bam02 said:

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Thank you!

Speaking of chimneys… we happen to discover something kind of scary. We had two fireplaces. One of them had gas logs and we used it all the time. The other one we were just burned Wood in, but I could never get it to vent properly so I only tried it a handful of times.

Turns out the flu was completely disconnected about halfway up the second story of our house. If I had managed to burn fires in that thing, I would've just been pumping carbon monoxide into the second floor. We never would've known had the chimney faade not burned up.

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Yikes!

bam02 said:

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Thank you!

Speaking of chimneys… we happen to discover something kind of scary. We had two fireplaces. One of them had gas logs and we used it all the time. The other one we were just burned Wood in, but I could never get it to vent properly so I only tried it a handful of times.

Turns out the flu was completely disconnected about halfway up the second story of our house. If I had managed to burn fires in that thing, I would've just been pumping carbon monoxide into the second floor. We never would've known had the chimney faade not burned up.

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Yea, this is another reason my spouse and I are thinking of replacing our wood-burning fireplace with one of those digital display insets that emits heat. Never thought I'd say that, but after seeing what my parents went through, I'll take a corny display for the peace of mind

OK, here's where I'm going to hope somebody has some industry insight or experience…

I don't have anything official in writing, but the structural adjuster came by today for the first time and said that it will be a total loss and then we will be getting a check for the full amount of our policy. We currently have a mortgage and we owe about 40% of what this check will be.

I called my mortgage company and they just said to call once I receive the check, but I'm just curious if anybody knows what the process is and/or what my options are. We very much hope to rebuild on this lot. We are yet to know if the slab will be reusable or not.

I honestly am not smart enough to know what the implications are mortgage-wise. We have a very good rate from six years ago when we bought the house, but I don't know if we will be required to pay it off and get a new mortgage or if there is someway to rebuild within the current mortgage? Does that even make sense? I have no idea what I'm talking about.

Your check will be much bigger if you need to replace the slab.

Well I hope they replace the slab but I'm guessing they will fight it if they can. The structural adjuster told me today that the total policy limit is what they're paying out and there would be no more coverage to replace the slab so maybe we are better off if it's reusable. Who knows…

dubi said:

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Your check will be much bigger if you need to replace the slab.

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He said the check will be for the full amount of their policy. It won't be getting bigger.

Just like in any other circumstance, buying an existing house will be cheaper than building a custom one. And it will come with a lot less headache.

Martin Q. Blank said:

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Just like in any other circumstance, buying an existing house will be cheaper than building a custom one. And it will come with a lot less headache.

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Can you expound on this?

Not doubting you. I have never built a house and I've never really wanted to, but we do think a silver lining of this whole mess would be to have a new custom house on our lot that we love in an older neighborhood.

bam02 said:

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Martin Q. Blank said:

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Just like in any other circumstance, buying an existing house will be cheaper than building a custom one. And it will come with a lot less headache.

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Can you expound on this?

Not doubting you. I have never built a house and I've never really wanted to, but we do think a silver lining of this whole mess would be to have a new custom house on our lot that we love in an older neighborhood.

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Which part?

1. Buying an existing house will be cheaper than building a custom one. You'll have to crunch the numbers with a realtor and builder, but I can almost guarantee this to be the case.

2. Building a custom home is a headache. Talk to anyone who has done it.

OK, you're right. No need to expound on that. I think what you're saying is correct. Those are the reasons we have never wanted to build in the past, but we do love this lot. We are on and I think we intend to rebuild. It will be a blessing to have a new house in this older neighborhood if it all works out.

I say pursue the rebuild on your lot if possible. But, you will need to see what insurance coverage is offered for temporary housing, and temporary housing is a relative term. A design-build home process is not necessarily quick. Right now, if you start the clock, you are 12 months away and that is one of your better case scenarios timing wise.

Insurance may be writing you a full policy amount and then washing their hands of it after that. In that case, temporary housing may not be an option once they give you that check. Some other insurance Ags can chime in on this comment to offer inisght. But, how temporary housing is going to be handled could be a legitimate factor in the overall evaluation. If not covered, then may be looking at $3000/month for 12 months or so.

I also know that my insurance has some phrase about increasing the policy amount up to 25% more for the increased cost of materials etc in case of total loss. I've never had to use it so I don't know how it works but maybe something to check.

Mine is USAA for reference.

Do you have pictures of your belongings? Pictures of rooms in the house? Video? If not, then while you're sitting around, you need to start taking inventory of what was in each room.

Your contents coverage is like 50% or 60%, could even be 70%, of what the dwelling amount was insured for.

And by inventory I mean everything from toothbrushes to socks to things inside junk drawers. Big items. Small items. Don't leave any thing out. You want to be able to get every penny you can for your contents.

You and your wife and kids put your heads together and go corner by corner, wall by wall, room by room getting a good inventory. Garage. Deck. Attic. You won't believe how much things will add up. Ask if you have replacement cost on contents or ACV. Replacement cost means you get brand new stuff. ACV means they depreciate your stuff.

So sorry this happened.

Use this link. If you can't open it let me know and I'll copy and paste. Scroll to the top and work your way down.

https://chatgpt.com/share/69702209-ae60-800f-bc8d-4a2e4dc160ff

"Loss of use" is typically in effect until repairs are completed. I bet he's got 50,000 or $60,000 (maybe more) in loss of use coverage and it typically lasts 12 months, but could be longer.

If you don't ask, submit, and document, the adjuster may not proactively include everything.

"Loss of use" will also pay the difference in a lot of your bills. If your mortgage was $2000 before the fire and now you rent something for $3200 after the fire, it will pay for the difference of $1200.

TexAg2016 said:

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I also know that my insurance has some phrase about increasing the policy amount up to 25% more for the increased cost of materials etc in case of total loss. I've never had to use it so I don't know how it works but maybe something to check.

Mine is USAA for reference.

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You need to ask about "increased cost of construction" and see if you have it on your policy and what percent of your dwelling it is. It could be 10% to 25% most likely.

EXAMPLE:
Rebuild to original specs: $420,000
- Code-required upgrades: $55,000

If ICC limit = $50,000
Insurance pays $50,000
Homeowner pays $5,000

Thanks for the reply. We actually have a separate allotment for living expenses so it won't come out of the policy payout. The allowance for living expenses (ALE… not sure exactly what that stands for) will cover us for almost 3 years based on the rental we think we will be in. Sure hope it's closer to 12 months!

TexAg2016 said:

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I also know that my insurance has some phrase about increasing the policy amount up to 25% more for the increased cost of materials etc in case of total loss. I've never had to use it so I don't know how it works but maybe something to check.

Mine is USAA for reference.

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Hmm don't know about that. I hope to learn more about the process soon!

Thank you! I'll check out the link.

Today I started making lists of items. It's unbelievably daunting. I had a lot of stuff. People always asked me if I was a contractor because I had so many tools. I always laughed because I only knew enough to be dangerous with most of them!

The link worked. Thanks that's a great reference as well make our lists.

I'm embarrassed to say how many guns I lost. They were in a locked closet but I never did get around to buying a fireproof safe.