Sorry I've been spacy lately - a tree fell on my house (1 Viewer)

[Moguri]

Thank you friends! I got the tree removed yesterday and a roofer put a tarp on it last night, which is just in time as it's raining this morning and supposed to rain tomorrow.

The insurance claims people are pretty slow, but my insurance agent called me and walked me through what to expect, so now I know it's just a matter of waiting for the inspector to come out and approve what type of work will be covered. I've got contractors lined up for the roof, siding, and rain garden, and I've got names of general contractors who I'm hoping can do basically everything else. So it's stressful, but there's a plan and I think that makes it feel a bit easier.

Might be more information than you cared for, but it helps me process, okay love you bye~


You always lift my spirits! I need to do some crochet, work some stress out. I've been thinking of making an outer space set... how murderous do you think astronauts are?

I hope the insurance covers everything

 

[Pirioca]

You're ok so I can make bad jokes.

Did you check if there's a cemetary under your house? Since 'Poltergeist' we know that haunted trees can be a pain in the ass.

 

[centen]

You're ok so I can make bad jokes.

Did you check if there's a cemetary under your house? Since 'Poltergeist' we know that haunted trees can be a pain in the ass.

Maybe the murder dolls are communing down there while I sleep!! @Selfmate how valid is this theory, oh wise Kpop Church Leader?

 

[centen]

I was watching something that was saying the problem is solo trees are just not that strong with the roots. They need others to make a network underground. Which is weird cuz roots get into everything, all the plumbing ect.

Interesting! My neighborhood has a ton of old trees -- I've spent a lot of time over the past week walking around and predicting which way they'd fall in a storm -- and I wonder if that's generally held all these old trees together.

My tree guy is a certified arborist, and he said the damage tells him the tree was just hit in the right way by a high enough wind to basically rip the canopy off, nothing structurally wrong with the tree itself.

 

[centen]

I hope the insurance covers everything

Thank you, I will take all the wishes for that!! The inspector is scheduled for Monday, so I'm really hoping that a lot of this is covered. There's a lot of stuff I have to fix -- like large divots in my backyard that now pose a tripping hazard -- even if insurance tells me they won't cover it.

 

[dark_tranquility]

that's hectic

Gald you're ok.

 

[Moguri]

Thank you, I will take all the wishes for that!! The inspector is scheduled for Monday, so I'm really hoping that a lot of this is covered. There's a lot of stuff I have to fix -- like large divots in my backyard that now pose a tripping hazard -- even if insurance tells me they won't cover it.

any news on this?

 

[Selfmate]

Maybe the murder dolls are communing down there while I sleep!! @Selfmate how valid is this theory, oh wise Kpop Church Leader?

the start of every great horror movie

 

[centen]

any news on this?

Insurance inspector came out today, said he'd have the estimate for me this week.

If I followed the instructions correctly, they will basically prepay for it minus my deductible. So if he thinks I have $10k in damage, and my deductible is $1k, then that means they owe $9k. But! Not all of my stuff is brand-new, so they do a "depreciated value" which, say, means the stuff is worth $2k less. So I would get $7k up front, but they would pay me the depreciation amount of $2k after I prove I fixed everything.

It's a little complicated, but I think I got the gist. And I'm hoping it'll be clearer after he gets the estimate loaded to the claims site.

I also approved the tree guy to come back out and take out the rest of the tree, since it broke off just below the canopy. And insurance doesn't care if you have a giant stump in your yard, but it'll die now and I don't want that to come down later.

 

[Selfmate]

I prove I fixed everything.

the real question is are your murder dolls ok? and did he inspector provide a value for them????

 

[centen]

the real question is are your murder dolls ok? and did he inspector provide a value for them????

They were clever enough to avoid being crushed in the first place! They're all safe!!!

For now...

 

[Selfmate]

They were clever enough to avoid being crushed in the first place! They're all safe!!!

For now...

sigh...even god couldn't finish the job...

 

[Moguri]

Insurance inspector came out today, said he'd have the estimate for me this week.

If I followed the instructions correctly, they will basically prepay for it minus my deductible. So if he thinks I have $10k in damage, and my deductible is $1k, then that means they owe $9k. But! Not all of my stuff is brand-new, so they do a "depreciated value" which, say, means the stuff is worth $2k less. So I would get $7k up front, but they would pay me the depreciation amount of $2k after I prove I fixed everything.

It's a little complicated, but I think I got the gist. And I'm hoping it'll be clearer after he gets the estimate loaded to the claims site.

I also approved the tree guy to come back out and take out the rest of the tree, since it broke off just below the canopy. And insurance doesn't care if you have a giant stump in your yard, but it'll die now and I don't want that to come down later.

ok that sounds promising at least, I hope it all works out like that

 

[centen]

ok that sounds promising at least, I hope it all works out like that

I got a message that they're going to call me tomorrow morning with fulls details, so just a little longer!

And then I think I might make a post or something for "what to expect if a tree falls on your house" because it's surprisingly difficult to find clear instructions for a thing that has obviously happened to other people before.

 

[Pirioca]

They were clever enough to avoid being crushed in the first place! They're all safe!!!

For now...

So they already knew what will happen next.

 

[Moguri]

I got a message that they're going to call me tomorrow morning with fulls details, so just a little longer!

And then I think I might make a post or something for "what to expect if a tree falls on your house" because it's surprisingly difficult to find clear instructions for a thing that has obviously happened to other people before.

Did they contact you again?

 

[centen]

Did they contact you again?

Yes! I heard back from the insurance guy and now what happens is:

1. They mail me a check with my name and my mortgage company's name on it. This is for the estimated cost of repairs minus depreciation and my deductible. They split out depreciation in case you decide to not actually fix your house.
2. Then I have to send that check to my mortgage company along with the insurance company's letter and an "intent to repair" signed (which just says, yes, I will use this money to repair my home, I will use legit contractors, I will actually pay them and not let them put a lien on the house). If the damage was over $40K, then they'd have additional requirements, but mine is under that.
3. In about 10 business days after they get all that paperwork, then mortgage company will send me a new check with just my name on it.

Which means probably a month, maybe closer to two, before I get the check to pay contractors. And after they all do their work, then I have to resubmit to insurance again so that insurance will send me a check for the depreciation amount and will update their records to reflect the current status of my house.

Right after college, I spent several years aggressively pursuing financial stability (which had its own problems, ah~), but right now, I'm really thankful, because I have the money saved to begin work right away. I just needed the paperwork from insurance to be able to outline to contractors what insurance thinks this should cost me.

I have a general contractor coming next week to evaluate the inside of the house for patching the ceiling where the tree hit it and some drywall work from cracks from the pressure of the tree landing on it + painting. I also have a siding guy coming out to look at the siding and windows. And my gardener guy said he could start work on fixing the retaining wall and garden, but the fence might take a little longer. And then I need to call the roofer to come back out (I sent him the paperwork, but he's kind of old school, so I can't tell if he keeps up on his email).

Oh, and unrelated to all of this, but I have a sofa delivery next Friday because I finally splurged and took advantage of Fourth of July holiday deals to replace my old broken one. I thought about canceling it, but I still need a new sofa, and I didn't want to end up paying more for buying it off a holiday season.

But I'm really hopeful that I will have my house more or less put back together by September. And then I will plant a new tree, because my house is hot with no shade, so that new tree can solve that problem in, like, a decade.


Sorry if this is more than you care about! It's just wild to me how little step-by-step info there is about what happens in this situation, so everything feels new to me.

 

[dark_tranquility]

Yes! I heard back from the insurance guy and now what happens is:

1. They mail me a check with my name and my mortgage company's name on it. This is for the estimated cost of repairs minus depreciation and my deductible. They split out depreciation in case you decide to not actually fix your house.
2. Then I have to send that check to my mortgage company along with the insurance company's letter and an "intent to repair" signed (which just says, yes, I will use this money to repair my home, I will use legit contractors, I will actually pay them and not let them put a lien on the house). If the damage was over $40K, then they'd have additional requirements, but mine is under that.
3. In about 10 business days after they get all that paperwork, then mortgage company will send me a new check with just my name on it.

Which means probably a month, maybe closer to two, before I get the check to pay contractors. And after they all do their work, then I have to resubmit to insurance again so that insurance will send me a check for the depreciation amount and will update their records to reflect the current status of my house.

Right after college, I spent several years aggressively pursuing financial stability (which had its own problems, ah~), but right now, I'm really thankful, because I have the money saved to begin work right away. I just needed the paperwork from insurance to be able to outline to contractors what insurance thinks this should cost me.

I have a general contractor coming next week to evaluate the inside of the house for patching the ceiling where the tree hit it and some drywall work from cracks from the pressure of the tree landing on it + painting. I also have a siding guy coming out to look at the siding and windows. And my gardener guy said he could start work on fixing the retaining wall and garden, but the fence might take a little longer. And then I need to call the roofer to come back out (I sent him the paperwork, but he's kind of old school, so I can't tell if he keeps up on his email).

Oh, and unrelated to all of this, but I have a sofa delivery next Friday because I finally splurged and took advantage of Fourth of July holiday deals to replace my old broken one. I thought about canceling it, but I still need a new sofa, and I didn't want to end up paying more for buying it off a holiday season.

But I'm really hopeful that I will have my house more or less put back together by September. And then I will plant a new tree, because my house is hot with no shade, so that new tree can solve that problem in, like, a decade.


Sorry if this is more than you care about! It's just wild to me how little step-by-step info there is about what happens in this situation, so everything feels new to me.

Glad it is going forward for you
waiting can suck sometimes

 

[Moguri]

Yes! I heard back from the insurance guy and now what happens is:

1. They mail me a check with my name and my mortgage company's name on it. This is for the estimated cost of repairs minus depreciation and my deductible. They split out depreciation in case you decide to not actually fix your house.
2. Then I have to send that check to my mortgage company along with the insurance company's letter and an "intent to repair" signed (which just says, yes, I will use this money to repair my home, I will use legit contractors, I will actually pay them and not let them put a lien on the house). If the damage was over $40K, then they'd have additional requirements, but mine is under that.
3. In about 10 business days after they get all that paperwork, then mortgage company will send me a new check with just my name on it.

Which means probably a month, maybe closer to two, before I get the check to pay contractors. And after they all do their work, then I have to resubmit to insurance again so that insurance will send me a check for the depreciation amount and will update their records to reflect the current status of my house.

Right after college, I spent several years aggressively pursuing financial stability (which had its own problems, ah~), but right now, I'm really thankful, because I have the money saved to begin work right away. I just needed the paperwork from insurance to be able to outline to contractors what insurance thinks this should cost me.

I have a general contractor coming next week to evaluate the inside of the house for patching the ceiling where the tree hit it and some drywall work from cracks from the pressure of the tree landing on it + painting. I also have a siding guy coming out to look at the siding and windows. And my gardener guy said he could start work on fixing the retaining wall and garden, but the fence might take a little longer. And then I need to call the roofer to come back out (I sent him the paperwork, but he's kind of old school, so I can't tell if he keeps up on his email).

Oh, and unrelated to all of this, but I have a sofa delivery next Friday because I finally splurged and took advantage of Fourth of July holiday deals to replace my old broken one. I thought about canceling it, but I still need a new sofa, and I didn't want to end up paying more for buying it off a holiday season.

But I'm really hopeful that I will have my house more or less put back together by September. And then I will plant a new tree, because my house is hot with no shade, so that new tree can solve that problem in, like, a decade.


Sorry if this is more than you care about! It's just wild to me how little step-by-step info there is about what happens in this situation, so everything feels new to me.

oof, to be honest it sounds like a big headache to deal with all of this, but you seem to still be in good spirits, september sounds really not too bad given the circumstances.. I hope everything works out as you outlined

 

[centen]

oof, to be honest it sounds like a big headache to deal with all of this, but you seem to still be in good spirits, september sounds really not too bad given the circumstances.. I hope everything works out as you outlined

Thank you friend! It's nice to have things moving along and getting stuff put back together.