Merry Christmas … I got a call Christmas Eve that our rental property had caught fire . The fire originated on the neighbors connected deck and then crept in my home. It’s destroyed. No one was hurt and my tenants are away on vacation until 1/2. Has anyone ever had this situation?!? What can I expect will my neighbor home owners cover it ? I started a claim with mine a while. Will my tenants renters insurance put them in a shelter and cover the rent owed? Will my mortgage insurance hold my mortgage payment ? I have so many questions it’s been an emotional roller coaster today. They think the cause was someone doing fireworks near by
Posted by Flyersguy86
3 Comments
The tenants will get what’s called additional living expenses. That’s things above what they normally pay. So they will still pay you rent as that’s what they would have paid anyway, but the insurance would pick up the temporary lodging they are at as that’s beyond what they normally pay for housing.
Your insurance will handle the claim on your behalf. They will send an adjuster to assess the damage – you can (and should) also have a contractor of your choosing take a look at the damage and give you an estimate to repair so you have something to compare their estimate with.
Your insurance will subrogate the at fault parties insurance (this sometimes delays the claims process, but realistically should not affect your claim).
Be prepared for this process to take a couple months at least. Rebuild will depend on the extent of the damage – but also may take several months.
In the meantime – you will need to continue paying your mortgage on the property – but file a “Loss of Use/Business Interruption” for your loss of rent. You should receive this every month for a suitable amount of time to settle the claim and rebuild.
Good luck! It’s not a fun process – but it happens every day – it will be OK. Enjoy the holidays and try not to worry too much!
Contact your insurance (probably tomorrow though).
Your tenant’s renter’s insurance (if they have it) will not cover much for you.
Your insurance will cover the loss of rent since you no longer have renters staying there due to the fire.
Request a copy of your policy (or pull it from your online account) and look over your coverages and how to claim them.