Hit by a hurricane? Turns out you might turn a profit

By Trey Thoelcke Updated Jan 24, 9:15AM EST · Published Jan 24, 4:11AM EST

Hit by a hurricane? Turns out you might turn a profit — © JamesBrey / E+ via Getty Images

(A native of England, veteran journalist Matthew Diebel has worked at NBC News, Time, USA Today and News Corp., among other organizations. Having spent much of his childhood next to one of the world’s fastest bodies of water, he is particularly interested in tidal energy.)

This past weekend, my wife and I visited her brother at his new condo in Naples, Fla. It was beautiful — overlooking the ocean and both slick and comfortable. It was very nice of him to invite us, especially since it has given him such angst.

Why? Well, he bought the place in the late spring of 2022 — and in September the warming-strengthened Hurricane Ian slammed into the coast just north of his place, meaning the city and its environs faced pretty much the full force of the storm, which had been predicted to make landfall much further up the coast.

Fortunately, his apartment, on a high floor, was not damaged. But the underground garage was inundated with mud and other debris from the Category 4 storm, as was the lobby, the gym and other facilities on the ground floor. And happily the condo is well insured, so owners have had to shell out very little to cover the costs of the damage.

But what about his investment? Surely no one is going to want to buy in the area having seen the devastation caused?

Er, no…

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About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.