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.
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