After Irma: Come Visit us! ... (updated)

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Important information for our customers, rental GUESTS and home OWNERS -

We will UPDATE regularly HERE and on  Facebook.

 

Oct 05, 2017, 02.00 PM

 

Although we did already we want to mention it again: Cape Coral and the surrounding areas are almost back to normal. If you drive through the city you barely notice that a few weeks ago hurricane Irma touched the area. Almost everything down here is like it was before Irma. Fur further information please feel free to contact us anytime by email (or phone).

 

Sept 16, 2017, 1650

 

As promised in one of our previous posts, here are a few examples of how fast we clean up our city. All taken on the FIRST DAY after Irma. In the evening, we did not see any streets that we could not use. Great organization by the City of Cape Coral, great job by the workers. Thank you all!

 

Monday morning after Hurricane Irma. Fallen trees on El Dorado (Rose Garden):

 

IMG_1744 IMG_1741

 

(Click to enlarge)

 

And here is how these two trees looked later in the afternoon:

 

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This one on Pelican (8-Lakes) on Monday morning:

 

IMG_1863 IMG_1860

 

The same tree in the afternoon:

 

IMG_2505 IMG_1859

 

The Wink News reporters had to hurry to get this on film in time before the cleanup ...

 

One of the many crews to restore POWER in the city (Pelican):

 

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LCEC did a fantastic job in our opinion.

 

Sept 16, 2017, 1600

 

After all Seabim homes got power back in the last days, finally THIS MORNING we have power in the Seabim office on Del Prado! Now we can start catching up. One of the insurance agencies many of our customers are working with, got power yesterday. So, next week will be another exciting week, informing the insurance companies of all the possible damages. Usually, the insurance companies will send adjusters out to assess the damages. I expect this to take several weeks. After hurricane Charley 2004 (yes, we were here, too), we had adjusters still coming in after months. They were flown in from other states.

 

One pool on the river had to be drained because of salt water intrusion. We need the pool to be clean and ready for our next guests. We are currently refilling it with fresh water. One pool pump gave up, has already been replaced. During the week, in a few homes water leaks became visible in the ceilings. With smaller leaks, it sometimes takes a few days until this becomes visible. We are in contact with roofers, who are not easy to come by; we need them for some soffit and fascia repair as well. In two properties, parts of a ceiling got soaked over the course of the week and finally came done (a few square feet). No guests were affected.

 

Tree and landscaping companies try to clean up as fast as they can, but it is challenging with the amount of fallen trees and shrubs. We expect garbage pickup to be on schedule again starting next week. Obviously, we did not loose any furniture, as we brought it all inside before the storm (all lanai and dock furniture). However, we lost many blades of outside fans. They broke off and could be found in pieces all over the affected properties. A refrigerator stopped cooling (already repaired) and a boat cover blew off.

 

In one of the Seabim homes, we found that the seawall might have moved inwards. This could be a major problem. We are waiting for a seawall contractor. In two properties, the hurricane winds pushed some rain water through the outside door. Parts of the hardwood floors were saturated and expanded over the course of the week. The wood needs to be replaced.

 

In three properties, the air conditioning systems suddenly stopped cooling. In all cases, our emergency a/c company was able to repair quickly (the last one an hour ago).

 

All these issues (and a few more) will keep us well occupied for the foreseeable future, but we will make sure that our guests will barely notice any of it!

 

Sept 14, 2017, 1655

 

We just received a feedback from one of our guests. It is in German. Short translation: "Thanks to the Seabim team for your great support! We went to Atlanta during Hurricane Irma and were surprised how fast we could come back and Rave was ready for us. House and city are in great shape. If we could, we would extend our stay! Susanne and Klaus in Seabim Vacation Home Rave" Original:

 

"Liebes Team, herzlichen Dank fuer die tolle Unterstuetzung und den Service waehrend unseres Urlaubes hier im September 2017. Wir haben den Hurricane erlebt und sind in dieser Zeit, wie viele Urlauber nach Atlanta gefahren. Wir sind sehr erstaunt gewesen, dass wir bereits kurze Zeit nachdem Irma durch war, wiederkommen konnten und dass die Haeuser hier in einem guten Zustand trotz Hurrican waren. Also kamen wir wieder und die Stadt sieht bereits wieder wie vorher aus. Nur kleine Haufen von Blaettern und Aesten erinnern noch an den Hurrican. Wir bedanken uns fuer die viele Muehe, alles sofort wieder herzurichten, dass sich die Urlauber erholen koennen. Liebe deutsche Urlauber, glaubt nicht, was die Medien berichten, hier ist es toll. Wenn ich noch Urlaub haette, wuerde ich laenger bleiben. Wir kommen jederzeit wieder. Liebe Gruesse von Susanne und Klaus S.  aus dem Haus Rave."

 

Sept 14, 2017, 1635

 

All Seabim homes have power at this time! All guests are taken care of. Some homes are not occupied at this time and they are still available for last minute guests. They are in perfect shape apart from screen panels that might have not been repaired yet.

 

We lost air-conditioning in two houses, repairs already scheduled; we will not have guests in these houses until repair is completed. In addition, we lost one unit in a 3-system house, which will not be a problem for our guests; repair scheduled.

 

About three of our homes had minor water intrusions that do not affect our guests.

 

Sept 13, 2017, 1930

 

Monday morning, SUNRISE after IRMA, as seen in the

high quality Seabim Home Caloosamea (only one ripped screen):

 

After_Irma

 

Newest report: We did not lose ANY life in Southwest Florida due to Irma!

 

For Seabim guests with future bookings in place:

If you do not hear from us otherwise, everything is okay with your Seabim vacation home and we will be expecting you! Please see FAQ at the bottom of this post.

 

Hurricane Irma hit us on Sunday evening.

On Monday morning, we started to check on our Seabim Vacation Homes.

Until sunset on Monday night, we had checked and photographed 46 of our 50 Seabim homes outside. Most of them we could also check inside for visible water leaks (depending on shutter  systems).

Tuesday, we started to order repairs.

Since Wednesday (today), most of our homes are available to our guests.

Currently, we are already preparing new vacation bookings for our guests!

 

Seabim homes are equipped with phones that do not depend on power. Therefore, we are able to communicate with our guests and owners even without power in the house!

 

For all Seabim customers:

Now is the time to book your next vacation with us. Cape Coral and almost all Seabim Vacation Homes are OPEN FOR BUSINESS. Currently, we offer some Last-Minute deals for the next weeks; so you can enjoy a WONDERFUL relaxed vacation at the pool and in the sun. The Seabim Team is here for you, our homes are here for you and our area is ready for you.

 

Most of the Seabim homes did not have any or just minor damages. No storm surge that was high enough to flood any of our homes. Many screen panels were ripped out and fell into the pools. Therefore, the pools got dirty with leaves, etc. We are already in the process of cleaning this up (only a few left). Screen repairs have already been ordered, but the repairs will take a little longer than normally. Around our homes, some trees fell, some fences got damaged, some shrubs flew around. We will have this cleaned up as soon as possible (removal of trees takes a little longer), but it does not pose a problem for our guests. I took a few before and after photos on our streets (see next update).

 

Thank you to all Seabim guests, who are and who were our guests in the last days! Thank you for your overwhelming support! Some guests helped our team to carry some of the furniture back outside (pool and dock), when they arrived a little earlier than expected. We switched water and ice machines back on. All shutters are off in homes occupied by our guests.

 

And thank you to all Seabim guests, who are just arriving or arriving in the next days for trusting that we will have everything ready for you! We will.

 

There are still a few challenges we are facing:

  • A few homes do not have power yet. In these cases, our guests do not have to leave, we are offering an alternative Seabim home, if they want to. Each hour, more homes come online; the Thirbalo just did, while we are writing this post.
  • No boating for the next one or two weeks because there are some pieces of debris in the water that cannot be seen easily. Marine fuel is still hard to get.
  • Two of our team's cars broke down today. We assume that the cars were sick of the stress and wanted some rest. We had to bring them to the shop (that had power) and hope to get them back soon.

Here are some FAQ from our customers:

 

1) Can we move into our Seabim Vacation Home as planned in the next days?

 

YES. As long as you do not hear anything else from us, just come here and move right in. We will have your home prepared. As always, have our emergency number handy, in case you have any problems. Call us after your arrival. Your Seabim Guest Consultant will be there for you.

 

2) What is the situation in the area? Can we enjoy Cape Coral as we usually do (restaurants, yachting areas, etc.)?

 

YES. The speed we are cleaning up the city is phenomenal. All streets we see are free. Almost all of the grocery stores, restaurants, shops, etc. are already open. Cape Coral is ready for our guests!

 

3) How can we support the people, who lost property and income in the area?

 

Bring a lot of money and spend it in our City and in our area and support our local businesses. Do a lot of shopping in our malls and eat great steaks, fresh catch, and Florida oranges! ENJOY your Seabim Pool Home, Cape Coral and Southwest Florida!

 

4) What about other areas close by, like Naples and Sanibel?

 

All these areas are moving fast with cleanup; Bonita and Naples are not as far as we are, though. One of our team members was on Sanibel today and reported some fallen trees and debris on the sides of the roads (like here). The beaches should reopen soon. Next weekend, another team member plans to check out Naples. We will let you know.

 

Do not just read this. COME AND SEE for yourself!

 

Sept 12, 2017, 1240

 

Amazing, how fast our City is cleaning everything up. The police is doing a fantastic job. Work crews made sure that the street are free from fallen trees. The electric company ordered crews from all over the country to restore power. The result: Most of the Seabim vacation homes have power back. Coming into Cape Coral now, it already looks beautiful again.

 

WELCOME back to our guests! Most of them are back already, others are on the road heading to us. (planning on sharing some of their experiences here later).

 

Your SEABIM-TEAM

 

Sea Breeze International Management Corp.

Real Estate Brokerage and Seabim-Vacation-Portfolio

 

seabim.com

 

Seabim-Realtors on Florida's Gulf Coast

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