“If I had known how bad things were going to get, I would have never bought the property in the first place.”

Benjamin Catlett, of Zephyrhillis, FL, only managed to enjoy the bliss of being a homeowner for just over three years, before the worst happened. He shares that he was forced to demolish his three-bedroom, two-bathroom home after constant flooding destroyed it—and now he wants state or county officials to take action.   In sharing his story with Realtor.com, Catlett says he did everything right. “When I bought the property in 2021, they made me get flood insurance, which is pretty standard in Florida," he says. When he inquired about flood claims against the property, he was told there hadn’t been one since the 1970s.

And all of that was true -- it’s what happened next that caused the issues, in Catlett’s estimation.

New construction, new problems

A new development was built next to Catlett’s in 2023, roughly 300 houses near his home—and he says that changed everything.

“After that development was built, my yard started flooding when it would rain," he says. "It was also happening to two of my neighbors’ yards. The water suddenly had nowhere to go.”

Catlett insists he and his neighbors had been given no heads up on how that new development would affect their own. When he contacted the city, they told him that they would look into putting in a retention pond on the lot next to his property to “remedy the situation.” That never happened.

In August of 2023, the city sent a commissioner out from risk management and contacted FEMA—but still nothing was done.

“Anytime it rained, our yard was flooding to the point that my daughter and I would have to wear rain boots to get to the driveway, and then we’d have to put our shoes and socks on once we got in our cars just to go to work," he recalls.

Catlett says there were times that rain flooded his property so badly, he’d have to rent an Airbnb for stretches at a time while his lot dried out.

In the eye of the hurricane

Then things went from bad to worse once Hurricane Helene hit in September 2024.

"After Helene hit, the state of Florida put a ‘tiger dam’ around my house, which is a big orange balloon that holds thousands of gallons of water, and gave me a sump pump," he says.

This should’ve done the trick; tiger dams use water to fight water, with the inflated flood protection tubes having the capability to be connected and stacked to create a barrier strong enough to hold up to most situations.

But when Hurricane Milton hit the following month, the water went over the tiger dam and severely flooded Catlett's house.

"I couldn’t get into my house for three weeks, and when I was able to, there was mold growing four or five feet up the walls," he says.

The decision to demolish

After Milton, Catlett considered trying to rebuild but immediately realized that there wasn't much to salvage.

"There was no saving the house at that point," he says. "We tried to fix it first, but when we ripped up the floor, the joists, which are the frame of the house, were so rotted that you could crumble the wood with your hand. That's when the crew told me it was better to tear down the house. "

He found a charity organization to demolish the house free of charge, and let the house go.

With the house gone, Catlett now faces a difficult decision. Despite receiving two payouts from his flood insurance and homeowners insurance, as well as $6,500 from FEMA to replace the contents of his home, the payouts did not come close to covering the $260,000 valuation of the house.

He says his options for the property are limited, given that he also has a $25,000 solar loan he’s still paying off and is still on the hook for property taxes as well.

“I can put a travel trailer on the property and live out of it, or I can sell it to investors for maybe $50,000, but that’s taking a major loss," he says.

Catlett is vying to be accepted into a pilot program called Elevate Florida that helps hurricane victims rebuild, but he won’t hear back on that until August.

"That’s my only hope," he says. "FEMA told me they are not buying out houses. The county doesn’t want to buy the property. I’m running out of options."

Catlett and his neighbors recently spoke with ABC Action News about their predicament, and Pasco County issued a statement to the station saying, in part:

“Pasco County addressed flooding concerns … [and] considers the flooding concerns resolved. We encourage these customers to contact Southwest Florida Water Management District or FEMA for further guidance on drainage concerns around their properties.”

“Everyone blames someone else,” Catlett says. "Yes, the hurricanes were catastrophic, but we were taking on rain before the hurricanes. Something should have been done."

At the moment, he’s living with his girlfriend while he and his neighbors consult with an attorney about next steps.

“I’m in limbo," Catlett says. "My neighbors and I just want the county to buy our properties and let us move on.”

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