Investor · Tampa, FL · Member since 2015 · 24 posts · 4 votes
so the story started 5 month ago I bought a home in land o lake Florida through home search.com I closed on it may I got title insurance at closing I renovated the entire home I put up for sale and got it under contract in 1 week inspection was good appraiser good we have closing on 11-6-2015 this morning I received email from the title company I chosen asking me if I have disclosed that the home had a sinkhole permit to test the property was pulled in 2011 that was a shocking to me since the title company I used to buy the home did not disclosed any of this to me I had a realtor also at that time and right befor closing I asked home to check the closing papers and title commitment and he said it look good I don't know what to do at this point I checked with the county if permit was pulled to repair the sinkhole found nothing I paid cash for this home am in about $165000 what do I do please help
@Mark Suliman Don't panic. In the past there have been stories out of Florida of sinkholes that swallowed cars, homes, etc. In 2013 one opened up and a man was killed when the house opened up. Testing for something is due diligence. The fact there was a permit pulled, doesn't even mean it was tested. However; even if it were tested, doesn't mean it was tested because of a sinkhole, but to insure it didn't have one.
If there is no law stating you have to disclose if a permit is pulled if you're testing for a sinkhole, and no law stating that someone doing such tests have to record them, then you're in the clear. It's probably nothing to worry about.
You might want to go back and read the title report, and if you aren't familiar with them, ask the title company to go over with you and explain where that information would be found. Good luck.
@Mark Suliman Then it sounds like the thing for you to do is find out how long the results are good for, and if testing would need to be redone, if so, you're probably going to have to do another test. If you don't need to redo the test, then find out what it's going to cost to fix the problems that were found.
Once you know about a problem like that, you have to disclose it. However; if you repair it and it no longer exists, I'm not sure what needs to be disclosed, so you will want to check.
If you get the work done, make sure you get a signed clearance from either the Engineer, or the person doing the work. Once again, it's region specific.
I have looked up some relevant information about the sinkhole process and have found three websites that may help guide you in making an informed decision about what to do next. You may find that they involve speaking with an attorney and insurance agency as well as your title company, although the first two would be more likely on how to proceed with handling this issue.
Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection (Sinkhole FAQs):
Excerpt from Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection Sinkhole FAQs page:
"#20: Currently the Florida Statutes (Statute 627.7073 (2)(c)) require that a seller of real property is only obligated to disclose to the buyer that a sinkhole claim was made against the property and that the claim was paid by the insurer; they must also disclose whether the funds paid were used to repair the insured damage. Statutes may be modified during annual legislative sessions, so it is always prudent to check the most current statutes (see question #13 above). Most real estate seller