Home inspectors are not trained, and do not have the specialized testing equipment, to determine if any structural problems or an area of sinking soil is the beginning of a sinkhole. Also, the Standards of Practice for both national inspector associations and the State of Florida state that the inspector is not required to evaluate “geological, geotechnical or hydrological site conditions."

    A licensed professional geologist is the person qualified to recognize any sinkhole activity or assess the probability of future sinkhole development, and evaluation may require ground-penetrating radar and/or soil borings, which can get expensive. Determining what is causing the soil collapse below the driveway in photo above is an example of an area for a geologist to evaluate.

    A home inspector might recommend evaluation by a geologist, based on what he or she sees during the inspection. But, as some inspectors like to say, “sorry, but that’s above my pay-grade."

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Here’s links to a collection of our other blog posts about SINKHOLES:

• How can I tell if a sunken area in my yard is a sinkhole?

• Why do so many more sinkholes open up after a hurricane?

• What is a chimney sinkhole?

• What are the warning signs of a sinkhole? 

• What causes sinkholes?

• How can homebuyers protect themselves against buying a house over a sinkhole?  

• What is my chance of buying a Florida home over a sinkhole? 

• How does a repaired sink hole under a house affect its market value?

• Where are sinkholes most likely to occur in Florida? 

• Are sinkholes happening more often?

• How can I tell whether my house foundation problems are caused by a sinkhole or expansive clay soil? 

   Visit our SINKHOLES and "DOES A HOME INSPECTOR…?” Pages for other related blog posts on this subject, or go to the INDEX for a complete listing of all our articles.