Are sinkhole disclosures mandatory?
The only specific statutory disclosure pertaining to sinkholes is Florida Statute 627.7073(2)(b) which states in pertinent part: "The seller of real property upon which a sinkhole claim has been made by the seller and paid by the insurer shall disclose to the buyer of such property that a claim has
been paid and whether or not the full amount of the proceeds were used to
repair the sinkhole damage."
Generally, sinkhole activity also needs to be disclosed, I believe, because of the holding in Johnson v. Davis which can be found here and which states that sellers have an affirmative duty to disclose "... facts materially affecting the value of the property which are not readily observable and are not known to the buyer."
To give context to the court's holding, affirmative duty means that the seller has an obligation to make a statement to prospective buyers about issues that they are aware of regardless of whether or not they buyer asks; it does not require the sellers to disclaim or make an affirmative statement about issues that do not exist.
Generally, sinkhole activity also needs to be disclosed, I believe, because of the holding in Johnson v. Davis which can be found here and which states that sellers have an affirmative duty to disclose "... facts materially affecting the value of the property which are not readily observable and are not known to the buyer."
To give context to the court's holding, affirmative duty means that the seller has an obligation to make a statement to prospective buyers about issues that they are aware of regardless of whether or not they buyer asks; it does not require the sellers to disclaim or make an affirmative statement about issues that do not exist.
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