Whats the point of discussing Sinkhole Insurance
 

There have been many replies to posts about sinkholes and sinkhole insurance in TV as to what the point is to discussing sinkhole and sinkhole insurance. . The point is that it is a well known fact to the Villages Properties that a tremendous amount of homes that are sold in the Villages can not get sinkhole insurance based solely on there location. If you try to get sinkhole insurance in the Villages your address is entered in to a insurance data base and almost every property is classified as uninsurable. When you buy a home from out of state that information which is known in advance should be disclosed to you so that you can make a informed decision based on all the known facts. It is entirely possible that some people might not have purchased property had they known that it could not be insured for a potentially very large financial exposure. I would like to know what people who have purchased property in the Villages were told about the uninsurabality of there property before they bought the property. The seems to me to be a material fact which should have been disclosed. The Property Owners Association of the Villages has said it has knowledge that people were being told by there sale people that these homes could be insured but when they got here found out they could not be insured. What needs to discussed is what people have been told by Village sales associates about sinkhole insurance. Do people who purchased here feel that there was adequate disclosure of the problem.

I doubt the answers have changed from your last four or five posts on this matter. I, for one, would like to see full disclosure on your beef with The Villages regarding sinkholes.

I agree! (More like the last 11 posts!)

Your posts are coming very close to libel.

Me too - wonder when admin is going to put the brakes on your nonsense. Same old - same old. What are you trying to accomplish?

<yawn>

Prospective buyers should certainly know by now that they need to research sink hole insurance before they sign on the dotted line to buy a house.

Prospective buyers in The Villages are all adults--with a lifetime of experience. As such, they should know to do the necessary research prior to purchasing. If they don't like what they hear from their INSURANCE AGENT and not their sales agent, then they can choose not to buy. It's really quite simple. Personally, I don't give it a second thought. I have much better things to do than worry about the "what if's" of life. That's not how I want to spend my retirement years.

This is an email from 60 Minutes to CSWofford. Note cswofford147 @comcast.net is Charles Swofford

cswofford147 | Mortgage Fraud in the V illages Florida 4 out of 5 dentists recommend this WordPress.com site

This is the article referred to in the 60 Minutes email.

Federal FBI Investigation of Moratge Fraud in The Villages Villages 0f FL Screws Old People - by Charles from lady lake - Newsvine

in my humble opinion this poster is attempting to get some type of satisfaction for the problem home he has purchased.

I think by posting, he is making an attempt to help other home buyers consider the circumstances he is dealing with when they choose to purchase, which I think is healing.

I feel for there situation and hope he gets the results he deserves and demands.

I got the impression that he does not live in The Villages. You sound like a compassionate person, but this guy does not fit the bill.

But when is enough, enough??
Perhaps a shrink could help with the healing.....................

It is correct that prospective buyers are all adults, but it is also surprising that people from other states moving to Florida are not all that familiar with sinkholes or the insurance situation in Florida.

Buyer Beware

kind of like being little bit pregnant!
i really think any person has the privilege of posting the topic any choice as long as they conform to the rules of the board! i mean after all he is not talking to his girlfriend an owner of the clippers!
i for one want know everything i can about sinkholes here in the villages! i very much realize about beating a dead horse , however this horse (sinkholes) seems to get up and keeps running all over! if one of these sinkholes every really swallows a home, prices will go down like the water toilet when it flushes!

Is there some basis for this statement or just a wild opinion?

As any therapist will ask....What is your REAL issue here?

Disclosure

I just purchased a new patio villa yesterday and had a frank conversation with my sales agent re the sink hole issue. I felt he was honest and fair in his comments. I was able to secure insurance without any issue including sink hole coverage at a reasonable rate. With all due respect, the OP should move on. This horse is deader than a door nail.

I used to work for a guy who had a great saying...well, that's a good reason, but what is the REAL REASON? He also said ..never come to a staff meeting with a problem unless you also have a possible solution. The op puts a "problem" out there to get an emotional response but never again responds or offers a solution to his supposed problem. His intent is to manipulate us and sit back and read our responses. I, for one, will no longer respond to any of these threads because they serve no constructive purpose.

Why all the hullabaloo? I had no trouble getting sinkhole insurance when we bought the house.:thumbup:

Make sure you check with your Insurance Agent and have them explain the almost impossible requirements one must meet before collecting the insurance... Not so fast to begin with if you live in a $800.000 home you will put up $80,000 for the deductible or 2% value of your home... check out the other 3 almost impossible items you must meet not counting the $400.00 premiums per year... This subject deserves your full attention and research first!

The OP has started many, many threads on the same subject.
I wish the OP would be more forthcoming, and tell us about his issues.

please please please dont cloud the issue with the facts!

who will buy homes that next door were swallowed into the ground?
these are just facts! irefuse to stick my head in the sand and drink the koolade on this issue.

You said "prices will go down like the water toilet when it flushes!" . Prices? Your statement implies all prices.
Now you say "next door". Just tossing out these statements, accomplishes what?
Has nothing to do with the "stick my head in the sand and drink the koolade" cliche.

The cost and availability of insurance has been known for at least the two and a half years that I have looked and bought a house in The Villages. I believe however that what you have said is speculation.

Sinkhole insurance issues only came to light within the last year or two, some of it by way of the state legislature. Prior to that it wasn't much of a big deal. When we first bought in TV 4/5 years ago, we had FULL coverage sinkhole insurance. It was only this year that we got a letter from the insurance co. saying that they would only write CATASTROPHIC sink hole coverage. So, even though we did our research when we bought our home, the rug was pulled out from under us later on, something we had no control over.

All of the comments describing the hoops you must jump through in order to file claims for sinkhole damage sounds to me just like every single catastrophic insurance coverage that I can think of.

We have all heard the horror stories of filing insurance claims for earthquake damage, flood damage, driven water damage, tornado damage, sinkhole damage, thefts and vandalism. It is all the same. Nothing new here.

There are risks in life that you take to get what you want. Nothing new here either.

Those that claim the dangers of sinkholes were hidden from us are insulting our intelligence. If you did not know about sinkholes and you made an uninformed decision to build a home in a sinkhole prone area (approximately 40% of the U.S.) then it is on you. Not your real estate sales guy. Not the builder or the developer or God. Just you. Their is increased risk in life to basking in "low knowledge".

Now go play golf!

when the 10% wipes out your savings, you can't sell your home due to its reputation, the VCD come after you to pay your back fees, and the city wants its taxes you can't afford to pay......then tell them to go play golf.....

sorry.....mean but true.....

My point is that if that scenario is yours, you had an opportunity to avoid it by buying in a non-sinkhole, non-tornado, non-earthquake, non-flood, non-hurricane totally hazard-free are...if you could find it. Otherwise, it is what it is. Why fret?

Anyone know the true " odds " of a sink-hole opening under a given home ?
My guess would be it would be about the same Odds as winning the Power-Ball Lottery in any given year .

When a sinkhole happens close to someone's home, of course it's a nightmare.
No downplaying that. There are emotional and financial impacts for them, and probably also for their neighbors.

However there are so many things we can worry about in life that never happen.
We can worry about being hit by lightning or being attacked by a bear,
or we can hope to win the Lottery.
But in real life, these things rarely happen.

FGS - Frequently Asked Questions

What is the sinkhole risk factor associated with my area?

Unfortunately there is no ready reference on sinkhole prediction or risk assessment. The insurance companies have tried developing risk prediction methodology, but since the underground cavities are largely undetectable without expensive ground-penetrating radar surveys, resistivity tests, or test drilling, little real progress towards this goal has been made. In recent years, at least one geotechnical company has developed a fee-based risk assessment registry based on an extensive private database of known sinkholes and local geologic conditions, which it provides to insurers. Some Florida insurance companies now utilize this registry for assisting in determining the sinkhole risk in specific areas.

The point is that all of this information is available now to anyone who chooses to look for it. The fact that insurance companies have chosen to treat it differently is not the fault of the developer. If you want to live in The Villages, or anywhere else in Florida, it is your own responsibility to do the leg work.

so far i have not seen a statue of a saint to bury in my yard to ward off a sinkhole..so off to golf we go..don't worry about things you can not change

:BigApplause:

What is the point of discussing sinkhole insurance?
 

Actually I see no point in it. We can discuss it til the cows come home and it makes no difference. If you have a concern, call an insurance agent and get FACTS, NOT OPINIONS.

the facts are insurance companies are in the business to make money and they are starting to charge a whole lot more for there product for a reason!

When I read this I was very surprised at your figure of 40% so I did just a bit of research and found this on the U.S. Geological Survey site:

"Areas prone to collapse sinkholes
The map below shows areas of the United States where certain rock types that are susceptible to dissolution in water occur. In these areas the formation of underground cavities can form and catastrophic sinkholes can happen. These rock types are evaporites (salt, gypsum, and anhydrite) and carbonates (limestone and dolomite). Evaporite rocks underlie about 35 to 40 percent of the United States, though in many areas they are buried at great depths."

I, for one, certainly didn't know that.