In neighborhoods battered by frequent storms and flooding, in the future staying put safely may require living higher. Home lifting, the process of raising an entire home off its slab several feet in the air and constructing below, is becoming a more popular option in coastal communities. Soon, a first-of-its-kind state program is launching to help more homeowners elevate. “Demand since the hurricanes have gone way, way up. Everybody's been flooded or been worried about their homes being flooded because they're close calls,” Albert Jasuwan, president of JAS Builders, said. Jasuwan and his company are working on dozens of home lifting projects, booking jobs from Longboat Key to Crystal River every week. “Lifting makes sense for a lot of people, especially if you love your floor plan. You love your house, you love your neighborhood, you love the schools you're in,” said Jasuwan, adding it's really the only way to protect against flooding in some communities. It's fairly expensive, starting around $200,000 and up depending on the size of the home. Between designing, permitting and construction, the process could also take up to a year. But as Jasuwan explains, it could save homeowners from a full rebuild and tragedies brought by storm surges — and even bring lower insurance costs. “We're still at about half the price of building new over a new block, new slab, and we make it better than new because we're putting pilings in all the way deep down the earth,” he explained. MORE: https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/local/pinellascounty/elevate-florida-grant-home-lifting/67-ff8f5b18-dae2-4cc3-8e8c-c21f0e7f23bf