While the getting is good

For a lot of people who’ve suffered the loss of their home during storms it’s decision time. Do they rebuild or do they move on? It’s not an easy call. 

When you are part of a community it is difficult to leave all that behind. You have things that hold you in place: family, friends, jobs, or even a simple love for the area. The first reaction may be: we will rebuild. Is is the smartest decision?

Maybe not. There are places that keep getting hit with the same disasters over and over again. It’s hard to credit it to being a “once in a lifetime event” when it happens twice or three times in the same year. Florida is the poster child for this, but it’s far from the only problem area. Just ask the folks in Vermont who keep getting flooded out. 

If you decided to move to a safer area it’s better to be one of the first to leave. Ideally you’d move before the disaster. That’s when the property values are highest and there are many potential buyers. 

For those who get a decent insurance payout, moving out is worth considering. As the insurance industry suffers more and more losses the payouts won’t be nearly as good. You just might want to keep that in mind. There are already plenty of people who can no longer carry insurance at all. Prices have gotten too high. 

As disaster pile up some people won’t be able to move. The ones who remain will be the old and the poor. They will lack the resources to start over. If they are able to sell it will be for pennies on the dollar. If they owe money on their property it’s even worse. Abandoning their property will ruin their credit making it that much hard to start in a new location. 

Hard choices are best made early. 

-Sixbears