September 27, 2024
Public Policy Update
Hello everyone. As you all know, Hurricane Helene decided to visit Florida yesterday, and as expected, it left devastation in its wake. Tallahassee was bracing for a direct hit for most of the week but was spared at the last minute by a slight nudge to the east. Of course, that didn’t prevent damage here in the capital city, but it pales in comparison to what our neighbors to the east of us and up and down Florida’s Gulf coastline are dealing with right now.
The official report is that Hurricane Helene made landfall at about 11:00 P.M. EST last night as a Category 4 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 140 mph just east of the mouth of the Aucilla River, or 10 miles west-southwest of Perry (Taylor County). It hit Florida like a freight train, causing unsurvivable storm surges all along Florida’s Gulf coastlines. Then, the devastating winds followed inland, causing mass power outages and other forms of destruction across Florida’s Big Bend area. The storm then quickly moved on, causing significant damage to our neighbors to the north.
With the storm now out of Florida, state response teams are busy assessing damage and conducting rescue and response efforts. A summary of everything the state is currently doing can be found in Gov. DeSantis’ updates, which can be found here.
While most of us are not strangers to this kind of severe weather, and we all know it’s part of living in Florida, the trauma of these impacts never diminishes. To that end, we truly hope you and your families who were in the path of the storm are safe and secure.
As we all work to recover, please know that there are resources available. A great summary of those resources can be found in this Florida Realtors news article that was published this morning. It covers everything from property insurance information to housing help and legal support, and financial aid for those in need. I’m going to summarize some of those resources directly below for your convenience.
- Hurricane Helene Resources
- Provides the latest Florida Realtors storm updates, as well as links to sites about insurance protections, housing help, legal questions and storm response, among other topics.
- After the Storm
- Download or print this handout designed for Realtors® and their customers seeking storm-related assistance including housing, repairs and business loans.
- Disaster Relief Fund
- The Florida Realtors Disaster Relief Fund (DRF) is available to Realtors, Realtor boards/associations and staff whose primary residential home or real estate office sustain damages due to the storm. Business and individual damage applications for Hurricane Helene will be accepted until March 26, 2025. The DRF is accepting applications for other severe weather events as well.
- Legal: Hurricanes, Transactions and Contract Clauses
- The Florida Realtors/Florida Bar contract has clauses that deal with casualty and bad-weather events. Read about the top four in the AS IS contract.
We will forgo other public policy items of interest this week so everyone can concentrate on the recovery resources listed above.
Please reach out to us at publicpolicy@floridarealtors.org with any questions you may have.
Sincerely,
Andy Gonzalez
Vice President of Public Policy
Florida Realtors®