[ilovetv]

And as always, a person would be wise to buy a home of value they can afford to lose in case of an unforeseen event for which they do not have insurance or cannot get it.

I think many are buying far more house than they need and might be able to afford in the future. I'd err on the side of smaller and more affordable and fixed up really nicely, just for the eventuality of sudden skyrocketing inflation or other economic disaster that could make all the wheels fall off at once.

[Barefoot]

Originally Posted by jwscp@aol.com

We only live once and we can't take it with us. There are over 50,000 homes in the Villages, so the chances are slim that you will have a sinkhole.

I feel so sorry for the families that have experienced sinkholes, and their neighbors.

Sinkholes happen rarely, but they are alarming. They attract a lot of attention and media coverage. People worry. The sites of sinkholes seem random to me. As jwscp said, chances are slim that you will have a sink hole, and life is too short to worry about it.

[coolkayaker1]

The sinkhole story of The Villages was just on CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley. Ouch!

There go the local TV homeowner insurance premiums--not just for sinkholes, but overall. (I did see the separate thread on sinkhole insurance, btw).

The Villages hasn't had this much press it was noted that TV had more cases of STDs than Uganda!

(kidding, all!)

[justjim]

Originally Posted by Steve9930

It can be fixed and made inhabitable again. It will also be the safest house when it comes to sink holes. The problem is can you convince an insurance company or a buyer? Not only will the two homes involved suffer but the surrounding area takes a hit. Unfortunately building a home in Florida means you are willing to take on this risk. I like it here so I'll take the risk.

Perhaps it can be fixed but who of us would buy it? In my hometown our school succumbed to a sinkhole and the "experts" said it was safe to build a new school on the site. It too had to be demolished.

Needless to say lawyers made a lot of money from the disaster.

If these homes are declared uninhabitable their insurance should cover the enormous expenses in filling up the sinkhole. Its a tragedy and our prayers are with the owners and the neighborhood.

[pauld315]

Another one reported in The Village of Mallory Square. Smaller but still affecting the properties there.

http://www.**************.com/anothe...allory-square/

[LndLocked]

Huge sinkhole reopens between houses - CNN.com Video

[superuke]

Story hit the national news tonite! Ouch!

[BobnBev]

Originally Posted by pauld315

Another one reported in The Village of Mallory Square. Smaller but still affecting the properties there.

http://www.**************.com/anothe...allory-square/

Can you give us a clickable link, or an address?

[DougB]

...

[e-flyer]

Originally Posted by LndLocked

Huge sinkhole reopens between houses - CNN.com Video

Wow, the news at it's best….I think not! Terrible reporting.

[senior citizen]

As per this Orlando Sentinel article....I just learned that there are not always symptoms that are visible such as the recent obviously seen sinkholes.....so my question is "Do home inspectors look for all the signs that a sinkhole could possibly be imminent?"

""Rather, the symptoms are cracks, doors that don't want to open and shut properly and nails that pop out of wood floors, said Jim Flynn of LRE Ground Services, a Brooksville company that fixes sinkholes across Central Florida and in Lake County.

Rainfall oozing through the soil picks up acid, which slowly dissolves the limestone underneath most of the state. As the limestone dissipates, pores and cracks are enlarged, and holes form in the rock.

Take away the water because of a drought or pumping from development and agricultural use nearby, and the rock collapses on itself.

Throw in heavy rains after a drought, and you've got the recipe for the most active sinkhole time: The pressure sends the surface tumbling into the earth.

Isn't Florida a fun place to live? Don't forget that geological experts also say the state is simply shifting underground because of the amount of development on top.

And now, the companies that repair sinkholes are seeing an increase in complaints in Lake.

"The Tampa Bay area is the worst, but after that the sinkholes in Marion and Lake have definitely got everyone's attention," Flynn said. "It's not just our own experience — the engineers we work with on projects have echoed the sentiment about the increase in activity."

But are sinkholes increasing? Or is that more houses are being built over areas prone to them, such as The Villages? Anthony Randazzo, president of Geohazards Inc. in Gainesville, leaned toward the latter.

"We've known about sinkholes at The Villages for many, many years. We've done numerous investigations, and they're a lot more common than people are led to believe by real-estate agents and developers," said Randazzo, professor emeritus in geology at the University of Florida.
Oh, dear. If a sinkhole decides to visit your property, count on a headache — even if you have sinkhole insurance.

Over the past year, King said, a Land O' Lakes company doing his repair had to tear up his landscaping and pull his back porch off to get close to the house.

Nineteen truckloads of cement were pumped through a high-pressure hose fitted with a drill bit under his home in an attempt to stabilize the ground underneath. The machine blew the cement into depths of 20 to 65 feet so far, and the company has yet to come back and inject more cement closer to the surface.

Cost? At the most recent count, King's insurance has paid $32,000 to repair the interior of the house. He has banked the bucks and is waiting for the sinkhole company to finish its work. About $50,000 has gone to the company for the underground work, for a total of $82,000.

And the result? King said the movement under his house appears to have stopped, but the value of his home has plummeted. He estimated the structure alone, which features a dramatic stone fireplace in a sunken living room, was worth $140,000 to $150,000 before the shifting started. And now, he said it's worth about half — between $70,000 and $80,000.
"That's not because of the damage," King said. "It's just the stigma of having a sinkhole."

The only upside is that sinkholes, like hurricanes, can't effectively be prevented. It's best to do the same thing under either condition: fortify oneself with a beverage of choice, sit back and sip.""

[wereback]

One of the advantages to buying a new house is you can purchase sink hole
home insurance sure could be worth the money

[LndLocked]

Originally Posted by BobnBev

Can you give us a clickable link, or an address?

The admins of this msg brd do not allow links to that site to be "clickable"

[tucson]

Originally Posted by senior citizen

As per this Orlando Sentinel article....I just learned that there are not always symptoms that are visible such as the recent obviously seen sinkholes.....so my question is "Do home inspectors look for all the signs that a sinkhole could possibly be imminent?"

""Rather, the symptoms are cracks, doors that don't want to open and shut properly and nails that pop out of wood floors, said Jim Flynn of LRE Ground Services, a Brooksville company that fixes sinkholes across Central Florida and in Lake County.

Rainfall oozing through the soil picks up acid, which slowly dissolves the limestone underneath most of the state. As the limestone dissipates, pores and cracks are enlarged, and holes form in the rock.

Take away the water because of a drought or pumping from development and agricultural use nearby, and the rock collapses on itself.

Throw in heavy rains after a drought, and you've got the recipe for the most active sinkhole time: The pressure sends the surface tumbling into the earth.

Isn't Florida a fun place to live? Don't forget that geological experts also say the state is simply shifting underground because of the amount of development on top.

And now, the companies that repair sinkholes are seeing an increase in complaints in Lake.

"The Tampa Bay area is the worst, but after that the sinkholes in Marion and Lake have definitely got everyone's attention," Flynn said. "It's not just our own experience — the engineers we work with on projects have echoed the sentiment about the increase in activity."

But are sinkholes increasing? Or is that more houses are being built over areas prone to them, such as The Villages? Anthony Randazzo, president of Geohazards Inc. in Gainesville, leaned toward the latter.

"We've known about sinkholes at The Villages for many, many years. We've done numerous investigations, and they're a lot more common than people are led to believe by real-estate agents and developers," said Randazzo, professor emeritus in geology at the University of Florida.
Oh, dear. If a sinkhole decides to visit your property, count on a headache — even if you have sinkhole insurance.

Over the past year, King said, a Land O' Lakes company doing his repair had to tear up his landscaping and pull his back porch off to get close to the house.

Nineteen truckloads of cement were pumped through a high-pressure hose fitted with a drill bit under his home in an attempt to stabilize the ground underneath. The machine blew the cement into depths of 20 to 65 feet so far, and the company has yet to come back and inject more cement closer to the surface.

Cost? At the most recent count, King's insurance has paid $32,000 to repair the interior of the house. He has banked the bucks and is waiting for the sinkhole company to finish its work. About $50,000 has gone to the company for the underground work, for a total of $82,000.

And the result? King said the movement under his house appears to have stopped, but the value of his home has plummeted. He estimated the structure alone, which features a dramatic stone fireplace in a sunken living room, was worth $140,000 to $150,000 before the shifting started. And now, he said it's worth about half — between $70,000 and $80,000.
"That's not because of the damage," King said. "It's just the stigma of having a sinkhole."

The only upside is that sinkholes, like hurricanes, can't effectively be prevented. It's best to do the same thing under either condition: fortify oneself with a beverage of choice, sit back and sip.""

From Ocala.com: Ryan Gummer, President, Secure Restoration Systems, a Ocala company specializing in sinkhole remediation or stabilization of the foundation, "drought conditions, infrastructure AND growth" are factors in sinkhole activity, Gummer said. He also cited well pumping,which reduces underground "hydraulic pressure AND thus weakening underground cavities while putting the weight on top with irrigation. Gummer ALSO said, a soil penetration test PRIOR to construction COULD SPOT sinkhole activity, BUT "it's COSTLY & NOT REQUIRED".

[3puttharry]

Originally Posted by senior citizen

As per this Orlando Sentinel article....I just learned that there are not always symptoms that are visible such as the recent obviously seen sinkholes.....so my question is "Do home inspectors look for all the signs that a sinkhole could possibly be imminent?"

""Rather, the symptoms are cracks, doors that don't want to open and shut properly and nails that pop out of wood floors, said Jim Flynn of LRE Ground Services, a Brooksville company that fixes sinkholes across Central Florida and in Lake County.

Rainfall oozing through the soil picks up acid, which slowly dissolves the limestone underneath most of the state. As the limestone dissipates, pores and cracks are enlarged, and holes form in the rock.

Take away the water because of a drought or pumping from development and agricultural use nearby, and the rock collapses on itself.

Throw in heavy rains after a drought, and you've got the recipe for the most active sinkhole time: The pressure sends the surface tumbling into the earth.

Isn't Florida a fun place to live? Don't forget that geological experts also say the state is simply shifting underground because of the amount of development on top.

And now, the companies that repair sinkholes are seeing an increase in complaints in Lake.

"The Tampa Bay area is the worst, but after that the sinkholes in Marion and Lake have definitely got everyone's attention," Flynn said. "It's not just our own experience — the engineers we work with on projects have echoed the sentiment about the increase in activity."

But are sinkholes increasing? Or is that more houses are being built over areas prone to them, such as The Villages? Anthony Randazzo, president of Geohazards Inc. in Gainesville, leaned toward the latter.

"We've known about sinkholes at The Villages for many, many years. We've done numerous investigations, and they're a lot more common than people are led to believe by real-estate agents and developers," said Randazzo, professor emeritus in geology at the University of Florida.
Oh, dear. If a sinkhole decides to visit your property, count on a headache — even if you have sinkhole insurance.

Over the past year, King said, a Land O' Lakes company doing his repair had to tear up his landscaping and pull his back porch off to get close to the house.

Nineteen truckloads of cement were pumped through a high-pressure hose fitted with a drill bit under his home in an attempt to stabilize the ground underneath. The machine blew the cement into depths of 20 to 65 feet so far, and the company has yet to come back and inject more cement closer to the surface.

Cost? At the most recent count, King's insurance has paid $32,000 to repair the interior of the house. He has banked the bucks and is waiting for the sinkhole company to finish its work. About $50,000 has gone to the company for the underground work, for a total of $82,000.

And the result? King said the movement under his house appears to have stopped, but the value of his home has plummeted. He estimated the structure alone, which features a dramatic stone fireplace in a sunken living room, was worth $140,000 to $150,000 before the shifting started. And now, he said it's worth about half — between $70,000 and $80,000.
"That's not because of the damage," King said. "It's just the stigma of having a sinkhole."

The only upside is that sinkholes, like hurricanes, can't effectively be prevented. It's best to do the same thing under either condition: fortify oneself with a beverage of choice, sit back and sip.""

Who is King? Where does he live?