sinkholes

Sinkholes in Florida are not uncommon. Some areas are more susceptible to them than others, but as a general rule the entire state has the same kind of porous carbonate rocks that help create sinkholes. You want to buy a property in Pinellas County and wonder if you need to worry about sinkholes there.

Why do sinkholes happen?

Sinkholes are caused by the wearing away of the limestone rock that makes up the substrata of Florida. Limestone dissolves away over time leaving holes. Usually those holes are filled with water which holds up the surface.

Sometimes the rocks, soil or clay on the surface is too heavy and a sinkhole happens. Other times if the water is drained for one reason or another, the water is no longer there to hold up the surface and a sinkhole happens.

There are generally three types of sinkholes: collapse sinkholes which are frequently triggered by fluctuations in underground water; subsidence sinkholes which generally form gradually; and clay shrinkage which vary seasonally and with annual precipitation changes.

So is Pinellas a worry?

To some extent, yes, anywhere in Florida has some risk of sinkholes. On the west coast in the Tampa area Pasco County and towns in Pinellas like Tarpon Springs and Palm Harbor have a lot more sinkhole activity than further South in Pinellas County.

Here is a great resource for checking if your potential property is in a dangerous area… you can search by zip code for an overview! https://sinkholemaps.com/pinellas-county-fl-sinkhole-subsidence-properties/

If you want to be sure, us a call or check with your insurance company. Both will have a good idea and when checking with your insurance company you can be sure if you will be able to get insurance for the property because of sinkhole activity.

So go ahead, buy in Pinellas!

Sinkholes can be a scary thing. They happen in areas where the rock below the surface is limestone, carbonate rock, salt beds, or rocks that can naturally be dissolved by the groundwater circulating around and through them. They can occur slowly or seemingly overnight, but having a home in an area where they are common can be nerve wracking.

Dissolving rock

So what happens with the dissolving rock is that spaces open up where rock used to be. Typically those spaces fill with water which helps hold up the land above them.

However, if that water is removed, like when a well is drilled and the water used, there isn’t anything holding up the land. Then it collapses and forms a sinkhole.

Sinkholes can be fixed

Sinkholes can be fixed, and there is nothing wrong with buying a home that has been affected. As a buyer you should just ask to see the documentation of the repair.

However, having had a sinkhole will affect your property value if you are a homeowner.

Generally, a repaired sinkhole property vs. a property that has never had a sinkhole will have about a 7%-10% difference in market value. Your best bet is to have your Realtor do research on other homes in the area comparable to yours and see how sinkhole remediation affected their value.

Is the property insurable?

The other thing to think about is whether your home, or the home you are looking to buy is insurable. You need to be able to get homeowners insurance in order to get a mortgage.

In Florida the biggest insurer for homes affected by sinkholes is Citizens, and their requirements to insure a property have conditions attached. They, and probably most other insurers will need to know if the sinkhole claim was paid below, at or above policy limits; the original Engineering Findings Report; and the original Engineering Completion Report which will document the repairs and that they were done to the Findings Report; and documentation of the cosmetic repairs.

All of this will affect your homes value and probably not for the better.