Would you buy a home in a neighborhood that has had sinkhole activity? (settlement, insurance)
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I've been looking at a few rental properties in Orlando that would probably cash flow nicely, and have found one that I really like... but in talking with the neighbors, I found out that another neighbor close by has had a sinkhole claim in the last 6 months.
It has been repaired, but it still makes me a little nervous.
I know that a sinkhole can occur anywhere/anytime in Florida, but when it comes time to re-sell this property will I take a huge hit (in comparison with other homes on the market)?
I do not think I would have to disclose the sinkhole issue that the neighbor had a few houses down the street... so the potential buyer may not be in the know unless they had done their own research.
Would YOU buy a home with the knowledge that here has been sinkhole damage nearby?
Florida does have a lot of issues with sinkholes....without doing a geological survey, I don't think you can absolutely discount them from happening anywhere in the state although there are some areas that are probably more susceptible than others. And even after doing a survey, you can't guarantee that there will never be a sinkhole.
That being said, I will be buying another rental home in the Central Florida area, as that is where I live... so I'll always have to live with some risk...
According to the neighbor that I spoke to, the damage did not look very bad... they saw an obvious small cavity underneath the house, but they said nothing was collapsing or sinking before they repaired it.
I think people automatically think a sinkhole is this giant cavity that swallows up cars and houses... in this case, there was just a small depression underneath the house.
I haven't looked into the insurance cost yet.... but just trying to get a sense of what the majority of y'all think about the situation.
You still get people that have the impression of some giant hole swallowing the entire house when the vast majority of homes effected by sinkholes just get a few settlement cracks. As time goes on people should begin to realize that it is not as bad as made out to be but it is going to take quite a bit more time as evidenced by the posts in this thread.
Unless the entire community has sinkhole problems I would not worry too much. You may even use the sinkhole in your discussion to try and bring them down on price so the sinkhole down the street can work to your advantage.
It will be like owning a piece of ever decreasing size piece of land (hence devalued value) like off a cliff that is exposed to erosion & can be gone within the month or even week... what fun is that?
when it comes time to re-sell this property will I take a huge hit (in comparison with other homes on the market)?
I do not think I would have to disclose the sinkhole issue that the neighbor had a few houses down the street... so the potential buyer may not be in the know unless they had done their own research.
What a stand up person you are.
If you sold the house and a sinkhole opened up and killed someone would you even feel bad??
If you sold the house and a sinkhole opened up and killed someone would you even feel bad??
Obviously if the sinkhole directly affected the property, it would be disclosed. This one did not.
You don't seem to understand that sinkholes vary in size (this one was very small)... nor do you understand Florida terrain where sinkholes can appear any where. You might as well disclose that every home is near a sinkhole.
This one is almost 100 yards away... and wasn't disclosed to me.... and I'm not upset. It has not damaged the home I plan to purchase in any way. My question was simply whether or not one would buy a home with the knowledge that there is sinkhole activity in the same neighborhood.
Sinkholes are just a fact of life in Florida.... Rarely are they catastrophic. They are typically depressions or holes in the ground that can be repaired. Of course you try to avoid them if possible, but without a geological survey, no one can say with 100% certainty that the house they live in is not prone to sinkhole damage.
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