Tag Archives: realtors knowledge of sinkholes

Sinkhole News for Realtors

Realtor? Meet Sinkholes. Sinkhole? Meet Realtors.

We are very pleased with the enormous response we had recently to our efforts to reach out to realtors, real estate brokers, and others in the real estate field regarding our resources at Sinkholedamageblog.com. In the past week, we have been flooded with inquiries regarding the various issues realtors have to resolve in handling homes associated in any way with sinkhole activity. The legal issues between realtors, their buyers, and other sellers are very important and can create problems for all involved.

Currently, we are working on preparing a continuing education program for realtors, to assist them with these issues. We also intend on providing basic, fundamental training for realtors on sinkhole issues because real estate professionals often serve as a conduit for information. Our initial reaction to this idea has been overwhelming, as more than 2,500 realtors throughout Florida have made inquiries into sinkholedamageblog.com, in the past week. This tells us we are definitely onto something, and we intend on filling the need immediately.

If you are a realtor or are involved in the real estate profession in any way, we want to hear from you. We want to know what questions you are getting from your clients, your brokers, or if there is simply information you think we can provide to assist you in your work. We can provide you direct responses via email, and can also address the concerns you have in upcoming blog posts. We also want to hear about the areas in the State of Florida where these issues are coming up the most. We can provide you a Florida sinkhole map, which will likely provide you some sense of why this comes up in certain areas more than others, and we can provide you tips on how to handle sinkhole claims if your clients have these issues.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Sinkhole News for Realtors

How to Accomplish Selling a Repaired Sinkhole Home

Selling a repaired sinkhole home

If your home has been faced with a sinkhole in the past and you are now interested in selling it, you may rightfully be concerned about the difficulties in selling a repaired sinkhole home. Any property with a history may be more difficult to sell, but not all hope is lost.

Find an experienced realtor

If you’re selling a repaired sinkhole home, the best thing you can do is enlist a realtor who knows how to sell your home in a way that both tells the truth about its history, yet still makes it look like an attractive package. Provided with the right information, your buyer can be led to acknowledge the history and trust that they won’t regret purchasing your home.

To do this, you may have to do some research. The perfect realtor for you is one that neither overstates the significance of the damage repairs nor shies away or undervalues your home. They can advise that there is a possibility of more damage, but make it easy to swallow. Your best bet is a realtor with experience in selling sinkhole homes, or any other homes with a history (house fires, deaths, etc.). If they have been successful in selling these homes, they are more likely to sell yours.

How to find a trustworthy realtor

Many realtors make their living and grow their network through word-of-mouth, and this is also a great way to hunt down a realtor experienced in selling difficult homes. If you have friends, relatives, co-workers, etc. who have purchased a home like this, ask for their realtor’s contact information.

After getting a hold of a realtor who seems like they may be a good fit, don’t be afraid to ask them for references. A good, honest realtor should be able to provide you with contacts of successful buyers so you can do their research. If they aren’t comfortable with this, you shouldn’t be comfortable with them!

You should also ask them how they would approach the selling of your home. If they have tried-and-true ways to sell a home with this kind of stigma, you should feel more comfortable allowing your realtor to do their job. It’s also important to be educated on how your home is being advertised, because if something doesn’t go as planned, you may be on the hook!

Be prepared

When discussing this issue, your realtor should also advise you collect any paperwork you have regarding you sinkhole, especially certification that it has been repaired. If you inform a potential buyer that your home has a history of sinkholes and you don’t have documentation to confirm that the problem has been fixed, you may have a more difficult time earning your buyer’s confidence.

This documentation can be your realtor’s best tool for selling your home: “this home has a history of sinkholes, here is the certification that repairs have been completed and there is no threat of future sinkhole activity” is a great way to educate your buyer as well as instill confidence in the safety of your home.

Sinkhole News for Realtors

Should I Buy a Repaired Sinkhole Home?

Is it a bad idea to buy a repaired sinkhole home?

So you’ve fallen in love with a house and your realtor informs you that it’s a repaired sinkhole home. If you’re thinking about panicking, don’t. This one statement doesn’t mean the home is doomed to sinkholes, and the fact that your realtor advised you of this fact just means that you have a good realtor that can help you make good decisions based on well-researched facts, as opposed to committing to a situation and being blind-sided.

Your realtor is your greatest tool

If your realtor has proven their worth by not only discovering the house you’re interested in is a sinkhole repaired home, but also being transparent about it, therefore leaving you and your family the space to make your own decision about the matter, keep them! You’ve been fortunate enough to find a good realtor. The benefits of a good realtor don’t stop there, either.

If you want to continue your research on this home, your realtor may suggest hiring an engineer to examine the house. A professional engineer will run you a couple hundred dollars, and depending on the situation (for example, if the seller is desperate to sell the home), you may be able to get your seller to cover this cost. If you go this route, make sure there is testing on the repaired sinkhole home itself and the house next door; a lack of testing between the houses means you may have incomplete information. For example, a sinkhole could open underneath several homes, but only express symptoms in one of them prior to opening.

Another tool your realtor could utilize for you is the neighbors. If they’ve lived in the neighborhood for a considerable period of time, they’re the most informed about any sinkhole activity happening in the area, as they might have gotten their homes tested as well. Your realtor may be comfortable approaching them on your behalf – while some people may not be so helpful, you don’t want to miss crucial information about potential sinkholes just because you didn’t ask!

Some sinkhole repaired homes are great investments

Don’t judge a home based on a sinkhole history. While sinkholes can be huge and destructive, sinkhole repairs could just reference a sinkhole spotted before it opened and repaired appropriately, which results in minimal damage and strong defenses against future sinkholes

As always, gather as much information as you can. This means information like whether or not a sinkhole actually opened or if the home just had cracks in the wall, what kinds of repairs were actually utilized (which can reflect the seriousness of the sinkhole activity, or whether or not the repairs will prove effective in the long run), how long ago these repairs occurred, the sinkhole history of the surrounding area, etc. The more educated you are about your repaired sinkhole home, the more confident you can be in purchasing the home of your dreams.