Property insurance a lingering concern | Bedford Corners Realtor

As our region prepares for the possibility of a hurricane impact, it seems so long ago that Hurricane Charley ravaged Charlotte County. But to those who lived through it, I am sure the bad memories are flooding back.

And for all of us, windstorm insurance is once again brought to mind, along with checking batteries in flashlights and stocking up on food that does not require cooking.

It is all part of living here, as illustrated by a reader’s response to my July 14 column, about Florida home builders rallying in Tampa in support of housing by urging preservation of the home mortgage-interest tax deduction and less stringent lending standards:

“While eliminating the mortgage-interest deduction is definitely a bad move, the second blow in the 1-2 punch definitely will be the increased insurance rates if Citizens bows to Gov. Scott’s desire to raise rates.

“Just when housing is showing a good recovery, this stands to derail the process. For any monthly PITI (principal, interest, taxes and insurance) payment, the same payment will be able to contain much less principal/interest to accommodate the much-higher insurance rates. This will result in significantly less purchasing power.

“I do not understand bolstering the cost of insurance if few can afford it. Things are tough enough. This should be a front-burner issue, along with the mortgage-interest deduction.”