Home Owner Insurance Question

[GHANNAH86]

Hi Folks,

So I had a flood in my bsement Monday morning :bang I had a plumber come out yesterday to take look and they disovered I have rotten beams and it is going to cost quite a bit to repair. Due to the cost they had m call my insurance ompany. The adjuster came out today and was telling me since the leak has been happening for a while and the flood just happened 99.9% ikely my claim will be denied. At this point I think I will loose the house since I don't have $20,000 for repairs to fix the issue. I have only been in the house since December and I didn't know of a water leak before this. Inspector didn't find problem either. I already have a lawyer on standby but can anyone give me any more advice?

[GHANNAH86]

I can't edit my title can a Mod peas edit it from hoe:loco to home.

[Jeff-TheBiz]

fixed... have to laugh I was thinking an entirely different type of insurance.. cuz pimpin aint easy.


Sorry to hear about the flood... hope things pan out, insurance is bought for a reason.

[GHANNAH86]

It also made me laugh. Time for me to change the batteries in the wireless keyboard. It is dropping letters again. Hopefully my insurance does a 180 degree spin and approves my claim.

[KenYork]

So what would the inspector's liability be since he said it wouldn't be a problem. Was the leak noted on his inspection list for you?

[GHANNAH86]

No leak noted on the inspection report. He didn't find any sign their was ever a leak

[Wild Weasel]

I don't think home inspectors are really liable for anything that isn't obvious. They provide you a service and it's a good service to get, but they can only tell you about the things that can be seen by their generally well informed eyes.

I'm pretty sure their contracts even note that they cannot be held liable for things that are not visible through a normal inspection, and underlying hidden damage would qualify.

I'm surprised they didn't note moisture though. When we had our house inspected, the guy had a little meter thing he held up against all the basement walls to detect moisture.

As for the insurance claim... it sucks, but it sounds about right. If the damage wasn't caused by the flood but, rather, some condition that's been there for a while and not reported, then you can understand why they wouldn't cover it. Insurance covers events, but not regular maintenance or lack thereof.

It sounds like you're in a real unfortunate bind. If you can find some reason to believe that the sellers knew about this but didn't disclose it, that will probably be your best chance at restitution.

[Noisy Crow]

Have a chat with your real-estate agent. If the damage is that extensive, its hard to believe that it was unknown to the previous home owners. I believe there is an obligation on their part to disclose such things if they know about them.

The other thing to keep in mind that you may not have to repair the damage right away. A "temporary" fix might be possbile - for example adding bracing directly below the damaged areas.

At this point you are probably better off to keep the house and repair it than sell it as you will probably take a hit on the selling price anyway....

[GHANNAH86]

My Real Estate Agent has already checked the the previous 2 owners and they said they never had leaking. The inspecter did moisture tests in the basement and around the house on the walls and they were fine.

[ds2chan]

sorry to hear about this.. this is a pretty scary situation for you.. I hope it turns out that insurance will cover this.. I mean, you did have have the house inspected before moving in so I can't see how this wouldn't be covered..

how could the inspector know that there was a leak for 3 months though?? let us know how things are in the next few days..

[GHANNAH86]

At this point I am just waiting for my insurance company to get back to me with their final answer. IWhen I say loose the house. I cna't afford $20,000 in repairs so I will have to get rid of the house .At this point I don't have a working nathtub/shower it is frustrtating.

[JashiK]

My Real Estate Agent has already checked the the previous 2 owners and they said they never had leaking. The inspecter did moisture tests in the basement and around the house on the walls and they were fine.

When did you get your insurance policy?

Did your insurance company require you to send in the home inspection report?

You've only lived there since December which is maybe 4 months.
On what basis is the Adjuster saying the leak has been there for long time?

Something doesn't add up. I don't think wooden beams would rot from 2 days of it being wet.

Have you spoken to your lawyer about this?

[GHANNAH86]

I think I had to submit the home inspection report. I can always check with the insurance company. Because the beams are rotten is why my claim is being denied. Since I have been in the house their have been no water leaks. According to the previous 2 homeowners they didn't have any water leaks either.If their were any signs of water leaks they were extremally well covered up. What happened was the t and y pipe connecting my bathtub to the drain broke. The contractor with the adjustor believes that the drain was leaking and that is what caused all of the other damage.Talking to my lawyer he said he can most likely get it before a judge but I am looking at 3 to 4 years before I may see something out of it because of the stall tactics the insurance is going to use. I am just trying to get my house fixed. At this point it looks like I am going to have to fork out money to fix it. My Real Estate agent is a contractor and he is going to get some of his guys to come by and fix it for quite a bit cheaper then what I should be paying. So at this point I will be going this route. I will get a really good repair JOB done , the right way and it will only cost me $5000 to $10,000 . The contractor that came with the adjustor and the adjustor that I had today were horible people to deal with. They flooded my basement again. Told me I was wasting their time and that rotten wooden beams are never replaced but just dried out with a hairdryer and have a coat of sealant applied. This I have never heard of. I thought if it was rotten it had to be replaced because it was structurally fubar'ed but hey I don't know anything about carpentry, plumbing or electrical. I have only remodeled bathrooms, kitchens and basements and done some roofing, brick work and windows with friends and family over the years. I have had my insurance policy since I started renting an apartment in may of 2006. Stayed with the same company. Just upgraded the policy to a house when I bought it in December. When I upgraded the policy they said they were giving me the additional water damage and flooding package which the way it was explained to me is supposed to cover water damage over a period of time. The adjuster said she would be calling me on Wednesday to confirm the claim was 100% denied. Missed 2 days of work but luckily my Boss is an awesome guy and he let me work from home for the past 2 days so I didn't miss any pay. I am starting to question why you buy house insruance now. I do know why you buy it and the insurance company's look out for their bottom line. TY for all of your help guys and girls if any responded. I guess this just allowed me to vent and make sure I hadn't missed something that someone would ahve done if they were in my shoes.

[Wild Weasel]

Ah... so this slow leak was from a disconnected drain and not from outside. This would explain why the inspector didn't find moisture. I don't recall mine ever checking any ceilings. Mine checked the basement walls to ensure no moisture was coming in from outside.

If the beam isn't rotted to the point of being a structural problem, then drying and sealing it should be fine. Someone who knows what they're doing should be able to make that call for you. If this is the case, then hopefully the repair will be far less costly and you'll be ok.

As for the damage... if there's nothing visible below the tub on the ceiling of your basement (or whatever is directly below it) then it may well have gone completely unnoticed all this time and you could just be the unfortunate one to discover it.

In all honesty, I can't imagine why the insurance would cover it. This just isn't the sort of thing that insurance protects you from.

Good luck with the proceedings! For all the benefits that come with home ownership, unexpected costs sure aren't one of them.

[Noisy Crow]

A good contractor will give you at least a couple of options.

You could also do the work yourself... and I am sure there are at least a few people here who know how to work a hammer who would be willing to pitch in.

[GHANNAH86]

Well I have a friend that is a contractor coming over on Friday with some of his guys and they are going to inspect everything for me and see if they cana tleast get my shower backup and running and then they will come back later and fix everything else for me. It is still going to be a pretty penny buy at least I will get to learn quite a bit about home renovations again :) Once again thanks for the help TM3:bana

[ds2chan]

Well I have a friend that is a contractor coming over on Friday with some of his guys and they are going to inspect everything for me and see if they cana tleast get my shower backup and running and then they will come back later and fix everything else for me. It is still going to be a pretty penny buy at least I will get to learn quite a bit about home renovations again :) Once again thanks for the help TM3:bana

that's good to hear.. hopefully things will work out somehow..

maybe you should your friend's contact info here so that we can all contact him if we need to.. I'll be moving into a house soon and it's good to have a contractor that you can count on..

[Noisy Crow]

Don't forget about that new reno-rebate program the feds are supposed to be setting up...

http://www.hgtv.ca/articles/articledetails.aspx?ContentId=3155&cat=4&by=2

[GHANNAH86]

My Friend/Contractor is my real Estate Agent :bana The renovation rebate will be handy for sure.Luckily when you go into home depot they tell you all about that stuff:bana2

[ds2chan]

good to hear things are progressing now..

I'll be in contact if I ever need a contractor then..