end of the calendar year. Though he said he had not received any of the required paperwork for recertification prior to the disaster at the Collins Avenue property, McGuinness told Surfside town commissioners that he believed the required inspections were largely complete.

To qualify for recertification, the building’s owners or association must complete all required inspections with a third-party firm, present them to the city’s building department for review and complete any required repairs before obtaining the certification for the building. Though the recertification program in Surfside is mandated by Miami-Dade County regulations, it’s up to the town’s building department to oversee the recertification process for buildings in their jurisdiction.

In a July 3 story, Fox News reported that the manager of the Champlain Towers condominium association complained by email on June 21 that the Surfside building department was stalling needed repairs at the tower, with McGuinness failing to respond to a May email concerning a parking plan for construction to repair the concrete slab underneath the pool deck. McGuinness responded to the email just hours before the building partially collapsed, according to the report. Engineering experts working with the Miami Herald stated that after review of photos and video of the building collapse the partial collapse could be due to the pool deck failing, falling into the garage below and pulling part of the building down with it.

An investigation into the tower’s June 24 partial collapse is ongoing along with an around-the-clock search for those still missing in the disaster. Ahead of Hurricane Elsa, the remaining portion of the Champlain Towers South building was imploded to keep the site as safe as possible for rescue workers and help them access previously unstable areas to search for the missing. As of July 9, 78 people were confirmed dead in the collapse and 68 were still reported as missing in the Surfside disaster.

Surfside Mayor Charles Burkett said an outside engineering firm is investigating the wreckage of the south tower along with its sister buildings to make sure those are still safe for residents and workers to occupy.

Investigations into the collapse also are being conducted by the U. S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology to determine what caused the partial collapse of the structure and what can be done to prevent similar tragedies in the future.

The Sun reached out to the city of Surfside’s building department and McGuinness for more information on recent inspections at Champlain Towers South, however, no response to emails, phone calls and text messages was received.

Prior to taking the building official position in Surfside, McGuinness worked for the city of Holmes Beach from March 23, 2015 until March 18, 2019 when he officially handed in his letter of resignation to Mayor Judy Titsworth. At the time of his resignation, McGuinness was being disciplined by the mayor.

In a discussion with The Sun, Titsworth said that while she could not speak to the circumstances surrounding McGuinness’s departure from the city, she would not consider hiring him back if given the opportunity. While she said McGuinness has a good understanding of the Florida Building Code, Titsworth added she was not happy with his performance and that personality conflicts caused a problem.

“It just wasn’t a good fit,” she said.

More recently on Anna Maria Island, McGuinness made headlines for his erroneous approval of a lighted sign and LED board at the Anna Maria Beach Resort on Gulf Drive prior to his departure from the city. His issuance of a permit for the backlit sign and message board against the city’s codes prohibiting backlit signs in residential neighborhoods has resulted in a lawsuit against the city from the resort’s owners and months of city commission discussion related to changes to the Holmes Beach sign ordinance to somehow accommodate existing backlit signs in residential areas. An update to the ordinance has not yet been approved by commissioners. The case in Manatee County Circuit Court is still pending.

Related coverage

 

Island building owners warned to investigate structural issues

 

Balcony collapses in Holmes Beach

Island building owners warned to investigate structural issues

Island building owners warned to investigate structural issues

Written by Cindy Lane on . Posted in Anna Maria Island, Community News, Featured.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Could a tragedy such as last month’s collapse of the high-rise condominium in Surfside happen here?

Some say it could – particularly after a balcony fell off a residence in Holmes Beach last week at 4106 Sixth Ave. (see related story).

In response to the June 24 collapse of the 12-story Champlain Towers South in Surfside, Longboat Key officials sent an open letter to property managers and condominium board members last week advising them to consider inspecting their foundations and structures.

And the property manager for the only high-rises on Anna Maria Island – the two seven-story Martinique condo buildings in Holmes Beach – has advised its board members to do an engineering study.

Longboat Key does not have AMI’s three-story height restriction – enacted after Martinique was built in the 70s – and subsequently has high-rise buildings lining the Gulf side of the key, but buildings of any height and location constructed in a salt-laden beach environment may be affected by corroding rebar and cracking concrete, two of the problems in the Champlain Towers.

“It’s not just mid- and high-rise,” Longboat Key’s Planning, Zoning and Building Department Director Allen Parsons said. “Any building that’s counting on rebar and structural cement to hold it up it needs to be maintained.”

It’s also not just an issue for Gulf of Mexico-facing properties, he said, but for any property in the beach environment of Longboat Key, Anna Maria Island or any Florida barrier island.

Regular maintenance – and continual funding of scheduled maintenance – is key to preventing a tragedy, he said.

Florida’s statewide building code does not require maintenance inspections after a building meets the initial code requirements upon construction, nor do Manatee County ordinances or ordinances in Longboat Key, Anna Maria, Bradenton Beach or Holmes Beach.

Miami-Dade and Broward counties have such a requirement for buildings more than 40 years old, said Chris Brown, president of Bradenton-based C&S Community Management, which manages properties in Manatee and Sarasota counties, including Martinique North and South.

A Florida law that required that condos over three stories do an engineering study every five years was rescinded due to complaints about high costs, he said.

“With what happened in Miami, that looks like it was a very good law,” he said, adding that several legislators are revisiting it. “I personally expect there will be a new law after what happened.”

Brown recommended to Martinique board members on Friday that they do an engineering study of the two seven-story buildings, he said, adding that inspections of foundations can reveal many issues, including hidden water line leaks or irrigation leaks under a building.

Forty to 50 years ago, condos were a new concept, but now that some are half a century old, owners must be vigilant, he said.

“If you don’t stay on it, anything near saltwater can have rebar expansion; it chemically reacts with salt and cracks the foundation,” Brown said. “A lot of communities put it off. It costs money. People don’t want special assessments. That’s the hardest thing, people don’t want to pay the money.”

Even a single-story building can have rebar issues, he said.

“If you happen to be in the wrong place at that moment, it could even happen in a single story. A ceiling collapse could kill you.”

If residents see a crack, they should report it immediately.

“Follow up on it; find out what the reason is,” he said. “Address it, even if it’s going to cost money. People always need to be conscious of their environment and if you have a gut feeling, check it out.”

Condo boards and building managers should address any structural issues with structural engineers, he said.

The Surfside accident has so far resulted in the death of 24 people; 121 more remained missing as of Monday.

Open letter from the Town of Longboat Key to owners of high-rise condominiums and older (pre-1980) multi-family structures

It is critically important to have structural engineering inspections, and to act on any structural deficiencies, or damage in a time-sensitive manner. Town staff can assist with identifying resources, and engineering professionals, to conduct those inspections, or advise on follow-up measures needed to ensure the safety of our residents.

Along with the rest of the country, the Town staff are sending well-wishes to those in Surfside, FL affected by the recent building collapse. And while there aren’t answers yet as to the causes of the building’s collapse, the terrible circumstances can serve to provide a constructive prompting to encourage the assessment of the structural integrity of older, multi-story buildings here in the Town to ensure the safety of residents and visitors.

The Town would like to encourage owners and property managers to consult with structural engineers to have a proper inspection completed, especially if the building is older and has not been recently evaluated. This kind of consultation is not currently a requirement, like it is in Dade and Broward counties and their jurisdictions, but it is recommended and does have a lot of merit for coastal environments.

Buildings on or near the ocean are especially vulnerable because they are constantly exposed to the increased effects of saltwater oxidation and corrosion, as well as minor concrete and masonry cracks. Stucco left exposed to the elements can cause rebar to expand up to seven times its original size, exerting a force of 10,000 pounds per square-inch (PSI). This condition—commonly referred to as spalling—can necessitate extremely expensive concrete restoration. Hundreds of thousands of dollars can be saved in building repair costs alone by following a regular maintenance schedule, applying early detection methods, and practicing aggressive prevention techniques.

Related coverage

 

Balcony collapses in Holmes Beach