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[afm_man]

Partly venting but partly asking for advice because we are in a tough spot.

So one of the advantages of academia is that we usually go away from college town over Xmas.  We have enough friends who check in on the house but it always seems that something goes wrong.

Came back home last night just to walk into a flooded house.  It looks like a pipe in the ceiling on the second floor broke and has ruined three rooms upstairs and almost all the floors, ceiling and walls downstairs.  Someone came by to check on the house last Saturday and all was well so this must have happened in only the last couple days (I guess if there is a bright side that it only had a couple days to ruin stuff).

We have insurance and I am sure it will be covered but the deductible is high $5K and I don't know if we can live in the house with all the damage.  We have no water, limited electricity (in areas where there was no damage). Anybody ever been through this?  How did it work out?

I feel like a bit of a sissy with all the flooding in Oz and other places around the world, but I have no idea how we are going to afford it.

[erzuliefreda]

Wow, that is terrible. No advice, but wishing you the best of luck with it.

[georgiaprof]

I had friends who went through this.  They essentially lost the downstairs.  Insurance put them up in a hotel for a month while the place was being rennovated (had to pull out the flooring down to the studs).  On the upside, they got a mostly new house paid for the cost of the deductable.  They sold the house about a year later for far more than they would have gotten had this not happened.  For your situation, will it be possible to upgrade/remodel some things/areas - if this is something that you wanted to do?  This might be doable if you can do some of the work yourself. 

[parispundit]

Yes, in all likelihood the insurance will cover the hotel or short-term apartment rental. At the worst, this will go towards the 5k deductible. If you are lucky however, living expenses will be treated differently than repairs. Go read your policy, if it's not too wet.... or call your agent.

[afm_man]

Thanks.  The adjuster comes out tomorrow but they are sending a 'renovation' company today to dry it out.  Apparently they don't want the adjuster to come until it is nearly dry.  The plumber is supposed to come to fix the leak also.

Trying to look at the bright side that we will get the place rebuilt.  The sad thing is that we just had the rooms painted that were destroyed by the water.  I guess it will get painted again but this time with new sheetrock and all.

Glad to hear that other people have gone through this and it worked out OK.

[georgiaprof]

Thanks.  The adjuster comes out tomorrow but they are sending a 'renovation' company today to dry it out.  Apparently they don't want the adjuster to come until it is nearly dry.  The plumber is supposed to come to fix the leak also.

Yes.  The renovation team will dry it out and check to be sure that the house is mold free.  We had a minor flood not too long ago that turned into a major situation due to mold.  In that situation, we were able to upgrade from carpet to wood floors by doing the install ourselves. 

Our friend who stayed in the hotel loved having someone else make the beds everyday.  She was a bit sad to return to the house.

[lurkingfear]

5k seems really high for a deductible. Is this normal? I admit that I'm only renting but my deductible is $250. Is this just a difference between homeowners and renters insurance? Or did you have some previous claims that jacked it up?

[georgiaprof]

IIRC, our deductable was around $1000.  I think that the deductable being higher will lower the cost of the insurance.

[lurkingfear]

IIRC, our deductable was around $1000.  I think that the deductable being higher will lower the cost of the insurance.

I realize that but is the difference greater for homeowners vs renters insurance? I might save at most $30 a year to have a very high ($1000) deductible, but it just doesn't seem worth it.

[afm_man]

Here, it is a percentage of the house 'value.'  Just the ways it works. Value comes from the county tax assessor (trust me, we did not pay near as much as it is valued).

[shrimp]

I have family who had the same issue.  They spent a few months in a rental while the house was repaired.  The good thing was that the insurance paid for the rental and it's supposed to be comparable to your house (e.g. same number of beds/baths).  They also spent more than the insurance coverage but completely upgraded their house (which was long overdue) - it now looks wonderful!
The bad news was that it took much longer than estimated and required a lot of oversight, even with a contractor. 
I'm sorry you have to deal with this but try to focus on the positives of getting an inexpensive remodel!

[anon99]

IIRC, our deductable was around $1000.  I think that the deductable being higher will lower the cost of the insurance.

I realize that but is the difference greater for homeowners vs renters insurance? I might save at most $30 a year to have a very high ($1000) deductible, but it just doesn't seem worth it.

Yes because renters' insurance is for contents only whereas homeowners is contents plus building.

afm_man, make sure you take photos before they come in and dry it out and as they rip out sheet rock and "rebuild".

[drdata]

Hi there,

In a former life I was an insurance adjuster, so here are some suggestions:

(1)  Read your policy carefully, especially when it refers to limits of liability.  When your agent says "Don't worry, we'll handle everything" take it with a large grain of salt.  Agents are the designated "good cops"; adjusters, by the nature of their job, are the designated "bad cops".  However, most adjusters will work hard to have a satisfied insured...makes their lives much easier.

(2)  The Homeowner's (HO) policy usually has coverage for living expenses, up to a limit.  If it looks like major rehab work (drywall, wiring, etc.) the best way to handle all this is to get out of the hotel and into a rental unit ASAP.  If you have a lot of contents damage, try to agree on the scope of the loss and get an advance so that you can buy new furniture, etc. to use in the rental place and then move back to renovated place.  That will help maximize the living expenses.

(3) Don't expect the insurance company to replace your 20 year-old black and white TV with a 50" flat screen.  Unless you have replacement cost coverage (an additional expense), the company is typically responsible only for the actual cash value of contents (ACV is defined as replacement cost less depreciation).  Again, read your policy and ask questions.  Be reasonable in your expectations and every thing will go smoother.

(4)  A $5,000 deductible is really too much to have. Next time you renew your policy, ask your agent to compare cost with a more manageable deductible (such as $1,000).  You will be surprised.  Or, make sure that you have $5,000 squirreled away somewhere.   

(5) As bad as the house looks now, you will be surprised how quickly some of these restoration companies can come in and rehab a house. I remember looking at one busted pipe case where an 8 x 10 antique oriental had been underwater for a week.  All it needed was dry cleaning...a $250 cost.

Good luck OP.

[womanofproperty]

OP, sorry to hear what happened.

Be sure to check to see the extent to which any uncovered losses are tax-deductible:

http://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc515.html

Good luck to you.

[johnr]

My house flooded several years ago when the hot water heater developed a leak while I was out of town.  The insurance adjuster was quite generous and basically cut me a check to fix the house with instructions to get back to him if it didn't look like the money would cover the damages.  If they do the same for you, you can save some money, and possibly cover the deductible, by shopping carefully for contractors and materials.  For example, I was able to cover my deductible by replacing the ruined tiled floor (expensive because of all the sub-flooring required), with a wood floor, which was surprisingly cheaper because it didn't require such elaborate sub-flooring (and I liked it better anyway).  You could also do some of the re-painting yourself and save some cash that way too.

My living-expenses coverage was horrible and I ended up living with my then girl friend for a couple of months while the place was being repaired.  Then I married her.  So I have a broken hot water heater to thank (or blame) for that.

There's no denying that the whole thing will be a huge inconvenience, but you will get your house back and it will be ok.  Good luck!