<p>Mom’s house burned before Christmas. It was rented (to renters with no rental insurance of course). It seems a total loss. It was an old farm house where I grew up and my brother grew up, then moved back in and raised his family. It has been a rental for the past 10 to 12 years. And Mom has dementia and I spent much of the summer getting rid of her handyman who was taking advantage of her dementia and getting rid of his buddy that he moved into the house who didn’t pay rent. … Well, all that is irrelevant, but just background.</p>
<p>What I need help with (and I know CC will come through) is experience with dealing with the insurance company. I am trying to fill out the form … what appliances, when were they purchased … I have no idea what they were or when they were bought. And neither does Mom. Some were probably traded down from her house and moved into the rental. She would ask the handyman and he would make up something but I will not speak to the guy. So do I just put “old unknown appliances?” They are a different item than the house. </p>
<p>What happens if I take the “fair market value” of the house (which seems very very low)? Do they give me a check and walk away? Do I negotiate as if I were buying it? </p>
<p>I do NOT want to rebuild although supposedly we would receive a lot more ($50K) if we do, but there is no one in town to supervise and I expect it will cost more than the $50 K extra to rebuild just to have another rental headache. My brother is more attached and he does sheetrock installation for a living. IF (big IF) he lived in town, I think he might try to get it rebuilt and do much of it himself, but I am not going down that road. (another side note, we are co-trustees for Mom’s trust, but I am her guardian in addition). </p>
<p>Anyone have any stories of success with dealing with fires and rentals and insurance? I am over my head on this one.</p>
<p>I had a small fire in a home I leased. For me, renters insurance covered the renter’s property, not the dwelling. That was up to the owner, me.
Depending on the kind of insurance you chose, you may get fair market value or replacement cost. And yes, whatever figure they offer you is negotiable. There are licensed experts to help negotiate that figure for you, but their value is questionable since they are a hired service.
One possible way not to have the rental headache is to sell it to your brother, then let him do with it as he pleases.</p>
<p>My folks had a serious fire in a rental home they owned. I wish they’d gotten a public adjuster right away…or that the house had completely burned to the ground. The insurer’s adjusters wanted charred timbers to be painted with Kilz and called good, fought about whether seals on huge double-paned windows had been blown before or during the fire and otherwise made my folks miserable for several years. Figuring out the ins-and-outs of repairing damage from a serious fire (and consequent water damage due to firefighters and then due to winter weather) is not within the scope of expertise for most of us. Smoke travels in funny ways through buildings – drywall taken off on the other side of the house from where the fire was had soot on the insulation. My folks also did not have any inventory, but a chunk of the furnishings were theirs, so that was also an issue. There were (fortunately) some pre-fire photos. </p>
<p>My second and third pieces of advice: Get a 3 ring notebook, and start documenting every contact you make or that is made to you – when, who, what company, how made (phone, letter, email, fax) and figure out what app (if you have a smart phone) on your phone transcribes voice mail to emails so that you can easily print out voicemails and put them in your notebook.</p>
<p>I’m sorry. This is a real hassle, but it might be that a total loss is easier to resolve. I hope so.</p>