Re: Burned House - Landlord Forum thread 357401

Re: Burned House by Garry (Iowa) on May 16, 2018 @16:36

Talk to the inspector and/or his/her boss as to how badly damaged it is. Call your insurance company and tell them about the fire. The ins.comp. will send out an adjuster/inspector of their own, and tell you how much they will pay you for your loss. Between you, your ins. comp., and the city, you will all need to come to a conclusion as to what to do. But it may take 30 days to figure all that out. In general, your ins. comp. will pay xxxx amount for your loss, and you will need to decide if it is able to be rebuilt or not. If you own the property, you can keep it, but it may end up as just a piece of vacant land with no structure on it. Which means no structure on it to give you income. Your "income" will be whatever the ins. comp. pays you. If it can't be rebuilt, you will have to pay to have the place torn down and removed, and the hole filled back in. That amount will come out of your ins. proceeds. At that point, you can try to sell the vacant land, as you will continue to pay property taxes on the value of a vacant lot in that neighborhood, and also have to keep it mowed every 2 weeks.

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Re: Burned House by Garry (Iowa) on May 16, 2018 @16:42	[ Reply ]

Ooppss------I forgot------If you had a mortgage on the property, the ins. proceeds will go to pay off the mortgage FIRST, before you get any money. You get whats left.

Re: Burned House by Anonymous on May 17, 2018 @06:55	[ Reply ]

Many thanks. The house is uninsured and in a slum. I only paid 8990 for it. How much would demolition be? Can I abandon prop and let city tear it down?

Re: Burned House by Garry (Iowa) on May 17, 2018 @07:58	[ Reply ]

Your bad for not having it insured. Now you will very well have to pay----BIG TIME! Ultimately, the city can tear it down and remove it, and charge you for ALL of those costs. If you don't pay them, they can take you to court and WIN. That possibly means they could garnish your wages if you have a job, and assuming you own your own your own house, or other rental property, they can attach liens to them, which means if you sell any of them, the city will get paid first, before you get any money. You could be on the hook for several times more than what you paid for the place. PLUS------IF anyone was injured in the fire, THEY can sue you, also. ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS carry fire insurance on ANYTHING you own.

Re: Burned House by Anonymous on May 17, 2018 @08:11	[ Reply ]

So sorry to hear. Just guesstimate how high of expense can it get? L

Re: Burned House

Re: Burned House by Nicole (PA) on May 20, 2018 @07:43	[ Reply ]

where I live, the city charges approx. $25,000 to tear down, fill in the basement and grade the property ...making it a nice empty useless lot. Property owner will pay the costs or they file a lien. Not sure who is responsible for the cost but if it's a row house, you also need to be certain the structure of the adjoining properties hasn't been compromised. Where I live, you need a demolition permit from the city and they aren't issuing it if you are hiring a couple guys from CL. Bottom line ... where I live, your wallet is going to have a serious depletion of major cash.

Re: Burned House by Anonymous on May 20, 2018 @08:20	[ Reply ]

I like to do this type of work that require permits over long weekends when city officials are not looking. I find it easier to ask for forgiveness, than ask for permission. Government Screws you everyway they can. What they can't see anymore is harder to prove. Another idea it to, find a homeless person, and quick claim the property to them for 10 dollars. You walk away and the city eats the cost to clean up.

Re: Burned House