We recently moved from a neighborhood, that shall remain nameless, where almost all the courtyard villas had "unstable ground" underneath them. The scuttlebut was an engineering company would come in and report "hydra movement 80' down as a result Villa owners were cut huge checks (50K-60K) from their respective insurance companies to stabilize their homes. The foundation stabilization companies would then come in and charge the homeowner 30k-40k to "stabilize" the home and the homeowner would then pocket the difference. We have since moved from that neighborhood, not because of sinkhole danger but for other reasons not related. The rumor was it was just a big scam perpetuated by the engineering & foundation firms, and the owners unwittingly and faceless insurance companies went along with it, albiet, pocketing several thousand dollars and invaribly driving up the price of sinkhole insurance coverage. I know sinkholes are a very real threat in Florida, but in my humble opinion I don't think finding water movement 80' beneath the ground level warrants the measures the homeowners and insurance companies took.
DG
P.S. I found it it odd that the villa wall only 10' away from the home and the road that leads to these villa didn't need stabilization as well. Or any other properties adjacent to said villas. Just sayin'
Last edited by DGx2; 12-12-2011 at 06:33 PM.
Reason: another type-o
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