A self-insured landlord in Hurricane Milton’s path is still recovering after Helene but isn’t evacuating to stay nearby and help his properties

• A Florida homeowner and landlord is prepping for another hurricane after Helene.
• Kevin Stuteville said he’s already faced $1.5 million in losses and expects more.
• He said landlords in southwest Florida are faced with two options: rebuild or sell.

Kevin Stuteville, 45, is prepping his St. Pete Beach, Florida, home for a second hurricane, Milton, after Helene wreaked havoc just days before.

He put armor screens on the windows, half of the drywall has already been removed, and he’s taken his dehumidifiers and fans out of the house so they don’t get damaged in case he has to use them again.

“The contents of our entire home are still in my front yard,” Stuteville told Business Insider. “I am on open water, and in 24 to 48 hours, my couch might be 10 miles away.”

St. Pete Beach is a barrier island about nine miles from downtown St. Petersburg. According to FEMA, the entire city of St. Pete Beach is a within a flood zone. Stuteville expects the worst for his home, but he also has about six other properties in the St. Petersburg and Tampa area to worry about.

For him and other landlords in southwest Florida who’ve had their investment and rental properties damaged, there are two grim options: try to rebuild or sell and let somebody else do it.

Helene already caused damages for Stuteville

Stuteville is the founder of Effective Agents, a real-estate platform that helps people find realtors to help buy or sell properties. He also has six properties of his own — all with tenants.

“I have a tenant in particular who owns a clothing boutique,” he said. “I was just there, and they’re boarding up and doing all that they can.”

“I’d say two-thirds of them are in flood areas,” he added.

Stuteville said he’s self-insured for all of his properties and on the hook for damages. The high costs of home and flood insurance plus the lengthy process to recover damages was not worth it to him — and up until now, that worked out for him.

“The upside to self-insuring is that you don’t have to screw with any of that — I haven’t held insurance since the 2004 hurricanes,” he said. “That’s been 20 years I’ve been self-insured. I’m in the hole now because of this storm, but it’s not as bad as I think it could have been. I’ll be all right.”

According to a report from the Consumer Federation of America, 10% of Florida homeowners are uninsured — ranking ninth in the country.

Stuteville estimates that he’s lost about $1.5 million from Helene and could lose another $1 million after Milton hits. Data firm CoreLogic estimated Hurricane Helene caused $30.5 billion to $47.5 billion in wind and flood damage across 16 states.

“We’re just getting hit from all angles,” he said. “The damages we take are going to deplete savings. It’s just a bad couple of weeks. There’s no way to prepare for something like this. You just take it one day at a time and that’s it.”

Stuteville is staying put in St. Pete Beach

Stuteville said that there are two paths for landlords going forward.

“You have to have a real serious kind of conversation with yourself about whether or not it’s worth it to remodel,” he said.

“You have to make a decision,” he added. “Are you going to sell that property off and let someone else build and do it?”

For those who decide to rebuild or make repairs, Stuteville said that the equity in the property might be enough to take out a mortgage or line of credit to remodel if you’re lucky. For those wanting to wash their hands of a home, you’re probably going to take a loss, but it might not be that bad.

“I think people who are selling are going to have a loss that’ll be somewhat dampened by the runup from COVID,” he said. “Just their land value is substantial enough to diminish some of the losses that they would have.”

Stuteville anticipates property rehabbers and home flippers might buy and try their luck at homes damaged in the hurricane.

For now, Stuteville is not selling — and he’s staying. Stuteville, his wife, and his children are staying in a hotel in downtown St. Petersburg. That way, he can quickly gain access to damaged homes and buildings and make repairs as fast as he can.

“I’m not evacuating out of St. Petersburg — I just can’t,” he said. “I’ve got to stay somewhat close so I can take care of any issues that come up with our properties and people. I have employees here that are all evacuating and we’ve had to basically shut down the business because people can’t work and be on the road up to Alabama or Jacksonville trying to get out of town.”

Are you a landlord with properties affected by Hurricane Helene or Milton, and are open to sharing your story? We want to hear from you. Reach out to reporter Jordan Pandy, at jpandy@businessinsider.com, with your story.