A neighbor calls, not the owner. That's how most villa and 55-plus condo jobs around Seminole Lake start — a unit sits empty from May to October, a supply line lets go in July, and nobody notices for weeks. By then it's cabinets, baseboard, and mold in the wall cavity.
The other steady one is pipe age. The 1970s-90s subdivisions off Seminole Blvd and Park Blvd run polybutylene and early CPVC, and it fails without warning. Storms are separate: low ground toward Bay Pines takes surge, and the Long Bayou and Cross Bayou canals back up in sustained rain.
What actually floods homes here
My unit's empty half the year — what should I do before I leave?
Shut the main off and drain the lines. If the association won't allow that, have someone check it weekly and photograph under the sinks and behind the water heater.
Does my flood policy or my homeowners policy cover this?
Depends where the water came from. A burst supply line inside the home is usually homeowners; surge or canal water at ground level is a flood claim. We document the source either way.