ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Since Hurricanes Helene and Milton, dozens of homes have hit the Tampa Bay market. Homeowners are selling 'AS IS' and 'CASH ONLY' for investors, ready and willing to walk away after being flooded in the storms.
That includes Ali Linville, now selling her 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom home in Shore Acres.
"I just want to leave," said Linville. "I mean, once you've had it done three times, it's like, OK, I've had enough,'"
She bought her home in 2021 at $575,000. Since then, it's flooded three times.
"I can't live in a flood zone where you are constantly having to move out for six or seven months," she said.
With her home down to the studs again, she's decided to sell it. It's now listed at $425,000.
"I'm going to lose a lot, but I've gained a lot of friends, and I've had great experiences here, other than the flood, so I just have to cut my losses and move on," Linville added.
About a quarter of a mile away, realtor Ross Fengfish showed off a 3-bedroom, 2-bathhome he's also trying to sell after being flooded out in Helene.
He's representing a husband-and-wife team that bought, renovated, and flipped this home, which was put on the market just 60 days ago for $460,000.
"They spared no expense. We were absolutely ready to sell. We were getting showings, we were getting the conversations going," Fengfish said. "But you don't think to yourself, there's going to be four foot of water or three foot of water or whatever."
It's now gutted. Fengfish dropped the listing last week down to $299,900.
"You'll see the listings that are pending at, you know, 300,000 or 250,000 were originally at, you know, 450 or 500,000 so we, you know, you have to just kind of roll with the punches," Fengfish added.
However, he said the interest is there. Already, investors are calling and scooping up these homes.
"A lot of [houses] pending. I was actually surprised to see that. I was like, 'That's good'. That to me, tells me, you know, the realtors area did the right thing. You know, they just capitalized," he said.
It's a matter of making the most for these homeowners who lost it all.
"Because at the end of the day, you're right, you're going to sell the house, and maybe including with the insurance money, they're going to do okay, like they, you know, they can walk away, maybe just unscarred, and move on with life. That's possible," Fengfish said.
A state report says hundreds of frail elderly nursing home residents were stacked side by side, head to toe in a small church with no working air conditioning or refrigerator during Hurricane Helene.
