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Homeowners forced to pay a mortgage for homes that were torn down from sinkhole

sink hole update
Posted at 9:19 PM, Aug 08, 2022
and last updated 2022-08-09 01:39:10-04

BALTIMORE — It's been a month since a large sinkhole developed in the sidewalk on North Avenue in Baltimore, forcing three houses to be torn down.

Homeowners are still dealing with the effects and are calling on the city for help.

"I'm just losing all way around," homeowner Quentin Bell said. "I can't not pay the mortgage and have my credit go bad. But I'm paying a mortgage for a house that not even there."

Bell is one of the homeowners who lost his house to the sinkhole.

MORE: Large sinkhole on North Avenue; several homes condemned

Large sinkhole on North Avenue; several homes condemned

He said this experience has been a nightmare.

Bell explained that the city hasn’t given him any guidance and his insurance claim got denied so right now he's forced to pay out of pocket for everything he lost.

Homeowners say it's not their fault a sinkhole formed under their house, and they believe this is something the city should handle.

"Everything I had in that property is gone," Bell said. "I don't know what to do. I feel like I’m losing all way around losing property. I haven't heard anything from anyone. Now I gotta spend my money to get clothing and prepare for the winter."

Councilman Robert Stokes said crews have been working around the clock to repair the hole but it'll take time.

"The south side will be open at the end of August but they have to finish up the north side because there's still a lot to be done," Stokes said. "I understand the frustration. The best I can do is keep giving an update, so we can get this taken care of. So the traffic that needs to go down north avenue can go down north avenue and not go through peoples people neighborhoods."

The councilman also provided WMAR-2 News with this email Statement:

A site visit this morning showed that a little more erosion occurred after last night’s storm, but the sinkhole remains stable and material has been removed to successfully continue to convey storm events.

• We have a pile contractor on site who is auguring and installing “H” piles, which you can see in the attached photos. Once the H piles are installed, we can then excavate and install lagging. Installation has been extend into evenings and on weekends to expedite this work, and the shoring of the excavated area is expected to be completed early next week. Please be assured that surveyors are performing daily survey of monitoring points, set on adjacent houses and structure, to monitor if any horizontal or vertical movement is observed during sheeting and shoring installation.

• On the shoring if fully in place, the contractor can proceed with repair to the storm drain that is within North Avenue. These repairs are expected to take until the end of August. When these storm drain repairs are completed, a portion of North Avenue (south side) will be reopened.

• Repair of the failed storm drain located on the north side of North Avenue will then commence.

Although there's a timeline for road repairs, homeowners are still waiting to hear from the city.

They want to know what happens next. Will the city reimburse them for tearing down the houses, or will they assist them in another way?

"I'm not getting any type of feedback, or anything from no one. I just think that's wrong. It's been a month. We haven't heard anything from anyone," said Bell.

Councilman Stokes recommends homeowners continue contacting the city and reach out to Red Cross for housing.

Stokes recommends people reach out to the law department and he will be providing weekly updates to assist the community.