In the wake of the tragic Surfside condominium collapse, Florida lawmakers passed legislation focused on enhancing building safety and preventing similar disasters. The “Milestone Inspection Bill,”
Learning from Your Neighbor’s Sinkhole
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You look across the street one morning and see concrete trucks coming in and out of your neighborhood. A sinkhole repair is in process across the street. At once, you feel a mixture of both fear and curiosity. You start to think, “That property is really close to my house, should I be worried? If I have sinkhole damage whom should I call? Sinkhole coverage laws have changed; how do they affect me?”
If you own a house in Florida, you know that your property may be at risk for sinkhole damage. But if you’re like most people, you don’t give sinkholes much thought unless they are on the news, or perhaps, if one of your neighbors finds sinkhole damage on his or her property. So, should you be worried if the house across the street has sinkhole damage? The immediate answer to this question is, “Yes.” It is not uncommon for sinkholes to occur in the same neighborhood. If there is confirmed sinkhole activity on the property right next to yours, there is even greater reason to be concerned.
As difficult as it may seem to face the possibility of a sinkhole near your home, the sinkhole on your neighbor’s property, provides you with a great learning experience. Most people are happy and willing to share information. If your neighbor is available, and friendly, he or she can give you a lot of valuable information about the entire sinkhole repair process — starting from the filing of the insurance claim, to finding a sinkhole repair contractor, to the sinkhole repair process, and beyond. But before you speak to your neighbor, and for your own peace of mind, do a walk-through of your property and look for possible signs of sinkhole-related damage.
Below are some questions you may want to ask your neighbor:
- What made you think you had sinkhole damage on your property?
- How did the insurance company handle your claim?
- Do you know what type of testing the engineering company did on your property?
- Did your insurance company provide you with a list of sinkhole repair contractors to call?
- How do you know that you have a reputable sinkhole repair contractor?
- Did sinkhole repair contractors start contacting you after sinkhole activity was confirmed?
- What made you choose your contractor over the other contractors with whom you spoke?
- How responsive is your sinkhole repair contractor to your questions or concerns?
- Were you able to speak to some of your sinkhole repair contractor’s customers?
- How well is the repair process going from your point of view?
- How confident are you in your contractor’s ability to complete the repair process on time?
Hopefully, you will never have to deal with sinkhole damage on your property. If the unthinkable happens, however, you will be ahead of the game because you have educated yourself beforehand.
At Helicon, we pride ourselves in helping our customers become educated consumers. Many of our customers have stated that our willingness to really help them understand what was happening to their property was one the key differences between us and our competitors. Click here to find out what some of our customers are saying.
