Tag Archives: sinkhole house

Repairing Sinkholes

Who Cleans Up After Sinkhole Repairs?

My home was grouted and I was left with a mess. What’s next?

Grouting is admittedly a very messy procedure and you will notice changes in several areas.

First, it is not abnormal for your landscape to be harmed or even ruined during the grouting process. They are bringing in large trucks of concrete and drilling holes in your yard after all. You will likely also notice some new damage to the house itself. Even though movement of the foundation is not an intended consequence of grouting, it often happens to some degree. Even though it is frustrating, you must be patient and allow the grout sixty to ninety days to cure, just like you would with pouring a driveway.

The grout has potential to expand during the curing phase. After the grout has cured, it is your insurance company’s responsibility to come back out to your property and re-scope or re-evaluate the damage to your home and landscape. If there is additional damage, or if the original damage worsened during the grouting process, they should issue you payment for those expenses. Insurance companies are known to conveniently forget about this step of the claim but, don”?t let them forget to come back out before they close your claim.

Have a burning question you’d like to ask about sinkholes? Let us know.

Insurance Policies and Coverage Issues, Sinkhole News for Realtors

Buying a House With a Repaired Sinkhole

Buying a house with a repaired sinkhole

When you’re going through the home-buying process, hearing that you may be buying a house with a repaired sinkhole can be a shock to the system. You likely have a lot of questions about the potential of your future home, and whether or not you may have to deal with a sinkhole.

Demand the detailed report

If you are considering buying a house with a repaired sinkhole, make sure you get all the information there is available to you. The seller is obligated to disclose the information to you, and that means more than acknowledging that there was a sinkhole, but it has since been repaired. This is for a reason.

If you do not ask for a detailed report when buying a house with a repaired sinkhole, you run the risk of the situation being downplayed as “just minor settlement” or “a sinkhole was never actually found”. While we wouldn’t suggest you assume the worst of a seller, you also need to be educated about the history of the home you’re trying to buy.

Just as you would want to see a Carfax report on a used car, don’t just take the seller’s word for it and demand they provide you with copies of the original testing and also of the repairs performed and make sure the repairs were certified by a professional engineer. The seller has to provide you that information and if they refuse, you probably should reconsider this purchase.

Is it eligible for sinkhole insurance?

The answer to this question varies case-by-case. Therefore, it’s likely worth your time to verify that your home is eligible to be covered by sinkhole insurance.  If you are able to get sinkhole coverage,  make sure to ask about your premiums because a history of sinkholes is very likely to raise the price of being insured against sinkholes.

The general rule of thumb is that you don’t want there to be any surprises after closing on your home. Buying a house with a repaired sinkhole should not immediately repel you from buying it as long as you take the extra time and due diligence to investigate all the facts. With an effective repair, your home should be safe against potential sinkholes.