[Boomer]

Originally Posted by Marilyn RIccio

On 2/15/18 there was a catastrophic event on an easement located between 17086 and 17092 SE 79th Mclawren Terrace The Villages. Neighbors by that location requested assistance in writing to the developer requesting any assistance he could give in assisting to repair the problem. The original home owners sold their dream retirement homes to a company that fixed I buy sick homes who has further let the neighborhood down by not fixing the homes. The hole on the easement destroyed both homes, as well as, the street in front of the homes. The Developer has all the resources to fix the problem with the easement, as well as, the homes. The developer originally had the pipe placed in the easement which failed on 2/15/18 resulting in the catastrophic event. The Neighbors and others requested the developer buy the two damaged homes he originally built and fix the problem that resulted from the easement he placed between the homes that resulted in failure and a catastrophic event destroying two retirees homes, as well as, permanently damaging a neighborhood. Mclawren terrace has been closed and neighbors living there do not feel it is the Friendliest home town because since the event The Developer has refused to send his brilliant workmen to repair the problem. How would you feel if your retirement neighborhood and investment was destroyed and the person that built it that had all the resources in the world to fix it has simply said NO!

Originally Posted by Marilyn RIccio

Yes, it is true the home owner owns the easement, however, in this case the Stormwater pipe originally installed within the easement collapsed causing the destruction of two homes, the road, and property values in the neighborhood. When most people buy their retirement home in the villages they are not told about what is in the easement. I doubt the easement is ever discussed by any realtor to a buyer. I hope this does not happen to others as the result is devastating.

Thank you, Marilyn Riccio. I have been following that situation, off and on, for a while. Those people have to feel trapped and heavily stressed. I have the ability (or maybe it’s a curse) to put myself in another’s place and give thought to how they must feel. (Sometimes I wish I were callous and self-absorbed. But I do not think my personality will change after having it for oh so many decades.)

Many people in TV have mortgage-free homes. A lot of them have paid cash up front, having sold their houses up north for a tidy profit. While there is a definite comfort zone in having no mortgage, it means that the homeowner is the bank, the whole bank, and nothing but
the bank — the risk-carrier.

Each time I hear about a sinkhole, I wonder how Citizen’s bank would respond if such devastating loss landed with them because they were holding the mortgage, owning the house. (Just a thought. I have been told that I often think outside the box.)

Originally Posted by graciegirl

Everyone shoould be adequately insured against loss due to things like sinkholes, earthquakes and lightning strikes. They happen quite unexpectedly and are blamed on many things.

The builder of the homes in ANY area is not responsible for such things.

The owners of the homes completely ruined by the sinkhole passed their homes to a company that has tied up things. Most people in their eighties here well manage to take care of things and do not need pity.

And they are capable of moving and usually can so do if they wish.

Gracie, if I may respectfully take issue with your first sentence above about adequate insurance, I must point out that there is an enormous difference in the aftermath of the natural occurrences you use in your examples.

First of all, those of us who have been around here for a long time know that insuring for sinkholes has a checkered past. Additionally, and especially, the glaring difference is that owners of sinkhole properties, no matter how insured, seem to never be whole again. Insurance for earthquakes and lightning strikes — also tornadoes and hurricanes and such — can put the homeowner back in place in a house all back together and all is well. But when the loss is the very ground beneath the home, it is a devastating and on going loss — nothing is ever the same.

Originally Posted by manaboutown

According to this article human activity can lead to sinkholes although most are naturally occurring. Sinkhole activity within The Villages is specifically addressed.

"Man-made development, it turns out, is the most persistent factor for increased sinkholes. Earth-moving equipment scrapes away protective layers of soil; parking lots and paved roads divert rainwater to new infiltration points; the weight of new buildings presses down on weak spots; buried infrastructure can lead to leaking pipes; and, perhaps most of all, the pumping of groundwater disrupts the delicate water table that keeps the karst stable. “Our preliminary research indicates that the risk of sinkholes is 11 times greater in developed areas than undeveloped ones,” says George Veni, the executive director of the National Cave and Karst Research Institute who conducted a field study in Sinkhole Alley."


Read more: The Science Behind Florida’s Sinkhole Epidemic
|
Science
| Smithsonian

Hey, manaboutown. I have read about this over the years. Geology was my favorite science class, second place was botany. (Yes. I know. Sheldon Cooper would not consider them to be real science. )

Also, I must compliment you are you choice of sources for this one.

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And, another thing, I find the go-to grasping of the word ’jealousy’ by the die-hard, all-or-nothing developer defenders to be tedious and ridiculous.

I have often, in posts here, compared owning in TV to be like owning stock in a corporation. The Lifestyle to be enjoyed is like a dividend paid by the stock. Dividend investors, by their very nature, pay close attention to what is happening to the investment itself and, of course, to the dividend. Is the dividend increasing or being cut or holding steady? The decision to buy or sell said stock lies with the owner — not with someone spewing the old, “Don’t let the door hit you in the backside” cliche.

We felt as if the investment in TV was a pretty safe one. That’s all. I have no need to dance in a conga line around the developer who does not know me any more than the CEO of any other company knows me. It’s a business — merely a business — on both ends. (my personal view)

Oh well, while I am taking up an entire page, quoting and commenting, I might as well throw in something else:

To Jazeula and Midnight Cowgirl,

I really like your posts. Your writing is insightful, smart, with a sparkle, and just the right amount of sass.

Sincerely,
Boomer