[kathyspear]

I am in the process of arranging homeowners insurance for our new house which is scheduled to close Oct 30.

First I called the agency we went through for our villa in Oldsmar. Agent says we would need an inspection to get sinkhole coverage and he thinks the inspection would cost $3,000-6,000 but he will research more. Today he writes: "The inspection needs to be completed by an Engineer. It is not even a Home Inspector that does it. I have called multiple inspectors and have been on the line with The Villages Warranty Department and they don’t even know of anyone that can inspect for Sinkholes." (This agency is in south -- not Central -- Florida.)

After reading posts on TOTV, I called Villages Insurance. She says if our roof is original we don't qualify for sinkhole coverage because the roof would be 15 years old. If we replace the roof (or find out that the roof is NOT original) we would qualify. I am waiting to hear back from the realtor, who is checking on the age of the roof. (The sellers added a second master suite to the house a couple of years after they bought it, so I suppose it is possible that they replaced the roof at that time. Fingers crossed.)

If it turns out that our roof is 15 years old, does anyone know of a company that will give us sinkhole coverage?

Thanks in advance!

kathy