Inspecting Jacksonville Homes After Hurricane Season: Lessons from Matthew and Irma

Published January 4, 2025 by Mike Chen

Jacksonville, FL

Key Takeaways

  • Hurricane damage in Jacksonville often shows up as roof issues, water intrusion, and fence damage
  • The St. Johns River flooding during Matthew affected thousands of Jacksonville homes
  • Wind mitigation features installed after storms can actually lower your insurance costs
  • Always check permit records for storm-related repairs to verify work was done properly

October 2016 changed how I look at Jacksonville homes. Hurricane Matthew didn't make direct landfall here, but it pushed the St. Johns River to record levels. Neighborhoods that had never flooded found themselves underwater. Homes in San Marco, Riverside, and along the river saw water in places it had never been.

A year later, Irma came through. Different storm, different damage pattern. More wind, less flooding in most areas. Between those two storms, I inspected dozens of homes where the question wasn't just "what's wrong with this house" but "what did the storms do to this house."

If you're buying in Jacksonville today, especially an older home, understanding storm history matters. Here's what I've learned to look for.

Water Intrusion That Doesn't Make Sense

I was inspecting a 1960s ranch in San Marco about six months after Matthew. Nice house, well-maintained by all appearances. The seller had lived there 30 years. But my moisture meter was lighting up in places that didn't fit normal water intrusion patterns.

Moisture at the baseboards in the living room. Elevated readings in the subfloor near the back of the house. No roof leaks, no plumbing leaks that would explain it.

The seller finally admitted the house had taken on about 8 inches of water during Matthew. They'd had it cleaned and dried professionally, replaced the carpet, repainted. You couldn't see it. But moisture trapped in the subfloor and wall cavities doesn't always dry completely, especially in Jacksonville's humidity.

Flood damage that's been "cleaned up" can still cause problems years later. Mold behind walls. Subfloor deterioration. Electrical issues from components that got wet. I always check flood zone status and ask about storm history now.

Roof Damage That Hides

Irma's winds did more visible damage in Jacksonville than Matthew's flooding in most neighborhoods. Shingles lifted, some torn off entirely. Tree limbs through roofs. I saw a lot of blue tarps that winter.

What I learned: not all roof repairs are equal. Some homeowners filed insurance claims and had professional reroofing done. Others patched what they could see and hoped for the best.

On one inspection in Arlington, the roof looked fine from the ground. Good shingles, no missing pieces. But in the attic, I found water staining that post-dated a full attic insulation job. The timeline only made sense if water had come in after the insulation was installed, which meant after Irma.

The seller had patched the roof themselves. Caulk and roofing cement on lifted shingles. It stopped the active leaking but hadn't addressed the underlying damage to the underlayment. That roof needed professional attention, not a patch job.

The Wind Mitigation Silver Lining

Here's something positive that came out of Jacksonville's storm experience: a lot of homeowners upgraded their wind resistance features. New roofs with proper hurricane straps. Impact-rated garage doors. Secondary water barriers.

These improvements show up on wind mitigation inspections and can significantly reduce insurance premiums. I've seen discounts of $1,000 or more annually for homes with full wind mitigation features.

When I inspect a Jacksonville home that's had a new roof since 2016, I look for these upgrades. If they're present, that's a selling point. If the roof was replaced but the contractor didn't install hurricane straps or a secondary water barrier, the homeowner missed an opportunity.

Some homes I inspect have better wind mitigation now than they did before the storms. Matthew and Irma, for all the damage they caused, prompted a lot of overdue improvements.

Checking the Permit Record

Duval County's permit records are searchable online. For any Jacksonville home that's had major work since 2016, I recommend checking what permits were pulled.

Storm repairs should have permits. Roof replacements definitely need them. Electrical work from water damage needs them. If someone did significant repairs without permits, that's a red flag. It suggests the work might not meet code and definitely wasn't inspected.

I found one house in Riverside where the entire first floor had been gutted and rebuilt after Matthew. Beautiful renovation. No permits on record. The work looked good, but without permits, there was no way to verify the electrical, plumbing, or structural work met code. The buyer's insurance company wasn't happy about that either.

What I Tell Jacksonville Buyers Now

Jacksonville's relationship with hurricanes is permanent. We're going to have more storms. The question is whether the house you're buying is prepared for them and whether past storms left hidden damage.

I always ask about flood history now, even in areas that aren't technically flood zones. Matthew proved that historical flood patterns don't predict future ones. I check for water staining that doesn't match normal leak patterns. I look at the timeline of repairs and improvements.

And I remind buyers that storm preparedness can work in their favor. A house with a post-Irma roof, hurricane straps, and impact windows might cost more upfront but will cost less to insure and maintain. That's the silver lining of buying in a hurricane zone after major storms: the houses that got upgraded are often better prepared than they were before.