Hurricane Ian blew through Southwest Florida as a Category 4 hurricane in September 2022, inflicting more than $112 billion in damage.
A National Hurricane Center report called it the costliest hurricane in Florida’s history, and the third-costliest ever in the United States. Many in the hardest-hit region of Lee County continue to bear that cost, not just from the physical damage, but at the hands of property owners and developers pricing them out the community they lived in for years.
There are many stories of how development is reshaping the Lee County landscape and driving real estate skywards.
Before the storm, rental rates were already on the rise. According to a 2022 Shimberg Center for Housing Studies report, 28% of Lee County renters are low-income or paying at least 40% of their income on rent.
For coastal areas that were totally wiped out, like Fort Myers Beach, developers are seizing the opportunity to drive up prices even further. Most of the post-Ian properties will cost $1 million or more, according to sources quoted by Business Observer. Meanwhile, due to the development driving up the prices, fewer than a third of the low- or middle-income residents who used to live there have been able to return.
The Consumer Law Office (CLO) is a Property Damage Law Firm. Our Property Damage Attorneys fight insurance companies on behalf of our residential and commercial policyholders, to get the relief and compensation they are entitled to under their policy.
FOR A FREE COMPREHENSIVE PROPERTY DAMAGE ASSESSMENT AND CONSULTATION IMMEDIATELY CALL 305-940-0924
ASK FOR ATTORNEY MORDECHAI BREIER, FOUNDER OF THE CLO.
Mordechai is on your side and will bring you peace of mind during your challenging time. Mordechai will aggressively push your insurance company to ensure that you receive the maximum amount available under your insurance policy.
We only get paid when you get paid by your insurance company.
