[senior citizen]

Originally Posted by Ron1Z

Do you have home owners insurance? Why? Do you get my point? Would you still live in your house if there was a sink hole 2 doors down? 6 new listings this past week in Buttonwood? I am not against buying in TV, just want to protect my investment.

I understand what you are saying. I agree that a home is an investment and I add that it would be difficult to "start over again" if something catastrophic happened to our dwelling. Just our own take on the matter. The ones who would "stay" are brave indeed. That's if they really studied that facts.

Also, now I know why, perhaps, we found so many "good deals" while looking at preowned homes in T.V. Many new owners were not aware of what they were buying, or perhaps it was downplayed as far as it's urgency. I do "get" homeowners wanting to protect their investments.

If not, why would so many downplay it all. Yes, life itself has no known expiration date. When it happens, it happens.
*********************

Secondly, I truly can say to others that we do not live in fear.
I would say that we are more likely living an "authentic life" and being practical. Practical and down to earth is our basic nature.

As far as others mentioning gas explosions in other parts of the U.S., where we live there is no gas into the homes........it's heating oil, etc., however, I have read very often lately of homes exploding from gas leaks............all over the U.S. A scenario one would not want to live through......or die in. Not all the time, but often, we read that "crews were just in the neighborhood".

Does The Villages have gas lines into the homes? Just wondering with such unstable "stuff" beneath the ground, how might that affect the gas lines? Or, is it all electric heat???????

Again, everyone's thoughts are valuable. There is no law that says everyone has to be on the same page. Nor is everyone living in fear.

I have great faith that I will have a long life, as have my ancestors.
Worrying is not my thing. Research is my thing. We just want to move once more and that is that. We've lived in two homes for twenty five and twenty some years each, both with no catastrophic events. Ditto for the other years in between, when we were younger. So, fear is not part of our research at all.............it's more protecting our investment and not having to START OVER at our age....after buying in Florida.

[Parker]

If we let every potential happening scare us, we'd never leave the house, wherever it is. Heck, some folks even have cars come through their walls while they're sleeping. When it is your time, it is your time, wherever you are.

[senior citizen]

Originally Posted by Parker

If we let every potential happening scare us, we'd never leave the house, wherever it is. Heck, some folks even have cars come through their walls while they're sleeping. When it is your time, it is your time, wherever you are.

"When it is your time, it is your time, wherever you are."

Exactly what my mom used to say. She passed peacefully, in bed, at age 91. She always wondered if she'd live as long as her mother in law, my Italian grandmother, who also died in her own bed, at age 95. This is why I do not have fear.

However, neither do we want to go through any kind of catastrophic property damage**.....or the worry that would go along with that, such as being stuck with an unsaleable home.........although it doesn't really seem to be the case in T.V. They do resell and the turnover is quick.

** We are comfortable but not multi multi millionaires, so would not want to drain the bank account to repair horrific property damage.

Having been through tons of remodeling during our entire marriage, we know what it's like to have builders and contractors and all types of workmen around day and night........just don't want to go through that again, at our age now.

I'll say again, my concerns are just that, concerns..........not FEAR.
Yes, no one wants to end up like the guy in Sefner (?) Tampa area, Fl.
That's for sure........but do we dwell on it.......no.

[graciegirl]

Please reread through all of the information patiently given on all posts of sinkhole insurance and reasons for sinkholes and where they occur by folks who live here.

[slipcovers]

I think the very first upgrade to homes should be gutters and downspouts to take rainwater away from the house. If I did not have these in my house in Ma, my basement would be flooded. Although the homes in TV do not have basements, the water has to go somewhere. Just wondering, if one has a mortgage does the bank require sinkhole insurance?

[Cedwards38]

Smart and rational thinking Medtrans. We can't live our life constantly worrying about the "what ifs" when life is really about the "what is." Sinkholes are real, but rare. So are tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes, sandstorms, gas explosions, meteorites, lightning, and all the other stuff that can cause havoc.

[mulligan]

Banks only require homeowner's insurance.

[buggyone]

Originally Posted by senior citizen

I understand what you are saying. I agree that a home is an investment and I add that it would be difficult to "start over again" if something catastrophic happened to our dwelling. Just our own take on the matter. The ones who would "stay" are brave indeed. That's if they really studied that facts.

Also, now I know why, perhaps, we found so many "good deals" while looking at preowned homes in T.V. Many new owners were not aware of what they were buying, or perhaps it was downplayed as far as it's urgency. I do "get" homeowners wanting to protect their investments.

If not, why would so many downplay it all. Yes, life itself has no known expiration date. When it happens, it happens.
*********************

Secondly, I truly can say to others that we do not live in fear.
I would say that we are more likely living an "authentic life" and being practical. Practical and down to earth is our basic nature.

As far as others mentioning gas explosions in other parts of the U.S., where we live there is no gas into the homes........it's heating oil, etc., however, I have read very often lately of homes exploding from gas leaks............all over the U.S. A scenario one would not want to live through......or die in. Not all the time, but often, we read that "crews were just in the neighborhood".

Does The Villages have gas lines into the homes? Just wondering with such unstable "stuff" beneath the ground, how might that affect the gas lines? Or, is it all electric heat???????

Again, everyone's thoughts are valuable. There is no law that says everyone has to be on the same page. Nor is everyone living in fear.

I have great faith that I will have a long life, as have my ancestors.
Worrying is not my thing. Research is my thing. We just want to move once more and that is that. We've lived in two homes for twenty five and twenty some years each, both with no catastrophic events. Ditto for the other years in between, when we were younger. So, fear is not part of our research at all.............it's more protecting our investment and not having to START OVER at our age....after buying in Florida.

Definitely sounds as though you would be happier elsewhere than The Villages.

[graciegirl]

Originally Posted by buggyone

Definitely sounds as though you would be happier elsewhere than The Villages.

I am posting this map again so folks can see where the sinkholes have occurred since 1954.

[looneycat]

Originally Posted by Medtrans

We are in the midst of looking for our forever house in TV. Then last week's sinkhole happened and we sat back all week wondering what we should do. I read all the threads including insurance, where else would you live, etc. I even checked other areas in Arizona. THEN Friday night happened. We live in the north suburbs of Chicago. We went to bed and then all of a sudden we heard a loud boom. Was it thunder? Nope, we heard sirens after. Turns out that a house 4 or 5 miles away exploded and was leveled, damaging other homes around it. The lady who lived there had called for a gas smell, left the house and it blew up. These are multi-million dollar houses on at a private golf course, one I had attended a luncheon at for my golf season (not that I'm playing there, just had the luncheon there) on Thursday. When I got out of my car there was a horrible smell and I thought it was fertilizer for the course but thinking about it now maybe not. So to make a long story not so short, things happen and once we get all the ins info straight we will move full steam ahead. We won't let the sinkhole stop us from our dream. I hope this helps others who may have the same thoughts that we did but not so much anymore.

there were maybe 6-8 homes affected by sinkholes out of 50.000+ none were lost, a couple predated occupancy...I live here and I'm not worried.

[elizabeth52]

This link was posted in another thread. You can type in a specific address or just "the villages" to see reported sinkhole activity. I typed in the Villages and with an 8 mile radius it showed 60. You can type in a specific area within the Villages and choose a radius.

Florida sinkholes map - Orlando Sentinel

[Medtrans]

Thanks everyone but I think some didn't get what I was trying to say in my particular thread....not where are sinkholes or whether or not to buy, but that after sitting back and thinking maybe we did not want to buy, a house exploded near us here in Chicago due to a natural gas explosion and so it made us see the light and go for our dream which is to retire and play golf in TV. In fact, we are interested in a particular house and tomorrow we will see if it's still listed and if so this could be the one. Fingers crossed.

[er9027]

Next year will be our 5th year...We love it. Being from the Midwest we live with Tornados etc. I don't live my life worrying about them... They are BAD. Take precautionary measures. I have insurance and a safe room to try to get safe. Now, IF I MOVE to the Villages and spend 300 to 600K on a house ...I want FULL coverage insurance! I will deal with my risk..INSURANCE company will deal with theirs...including sinkhole coverage and close to 100% coverage..IF NOT I WILL GO SOMEWHERE ELSE !! Are you saying I can't get FULL coverage..Never heard of that.

[elizabeth52]

Originally Posted by er9027

Next year will be our 5th year...We love it. Being from the Midwest we live with Tornados etc. I don't live my life worrying about them... They are BAD. Take precautionary measures. I have insurance and a safe room to try to get safe. Now, IF I MOVE to the Villages and spend 300 to 600K on a house ...I want FULL coverage insurance! I will deal with my risk..INSURANCE company will deal with theirs...including sinkhole coverage and close to 100% coverage..IF NOT I WILL GO SOMEWHERE ELSE !! Are you saying I can't get FULL coverage..Never heard of that.

I have contacted several insurance companies. You can get it now, but I have been told that there is a strong lobby to do away with it altogether. One agent led me to this article from last year so I could familiarize myself with the issue.

Here is the link: Sinkholes And Insurance Coverage: A Growing Chasm | THELAW.TV

That being said, I haven't seen many posts about damages to homes due to sinkhole activity. It seems that when a sinkhole is mentioned people always refer to the catastrophic ground collapse rather than the more common sinkhole activity that can affect your property and cost a homeowner thousands of dollars. Maybe it's not that common.

[manaboutown]

It appears that of the '8 scariest sinkholes in the world' two are in Florida, one in Clermont and one in Seffner. 8 of the Scariest Sinkholes | Bankrate.com