Where you choose to live in Florida makes a huge difference on your yearly homeowners insurance premiums. If you are considering moving to Port St Lucie you will discover that the yearly cost of homeowners insurance while its much lower than the coastal areas of Florida has started to increase in the last few years.
During 2022 the average cost of homeowners insurance premiums varied from $1,300.00 to just over $4,000.00 for a single family home in Port St Lucie, FL. There are many factors that can affect how much you pay yearly on insurance premiums when you consider moving to this Treasure Coast city.
What Homes Have The Lowest Premiums
You will generally find those homes built after 2010 in Port St Lucie will offer the lowest homeowners insurance premiums. One of the biggest reasons is due to these homes were built using the most recent building codes adopted in Florida. Older homes will have higher insurance premiums 100% of the time when compared to a house built between 2010-2022 when comparing apples to apples.
Homes With The Highest Insurance Premiums
Homes in Port St Lucie built between the 1980’s and 2000 will have higher insurance premiums. The building codes in Florida have changed many times dating back to 1992 after hurricane Andrew to implement stricter construction practices. These homes just are not built to withstand the winds during a hurricane without significant damage from the uplift and penetration a storm can produce compared to newer homes built after 2001.
Other Factors That Affect Premiums
There are a few other factors that can affect the yearly cost of homeowners insurance when buying a home in Port St Lucie. The most common reason for higher premiums will be due to the age of the roof. Other factors that could negatively impact the home is if the home does not have storm protection for the windows and doors along with plumbing or electrical issues that come up during the 4-Point and Wind Mitigation Inspection which is required by the insurance companies to get a quote on older homes.
When you start your search to buy a home in Port St Lucie there are a handful of other factors that might affect the yearly homeowners insurance premium. Since we already briefly talked about the age of the home the next important factor is the age of the roof. Recently insurance companies have hit homeowners hard due to the age of the roof and in many cases have cancelled on many of these homeowners when the roof was a certain age of older.
Age Of The Roof
When buying a home in Port St Lucie Florida or anywhere throughout the Sunshine State its advisable to only consider homes where the age of the roof is newer or less than 15 years old. Now while a roof that is 15 years or older doesn’t mean its about to fail it does raise a red flag with homeowners insurance carriers that don’t the risk involved insuring these types of homes.
Generally if the home has a shingle roof the life expectancy is only 15 years in the eyes of the insurance companies. A Tile roofs offer a longer life expectancy of 20 years even though most tile roofs last over 30 years with very few leaks.
Storm Protection For Windows & Doors
Many of the homes built before 2001 were not required by the Florida code to have hurricane shutters or impact windows. This can greatly affect how much your yearly homeowners insurance premiums will cost. Its advisable to only consider buying a home in Port St Lucie that has hurricane shutters or impact windows and doors if the home was built before 2001.
Garage Doors
One of the weakest links during a hurricane is the garage door which was the largest cause to most homes being destroyed during Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The garage door is the largest opening and needs to be able to stand heavy loads to protect your home in Florida. After Hurricane Andrew the state adopted new building codes requiring garage doors to withstand up to 130 mile per hour winds.
Wind Mitigation Inspection
Most buyers who are trying to determine which homes for sale in Port St Lucie fits their needs and lifestyle should also pay attention to how the Wind Mitigation Inspection can affect the yearly cost of homeowners insurance. Insurance companies will require this inspection on all homes built prior to 2002 in order to give credits to help lower the cost of the premiums. Below is a brief overview of what is looked at..
There are some key things the inspector puts on the inspection report that is turned into the insurance company which include the Age Of The Roof, Pitch of The Roof, Does The Roof Have Hurricane Clips / Straps that secure it to the supporting walls and finally does the home have hurricane shutters or impact windows.
4 Point Inspection
There are four areas the 4 Point Inspection goes over and generally applies to homes that are older than 20 years. Many insurance companies are hesitant to provide coverage on older homes due to increased liability. Most ask What Does The 4 Point Inspection Cover?
During the 4 Point Inspection it looks at the HVAC system or Air Condition / Heating System, Electrical including the type of wiring, age of the electrical panels both inside and outside, what type of plumbing the home has and finally a roof inspection to check for apparent shingle damage of cracked tiles to try and determine the life expectancy of the roof.
Final Thoughts On Buying A Home!
From a local real estate professional point of view I would recommend if you are buying a home in Port St Lucie you should try to purchase the newest home that your budget and or finances allow. At minimum try to find the best home for sale in your price range which has the newest roof but not older than 10 years old. This should allow homeowners a few years breathing room before the life expectancy of 15 years to hopefully save up enough money and or build equity to refinance to replace with a new roof at that time.
Questions About Moving To Port St Lucie?
If you are considering moving to Port St Lucie and you have questions I would encourage you to reach out to me anytime. I can help you find the best neighborhoods in Port St Lucie and connect you with great homeowners insurance companies who are local and know how to get you the lowest premiums on your next home. You can Call or Text me at 561.660.0154 or use the Contact Form below to send me an email.