2022 REAL ESTATE EDITION
FREQUENCY OF DISASTERS In 2021, 12 billion-dollar disasters aected Texas—the most of any year since at least 1980. The annual average for billion-dollar disasters for the state is 3.4.
MOVING OUT Natchez Landing residents have begun selling their condos, in part due to the rising condo dues aected by high insurance rates.
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4 3 2 1 June 2020
3 2 1 Jan. 2019
Jan. 2021
June 2021
Jan. 2022
June 2022
Jan. 2020
Jan. 2021
Jan. 2022
SOURCES: NATCHEZ LANDING TOWNHOME ASSOCIATION, DELTA VEE REALTY COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
SOURCE: NATIONAL CENTERS FOR ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
To cover the major increase, Natchez Landing rst raised its condo dues by 3%, then had to increase them again mid-year another 8%. The association is pulling from savings and halting some projects, such as landscaping, to cover the remainder of the cost, but that is a temporary x, Doss said. “We’re more and more feeling like this is not an anomaly and this is the way things are going to stay,” Wade-Gledhill said. Searching for solutions McKenzie and Pennel said under- insuring is not really an option. For Natchez Landing, doing so would make lenders not want to loan money to buyers of the properties, crashing units’ selling prices, McKenzie said. “It would be a very complicated
and other cities east of Hwy. 146. Despite also being in Seabrook and right against the water, Natchez Land- ing is not in TWIA boundaries because it is west of Hwy. 146. The Meridian, also adjacent to Clear Lake, is also out- side TWIA bounds. “By law, TWIA is an insurer of last resort, meaning that TWIA coverage is only available for property own- ers in a speci c geographic area who have been declined coverage in the private insurance market,” Aaron Tay- lor, senior legislative and extern a airs specialist for TWIA, said in an email. The Texas Legislature, which will meet in January, has the power to adjust TWIA boundaries, or residents can petition to alter them. Doss began this process before hearing from state Rep. Dennis Paul, R Houston, who said
procedure for us to not buy insurance,” she said. Therefore, residents and managers are working on a few ways to reduce insurance costs. One option would be the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association. Established in the 1970s by the Texas Legislature, the TWIA exists to provide private insurance subsidized by the government to areas of the state where it is di cult to nd a ordable insur- ance due to proximity to the coast. Every Texas county along the Gulf of Mexico and Galveston Bay is fully within TWIA boundaries, meaning res- idents are eligible for a ordable TWIA insurance. The only exception is Har- ris County, only a sliver of which is in TWIA bounds. This covered section includes parts of Seabrook, Pasadena
there may be another option. Another program is the Texas Fair Plan Association, which provides insurance for eligible policyholders when no one else will. The TFPA does not apply to condos or townho- mes, so Paul is looking into changing that, Doss said. In the meantime, these commu- nities are stuck with high insurance rates, and their petition is on hold, though it may resurface if other ave- nues do not pan out, Doss said. “For the future, we don’t know,” she said. “We’re really hoping that Rep. Paul will come up with some- thing for us.”
For more information, visit communityimpact.com .
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BAY AREA EDITION • JULY 2022
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