How hurricanes affected Long Islanders' plans to move South

In search of relief from the symptoms of his chronic illness, Jeffrey Jimenez and his wife imagined they would trade the colder, more varied New York climate for warmer Floridian air within a year.

The pair had plans to move from Center Moriches to Florida's Port St. Lucie — a decision Jimenez hoped would make it easier to manage degenerative disc disease and the effects of multiple cervical spinal fusions.

"Now we're not," said Jimenez, an agent for eXp Realty in Hauppauge. "After the last two storms that just totally obliterated Florida and North Carolina, I'm not even considering the Southeast at all."

But Long Islanders' reactions to back-to-back hurricanes in early autumn — Helene in late September, Milton in October — represented the full range of risk tolerance. Some drawn to Florida worry about further storm damage, while others see the risk of severe weather as an acceptable trade for a year-round, summer-like lifestyle.

Hurricanes and relocation plans

I would be probably in better spirits if I was down South and probably feel better. But, again, I'm not going to feel better if I've got to tread water hoping my house doesn't float away.

— Jeffrey Jimenez, of eXp Realty

For Jimenez, the fear of a strong storm causing irreparable damage weighs heavily. Friends in Florida told him of highways that looked like parking lots during evacuations. In a phone conversation between the arrival times of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, Jimenez said he now plans to stay on Long Island.

"I would be probably in better spirits if I was down South and probably feel better," he said. "But, again, I'm not going to feel better if I've got to tread water hoping my house doesn't float away."

"I'm not leaving," Jimenez said of his residence in Center Moriches. "I'll stay; we got a nice house, we're good; we'll be all right."

Woodbury-based Compass agent Lainie Greenberg, who handles transactions on Long Island and in Florida, found herself on Florida's east coast the week Milton made landfall in Siesta Key as a Category 3 hurricane. Most of her clients moving to Florida have been populating its eastern coast, she said; the western coast was expecting a heavier hit from Milton.

Greenberg's clients have told her they expect inclement weather in New York and Florida.

"I know it's not the same by any means and it could be far more destructive, but I think overall, people have the expectation of dealing with challenging weather conditions — especially since Long Island has been having its own challenging weather over the last few years," Greenberg said. "I have more clients who've had flooding issues in New York than Florida recently."

The "bigger picture issue" is climate change, Greenberg said, which affects residents of any geographic area.

Greenberg said she has not heard of any of her contacts leaving Florida because of the storms.

"The lifestyle benefits overall, I think far outweigh the challenging days, and typically they're fewer and farther between overall," she said.

Doing homework before moving south

As an agent based in Long Beach, which was heavily affected by Superstorm Sandy in 2012, Leah Tozer is particularly conscious of flood risk. She encourages home seekers to work with a buyer's agent and to advocate for themselves by asking for elevation certificates, flood insurance payout information and other relevant documentation.

While it was too early to tell how the September and October hurricane activity would affect the Long Island-to-Florida migration, Tozer, of Daniel Gale Sotheby's International Realty, said she herself avoids doing business in Florida.

"If you have a repetitive loss property, I think people have to now start thinking about, what does that mean? What's your threshold for dealing with a weather event and rebuilding?"

— Leah Tozer, of Daniel Gale Sotheby's International Realty

Credit: Jim Staubitser

"I have an investment group, and we, because of me, on purpose, I will not do anything in Florida," Tozer said. 

Assessing the risk involves considering whether a home qualifies as a "repetitive loss property," which the Federal Emergency Management Agency has defined as any structure insured by the National Flood Insurance Program "that has had at least 2 paid flood losses of more than $1,000 each in any 10-year period since 1978."

"If you have a repetitive loss property," Tozer said, "I think people have to now start thinking about, what does that mean? What's your threshold for dealing with a weather event and rebuilding?"

Whether a homeowner or prospective buyer has the bandwidth and motivation to own a repetitive loss property is personal, she said. When managing money — her own, and investors' — she is looking to take the lowest amount of risk possible.

"You really need somebody on the ground that knows what they're doing. Do a little bit of homework on who really is dominant in the area."

— Phil Crescenzo Jr., vice president of the Southeast Division at Nation One Mortgage Corp.

Credit: Nation One Mortgage Corporation

Phil Crescenzo Jr., vice president of the Southeast Division at Nation One Mortgage Corp., said it was too early to tell how this season's storms might affect the mortgage space. Whether storm damage will make it more difficult for prospective homebuyers to obtain a mortgage is specific to the situation.

For those looking to move to Florida, Crescenzo stressed the importance of finding a real estate agent familiar with the area and asking pointed questions.

"You really need somebody on the ground that knows what they're doing," he said. "Do a little bit of homework on who really is dominant in the area, and that's been around for a little bit."

Though a real estate agent is not always forthcoming about the flood history of a property, Crescenzo said, a full-time agent in a specific area is most likely to offer honest answers and sound advice.

"Somebody that's really well known in an area won't risk doing that, because their reputation's more important than that one deal," said Crescenzo, who is based in Charleston, South Carolina.

Crescenzo recommends seeking information about the property, including finding out whether the maintenance of a dock or dam falls under the homeowner's responsibilities.

Committed to Florida

Nearly three years ago, Dix Hills resident Stephanie Kohn and her husband, Ken, bought an oceanfront condo in the South Florida neighborhood of Hillsboro Beach.

"I look at it like, the building we're in was built in 1973," said Kohn, who maintains her full-time residence on Long Island. "And it's on the beach, and it's still there."

The 10-story building is maintained and updated "constantly," Kohn said. This season's storms are cause for concern, she said, but not to the point where she would reconsider owning property in Florida.

Kohn's cousin had to evacuate an island off St. Petersburg at 3 a.m. in preparation for Hurricane Milton, she said. In South Carolina, Kohn's sister has been in the path of storms, too.

If you're asking me if I would not go [to Florida] because of the storms, I'm going to say, 'absolutely not;' I would still go.

— Stephanie Kohn, of Dix Hills, who owns a second home in Florida

"If you're asking me if I would not go [to Florida] because of the storms, I'm going to say, 'absolutely not;' I would still go," she said. "The building's been there since 1973, I'm not worried about it not being there."

Kohn, who is in her 60s, works in the financial industry and is able to work remotely. Her husband, in his 70s, is in the same field, she said. The two continue to spend time in Florida and New York. 

Part of Florida's appeal, for Kohn, is the lifestyle. 

"Every day is summer," she said. "How you feel in the summertime and you're outdoors all the time, you're eating outdoors, you exercise more when you're there ... I wouldn't give it up."

By Arielle Dollinger

arielle.dollinger@newsday.com@aridollinger

Arielle Dollinger joined Newsday as a staff reporter in 2022. Previously, she covered local and national news as a freelancer for The New York Times, Newsday and other outlets.