sinkholes and tornadoes (houses, neighborhood, live)

[kissimmeebroker]

I sold a home in Orlando that had a claim. I will tell you it was a nightmare trying to get insurance. I tried to talk them out of it but they really loved the home. I did do some further research and found that there were scammers going around and telling homeowners they were doing free tree trimming and then they would go back to the homeowner, show them a small settlement crack (which is common in Florida) and tell them their home was sinking. They told them they would file the claim for free. So they filed a claim which stays with the home FOREVER. Unfortunately several homeowners in the same community filed claims. Oh and yes the seller must disclose if they have ever filed a claim for a sinkhole.

[Cathte]

Thanks...will keep this in mind.

[OtownMotown]

Originally Posted by Cathte

thanks. I notice the closer to Orlando, the more sinkholes are on the map. so I guess I'll venture further away from Orlando! ��.....

Being afraid of a sink hole is kind of like being afraid that a meteor is going to suddenly fall out of the sky and kill you. I'm not aware of any incident where someone in Orlando was killed by a sinkhole. There was a story in Tampa about it where one man died. Also, being "closer to Orlando" has no bearing on it really. It's not like moving to Altamonte Springs is going to somehow reduce your risk.

Also tornadoes are mostly a non-issue. I've been here 34 years and I've never seen one. I have seen tornado warnings though and some windy days. On the other hand, I've been through many hurricanes.

I would recommend coming down here and just seeing what life is like and what the REAL risks are rather than thinking of extreme worst case freak accidents. Hint: Biggest real risk = car accident.

[countrykaren]

We are also considering a move to Florida from NY (Li 17 yrs ago to upstate, now to FL). Anyway you may want to read this:


Sinkholes in St. Petersburg? Not as rare as you'd think | Tampa Bay Times

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by countrykaren

We are also considering a move to Florida from NY (Li 17 yrs ago to upstate, now to FL). Anyway you may want to read this:


Sinkholes in St. Petersburg? Not as rare as you'd think | Tampa Bay Times

There are over 100K homes in St Pete and the odds of having a sinkhole under your house (1 in 12,000) is equal to finding a pearl in an oyster or being struck by lightning over the course of your life. In other words it's probably not worth wasting time worrying about it as much as the other far more likely random acts that can/do happen and are largely unavoidable outside of moving to some backwoods location in the middle of the country.

[countrykaren]

I also heard that sinkhole insurance is an additional $2000-$4000/ yr, with huge deductibles, and then you have problems trying to collect. So if I want "regular" HO ins, and sinkhole, and hurricane, and flood.....What do I pay??- $10K in HO insurance to cover everything? I know ins is high, but we will be living on a fixed income. Please help.

[theoldnorthstate]

Originally Posted by Cathte

Okay, new concerns before we move to Orlando from Long Island....I am stressing over sinkholes and tornadoes. Do these two natural disasters make homeowner's insurance jump up a lot more than average? Does the seller have to disclose if the house is on or had a sinkhole issue? What do people without basements do in the event of a tornado?
Thanks!

they have a tornado in Oklahoma or a hurricane in the Carolinas and your homeowners insurance cost goes up.

You go to a safe place in your home, usually a bathroom or inner hallway. Believe me the news stations will lay out everything you should do for any weather event.

if you come to Florida, just enjoy the good and cope with the bad. You will be fine.

But do not, do not, go near the water unless it is your pool especially in the spring reptilian mating season. Do not let children and pets run into a pond and splash around. Alligators travel during mating season and may show up in a previously clean pond. And they are opportunistic and lay in ambush for splashy things. They are fast.

Basically that or lightning strikes are more likely than a tornado

[OtownMotown]

Originally Posted by countrykaren

I also heard that sinkhole insurance is an additional $2000-$4000/ yr, with huge deductibles, and then you have problems trying to collect. So if I want "regular" HO ins, and sinkhole, and hurricane, and flood.....What do I pay??- $10K in HO insurance to cover everything? I know ins is high, but we will be living on a fixed income. Please help.

You don't need special sinkhole insurance. Your regular insurance should already cover sinkholes - at least it covers obvious catastrophic sinkholes called "Catastrophic Ground Cover Collapse". This is the situation you are thinking about where a hole suddenly opens up swallowing part of your house. Getting special sinkhole insurance will not cover this and supposedly covers some less obvious situations. It is probably a waste of money.

Most regular insurance will also cover hurricanes - damage caused by wind and rain.

Flood insurance is something extra but it is only necessary if you live in a flood plain. If you are in a coastal area you probably will be in a flood plain but closer to the middle of the state like Orlando, you probably aren't.

I live in Orlando and I'm not in a flood plain. I pay about $850/year for insurance and that covers hurricanes and ground collapse.

[hotkarl]

We chickened out of the move.
We were pretty much set and were following family down but I found there to be too much nonsense to worry about, not so much getting dead, but the possible financial catastrophes which follow the natural catastrophes. Losing money scares me much more than being dead.
I still love Florida as a place to visit, I just realized I cannot live there permanently.
Nearly our entire immediate family is there at this point so plenty of free room and board.

Research research research before planting roots.

[MyITGuy]

Originally Posted by hotkarl

I found there to be too much nonsense to worry about, not so much getting dead, but the possible financial catastrophes which follow the natural catastrophes. Losing money scares me much more than being dead.

Not much different from the rest of the US IMO.
In FL/South East US we have hurricanes - We know well in advance the general direction of the storm and can take appropriate measures

North East US - You have the blizzards/flooding to deal with, with little to no advance warning

Mid-US - Tornadoes - Again with little to no advance warning

West - Earthquakes - No advance warning.

As I tell my family up north, don't let the news get you hyped up/overly concerned about our situation in FL as its not as bad as they say, their goal is to build up drama to keep you interested...

I've lived in FL since 92 and have been through several hurricanes and was only really impacted by two (St Lucie county area - I think the same storm for both?).
1 - My moms house had a tree fall over that damaged her neighbors car, ripped up the plumbing for the well and pulled the electrical line/pole away from the house. All issues were resolved within a week.
2 - My dads house on Hutchinson island was affected by the flooding, as a result he decided it was time for a remodel which took 3-4 months while he still was able to occupy the house.

I'd rather live my life being happy in the place I want to be and risk the consequences of 1-14 days of aftermath from a storm rather than living my entire life in a place I really don't want to be.