How does a hurricane effect real estate? Besides the obvious lack of buyers out and about for this week, a couple buyers and sellers of property I have under contract are pretty worried. One buyer asked me what happens if the home is damaged now, while it's under contract. Well, the seller is responsible for presenting the home in the same condition as it was when we put it under contract. If they can not, or choose not to make necessary repairs, a buyer has the options to renegotiate price or back out all together. However, we live in Ocala! We are land locked and while I realize many people may have a legitimate reason to worry about flooding or power to run essential things like water pumps or medical equipment, most folks will not see much property damage here. The high winds and storm surge that will be present on the coast will not make it to Ocala and unless your home is low lying in a flood zone, you should be just fine. Hurricane Irma made landfall in Florida just two years ago this September 10th. Many people lost power for about a week and struggled to buy gas in long lines. I needed gas just to get to work one day and waited for an hour in the middle of the previous night. But my power was never lost! And roofs did not blow away and for those that did lose power, it came back on. I certainly urge everyone to not freak out too much, don't park your cars under a tree, and help your neighbors out if they need it. Be careful out there.
If anyone needs help this week, I'm still working and answering the phone. Please let me know if there's anything we can do. Both my son and I have a pickup truck, chainsaw, and a strong back!
