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More Floridians consider lifting homes after hurricane season

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Published  October 15, 2024 9:48pm EDT
Housing
FOX 13 News

Storm solutions: Lifting homes

Evyn Moon reports

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - As thousands in the Tampa Bay area gut their homes and start fresh after this fall’s floodwaters, many are thinking: "How do I make sure this doesn’t happen again?" For some, the answer is lifting their entire home.       

"Our plan is to lift 12 feet in the air, which would have completely avoided any water in the main living space," said Meghan Martin, a resident in the Shore Acres neighborhood in St. Petersburg. "We would have been totally fine except for the garage and storage space, which is what it's designed for. It's designed to get wet. So we could have avoided all this if we'd been able to get lifted or at least even start the process of being lifted."

Albert Jasuwan, the president of JAS Builders, said he has multiple projects in Shores Acres right now. 

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"Right now, that we have in the air are three, we just booked 11 this week and probably are going to take deposits on 30 or 40 more by the end of the month," said Jasuwan. 

He said lifting your home offer pros like being high and dry when major storms come and you don't have to worry about flooding. 

"And, there's benefits as far as insurance, and it adds value to your house," said Jasuwan. 

But, it's a project that can be costly and take a lot of time. 

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"If they just want to just lift it and put it on stilts it can be $100-200,000. If they want to build out, it can go up to four, five, six or $700,000," Jasuwan said. "The actual lifting process, we try to fit in a four-month process."

There are FEMA grants and My Safe Florida funding that can bring help around $10,000 to start, but residents say it’s not enough.

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