What to do with vandalized owner occupied property

[Peggy Joselin-Davidson]

What to do with a property that’s been vandalized by a family member. I can’t afford to repair it. Two family home in Massachusetts. Running a Mid term rental on first floor, which is furnished. Midterm rental guests witnessed property damage. Damage done to second floor and all around the house. May not be able to have mid term rental guests for a while due to need for cleanup. Would like to know if any creative investing advice, or is selling the best bet. If selling best option which route would provide most money?

[Adam Martin]

I would think that vandalism is covered under most insurance policies and you would only be out your deductible.  Depending on the policy you may also get loss of use but the longer you wait the harder I would imagine the claim would be.  I do assume they are going to have to file a police report and you may or may not have an issue filing against family but I wouldn’t hesitate to if they purposefully damaged my property and business.  I generally avoid claims but if it is bad enough to think about selling or is larger than your cash reserves this is exactly what insurance is for.