The Florida owner stayed put during Hurricane Milton

• A Florida homeowner and landlord is bracing for another hurricane after Helene.
• Kevin Stuteville said he has already faced $1.5 million in losses and expects more.
• He said homeowners in Southwest Florida face two options: rebuild or sell.

Kevin Stuteville, 45, prepares his home in St. Pete Beach, Florida, for a second hurricane, Milton, after Helene wreaked havoc a few days earlier.

He’s put screens on the windows, half of the drywall has already been removed, and he’s taken his dehumidifiers and fans out of the house so they won’t break if he has to use them again.

“The contents of our entire house are still in my front yard,” Stuteville told Business Insider. “I’m out on the open water and in 24 to 48 hours, my couch could be 10 miles away.”

St. Pete Beach is a barrier island about nine miles from downtown St. Petersburg. According to FEMA, the entire city of St. Pete Beach is in a flood zone. Stuteville expects the worst for his home, but he also has six other properties in the St. Petersburg and Tampa area to worry about.

For him and other Southwest Florida homeowners whose investments and rental properties have been damaged, there are two bleak options: Try to rebuild or sell and let someone else do it.

Helene has already caused damage to Stuteville

Stuteville is the founder of Effective Agents, a real estate platform that helps people find real estate agents to help them buy or sell property. It also has six properties of its own – all with tenants.

“I have one tenant in particular who owns a clothing boutique,” ​​he said. “I’ve just been there and they’re stepping up and doing the best they can.”

“I would say two-thirds of them are in flooded areas,” he added.

Stuteville said it is self-insured for all its properties and is on the hook for claims. The high costs of home and flood insurance, plus the lengthy claims recovery process, weren’t worth it to him — and so far, it’s worked for him.

“The takeaway from self-insurance is you don’t have to deal with any of that — we haven’t had insurance since the 2004 hurricanes,” he said. “It’s been 20 years, I’ve been self-insured. I’m in the hole now because of this storm, but it’s not as bad as I think it could have been. I’ll be fine.”

According to a report by the Consumer Federation of America, 10 percent of Florida homeowners are uninsured — ranking ninth in the nation.

Stuteville estimates he lost about $1.5 million from Helene and could lose another million dollars after Milton strikes. Data firm CoreLogic estimated that Hurricane Helene caused $30.5 billion to $47.5 billion in wind and flood damage in 16 states.

“We’re just getting hit from all angles,” he said. “The damage we’re getting will drain the savings. It’s just a bad couple of weeks. There’s no way to prepare for something like this. You just take it one day at a time and that’s it.”

Stuteville remains in St. Pete Beach

Stuteville said there are two avenues for owners going forward.

“You have to have a serious conversation with yourself about whether or not it’s worth remodeling,” he said.

“You have to make a decision,” he added. “Are you going to sell that property and let someone else build and do it?”

For those who decide to rebuild or renovate, Stuteville said the equity in the property could be enough to take out a mortgage or line of credit to remodel it if you’re lucky. For those who want to wash their hands of a house, you will probably suffer a loss, but it may not be so bad.

“I think the people selling will have a loss that will be somewhat mitigated by the evolution of COVID,” he said. “The value of their land alone is substantial enough to offset some of the losses they would have.”

Stuteville anticipates that foreclosure agents and flippers may buy and take their chances on hurricane-damaged homes.

For now, Stuteville isn’t selling — and staying. Stuteville, his wife and children are staying at a hotel in downtown St. Petersburg. In this way, he can quickly gain access to damaged houses and buildings and make repairs as quickly as possible.

“I’m not evacuating from St. Petersburg — I just can’t,” he said. “I need to stay somewhat close to deal with any issues that arise with our properties and people. We have employees here evacuating everyone and we basically had to close the business because people can’t. work and go down the road to Alabama or Jacksonville trying to get out of town.”

Are you a property owner affected by Hurricane Helene or Milton and open to sharing your story? We want to hear from you. Connect with reporter Jordan Pandy, at [email protected]with your story.