People buy and sell properties all the time during hurricane season. However, there are a few things you need to consider specific to buying and selling during hurricane season.

Buying During Hurricane Season

During hurricane season, you need to consider a few things when buying a home.

• Get your homeowners’ insurance and flood insurance binded as soon as possible once you are under contract. Once there is a named storm (either a hurricane or a tropical storm), insurance companies may decide not to bind any new policies until the storm passes. You cannot close on a home if you have a mortgage and do not have insurance. However, you can close if there is a named storm and you had previously binded your homeowners’ insurance. Flood insurance will have a 30-day waiting period unless you purchase flood insurance at the time of closing on your home. 
• Your closing could be delayed if a named storm hits our area or we are declared a disaster area. If you are obtaining a loan to purchase your home, your lender or appraiser will have to do a post hurricane event property inspection. This inspection will also happen if there is a flood event.
• Attorneys offices and the Register of Deeds office could be closed before and after a hurricane. Either offices being closed could cause a delay in your closing.
• Should the home you are purchasing have damage from a hurricane, that damage would need to be repaired prior to the home closing.

Selling During Hurricane Season

As with buying a home during hurricane season, sellers also need to keep in mind a few things.

• Your closing could be delayed once there is a named storm if the buyer does not already have their homeowners’ insurance in place. Should a storm hit our area, the buyers’ lender will need to check the property to make sure it is not damaged before closing can happen. 
• If your home has damage, contact your insurance agent or company as soon as possible to start the repair process. In the next Thursday Tidbit video, I will cover what to do if you have damage to your home because of a hurricane. 
• Board your windows and bring in items from your yard prior to a hurricane or tropical storm making landfall to prevent damage to your home. 
• I recommend this one for all sellers but it is very important during hurricane season. Keep your homeowners’ insurance policy in place on your home until you receive notice that your Deed has recorded. 

Do not be nervous about buying and selling during hurricane season just keep the above tips in mind.