Dunedin, Florida -- The latest sinkhole in Holiday is yet another reminder of the fear many Floridians live with every day: Could a hole open up under my home and hurt me, my family, or my property?
Friday marked one year since a massive sinkhole in Dunedin opened up on Robmar Road, taking a boat and most of a house into the earth, endangering the family living inside.
10 News went back to that property to see how far it's come, and found a surprising sign. Where two houses and a massive gouge in the earth once were, now, empty lots. Dunedin fire chief Jeffrey Parks was blown away.
"Never seen it like, that no," he said. "Yeah, it's amazing. Today you wouldn't know two houses were there."
He remembers when that sinkhole opened up in Dunedin just over a year ago, threatening the Dupre family and its neighbors.
"We were just getting it repaired too, and that's when it happened," Ivy Dupre told 10 News after the hole opened.
"Luckily, the hole hadn't opened up earlier or it would have been a lot worse," Chief Parks said.
GRAPHIC:Florida's Sinkholes (PDF)
For many there, it brought a reminder of the deadly Seffner sinkhole that happened just months earlier, killing Jeff Bush in his sleep.
In Seffner, though, Hillsborough County says nothing will be built on the where the massive sinkhole opened up, out of respect for the life lost.
In Dunedin, what used to be a 90 ft. wide, 50 ft. deep sinkhole has been filled in, sodded over, and is now for sale.
That's why experts say it's important for you to put together a team that includes a lawyer, an inspector and a realtor that goes beyond what meets the eye and can tell you what's under the ground.
"The realtor's only got to disclose what the realtor knows, and what the realtor knows is based on what the seller told them," said Stetson Law property law professor Darryl Wilson.
Wilson said it comes down to an agreement between the property seller and the realtor that specifically asks the seller to let them know about problems you can't see.
"Hidden things, that are called latent defects, are something that a seller is required to disclose," he said.
But if a seller didn't know a sinkhole like happened on the property, you might be out of luck.
Legally, "sellers aren't liable for something that they quote unquote should have known," Wilson said.
For 1112 Robmar Road in Dunedin: "It's been fixed, you don't have to worry about it. If you're buying somewhere else that hasn't been fixed, you have to worry," said realtor Sandy Albanese, who lists the property.
She told us it's still a good buy, and that it's mandatory for her to disclose a sinkhole happened at the property.
"Buyers who look into the problems, they know it's better once it's been remedied," she said.
But a warning from construction consultant Patrick Garrett who's helped homeowners deal with sinkholes for decades, opinions on how to fix them can vary.
"You're dealing with Mother Nature," he said. "Fixing a sinkhole is subjective. It's anybody's guess."
Even when things look back to normal, he says he's seen those fixed properties go through another sinkhole 10 years down the line.
That's why it's up to you to find out what you're getting into.
"Buyers don't have to inspect the property, but you would expect them to," Wilson said.
Albanese said buyers looking at the property in Dunedin can rest easy. She said she has all the documentation to prove the land is safe.
Here's a list of resources to see if sinkhole resources you need if you're buying a property and want to know if it's at risk:
Sinkhole Type, Development and Distribution in Florida Map:
Subsidence Incident Reports (depression, not verified as sinkholes):
Sinkhole Poster/Explainer:
Settling Your Sinkhole Claim:
