Ange,

Insurance will vary based on several different factors, including size of home, age of home... age of home is key because it is indicative of the building codes that the property is built to... If you purchase a home that was built in 2005 or after, you're purchasing property that had to adhere to very recent codes, which often equates to lower insurance rates. Ultimately, it depends upon the specific property. But, I can share with you that I specialize in the Crestview area - rates that I have seen... a 2100 sq. ft. home, built in 2006, located in South Crestview yields annual homeowner's insurance rates of $700-$800. I hope this helps!

Thanks!

Emily Price
REALTOR
850.398.0117
Emily@c21emily.com

Thanks to all! It was very nice that you all [all y'all--LOL-New Orleans slang] answered my question so promptly. This is our situation: we love New Orleans and have been here for 20 years. Our house is Uptown, with an asbestos tile roof, so we were spared both flood and roof failure, which most of our friends were not. We have been struggling with the idea of selling the New Orleans house and moving to Florida, where we lived, briefly, in Tampa. We are retired [age 50] and owe only 9K on our house. The hurricane thing is--well, you know what it is each season. We need a second home close enough to New Orleans to evacuate to, but cheap enough for our income. We have 4 cats, so condos are out. Our Garden District cottage is around 1300 sq. feet, which is fine. Now, anything we buy will be financed by the equity in our New Orleans house. We have an Experian credit rating of around 760 [for some unknown reason, it was dropped from 799, and we were notified in the mail about it--no idea why], so we know we'll qualify for a prime lending rate. What we are looking for is a difficult thing: a house we can retire to when we are ready to give up New Orleans, but also a house inexpensive enough to work with our retirement income and the cost of two households. We don't want to deal with high association fees; we could care less about a community pool and what not. We don't need to be near the beaches. We don't mind rural properties. Any suggestions as to where we should be looking, in terms of neighborhood? What we can spend will be determined by what we can afford to refinance, as well as escrow.

Hello Ange,

When you obtain the insurance quote ask that the insurance agent also provide a CLUE and A+ reports on the home. Also ask if the quote has taken these reports into account. Insurance underwriters have been using the CLUE and A+ reports for some time now to also set insurance rates. These reports will also potentially tell you if there have been any claims on the home in the past 5 years. You can learn more about CLUE and A+ at http://www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs26-CLUE.htm.

Good luck!

Emmanuel J. Scanlan
PS Inspection & Property Services LLC http://www.psinspection.com
214-418-4366 (cell)
TREC License # 7593
International Code Council, Residential Combination Inspector #5247015-R5 (Electrical, Mechanical, Plumbing and Building)
Certified Infrared Thermographer (ASNT-TC1A Standards)
Texas Residential Construction Commission, Third Party Warranty Inspector #1593
Texas Residential Construction Commission, Inspector, County Inspection Program
Texas Department Of Insurance, VIP Inspector # 08507061016
Hayman Residential Engineering Services, Field Technician
CMC Energy - Certified Energy Auditor

Knowledge is power, but sharing knowledge brings peace!!

Hello--I cover the Crestview area, and the way I usually determine the answer to your question is to get an insurance quote from an independent agent when we have identified the property. Quotes are based on such things as type of construction, roof style (hip roof costs less), age of home, age of roof. On a home that is in the 250,000 range your insurance would run less than 1000/year. Flood insurance is usually 300-400/year unless you are in a high risk area, which most of Crestview is not. I generally check the flood maps as well to assist a buyer in determining their risk. The best method is to identify a property you might like to purchase and then I would get a quote for you from an insurance agent. I would love to assist you if you drop me a line or give me a call.

Myke Triebold, GRI, CNAS
MykeSaysSold@aol.com
850-305-6256

Hi Ange,

Here are some links to a PDF that might help answer some questions regarding your insurance concerns.

Depending on the homes location will determine the flood rating which in turn will affect your rate. This document might help clear that up for you along with the website links and contact info to okaloosa planning and the property appraisers office which can also be useful for plat info. An insurer should be able to give you a quote once the rating is determined for your property of interest. Definitely shop around.

Hope this helps.