Abandoned Homes Becoming Liabilities
Hurricane Season Brings Insurance Questions
POSTED: Tuesday, May 26, 2009
UPDATED: 12:13 pm EDT May 27,
2009
ORLANDO, Fla. -- As hurricane season approaches, homeowners in Central Florida are wondering who is responsible for damage caused by something left behind at an abandoned property.Ronnie DeCarlo said his home is surrounded by abandoned homes."I've actually seen homeowners load up their truck and move away. I've spoken to a few who say, 'I can't make it down here. I'm just moving out and letting the house go," Ronnie DeCarlo said.DeCarlo has photographs of a home about a block from his, which he sees as an insurance liability. There are more than 40 homes in the neighborhood in various degrees of potential liability, Local 6 News reporter Mike Holfeld said."Well, of course I'm trapped. I can't take that kind of loss. You're talking about $100,000 on a loss of a home and then where do I go?" DeCarlo said.DeCarlo said the abandoned properties contain plenty of potential projectiles that could be stirred up during hurricane season."You'll see some of the weeds are almost three feet high. There's dead trees laying down that could become projectiles and I'm worried about that. That could be coming at me, my car, the house," DeCarlo said.Real estate attorney Barbara Stage said if a tree falls into a property from an abandoned property, the responsibility to pay for the damage will likely lie with the insurance company of the damaged home.Stage said insurance companies will evaluate if the damage is an act of God or if there was obvious negligence from the property owner, which in many cases, is a bank."Unless the bank has actually finished the foreclosure and there has actually been a foreclosure sale and the bank has taken the title to the house, the bank is not going to take any liability," Stage said.The city of Palm Bay is trying to solve the problem with a new ordinance that requires all lenders to properly maintain abandoned properties."I think, ultimately, the idea is to preserve the quality of the neighborhood and prevent individual properties from being a blight on that, and the quicker we can get to the issues being resolved, ultimately, the neighbors are happier," Palm Bay City Manager Lee Feldman said.Insurance companies will go after the proper party if there is a dispute over who is at fault for damage to a property.Visit Florida's Chief Financial Officer'sWeb site or call 877-MYFLCFO for more information.
Copyright 2009 by Internet Broadcasting Systems and Local6.com.
All rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten
or redistributed.
The views expressed are not those of clickorlando.com, WKMG or its affiliated companies. This is a community moderated forum. (Please note the 'Like' and 'Report' tabs.) By posting your comments you agree to accept our Terms of Use.
blog comments powered by Disqus
Authorities release a chilling 911 call from a 19-year-old woman who hid in the back bedroom of a Central Florida home while four men attempted to break into the house.
An ex-wife of the man who found the remains of Caylee Anthony says that she thought her ex-husband was responsible for or involved in the girl's death.
Five people are dead after a mobile home fire broke out in Central Florida.
Officials question the credibility of a female deputy who called 911 in September to report a masked man had attacked her.
Dashcam video shows a Florida woman offering an officer sex instead of getting a ticket.
A 3-year-old boy was left stranded at a commuter train platform when a door on the train malfunctioned, separating the toddler from his dad. A good Samaritan stayed with the child until the father could return. (Nov. 20)
South Carolina police say an obese man died after not moving from his recliner for the past eight months. Police say the man's body was physically stuck to the chair and firefighters had to cut him out. He died a few hours later at the hospital.
A woman tired of hearing her son say he lost another sock has come up with an idea to prevent it from happening again.
A Nebraska man says romance turned to revenge when he was victimized by his girlfriend and then exposed on Facebook. 
Thirty Victoria's Secret supermodels take over New York's Times Square this week.
Female stars flash their fashion sense at the paparazzi. 
Take a quick look at the flicks headed to your multiplex. Check out the trailer, too.
Email Alerts
RSS News Feeds
Mobile
Live Streams
Slideshows
Video
Search
