Rental Property Investor · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2013 · 281 posts · 133 votes
One of my properties was in a fire, and It was a grease fire started in the kitchen. No one was hurt, but there was a lot of pain for both the tenant and myself. The property is a 3 bed room 1 bath duplex in Milwaukee. I will create a diary here to help others and will answer any question that I can. According to one statistic there is a fire every 88 second in the US. So, I’m sure there are landlords or investor who will have this issue.
Rental Property Investor · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2013 · 281 posts · 133 votes
7y
If you did not know the City will have the Electric company remove your electric meters and put locks on natural gas meters after a fire. The only way to get them back on is to pass a series of inspections. My breakers were not up to code even though they were Grand fathered in, so I had to replace them. Also, any electrical device that was touched by water or smoke had to be replaced. The Fire also shorted the board in the furnace so it was replaced as well.
Rental Property Investor · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2013 · 281 posts · 133 votes
7y
Since the cabinet have a 3 to 4 week turn around, I measured and ordered them from Home Depot. The cleaning was brutal. The method that worked best was soaking the walls with a TSP mixture and warm water using a spray bottle. Then scrubbing followed by rinsing with clean warm water.
Killz Original took care of what the TSP did not and the smoke smell is 90% gone. I forgot to wear a mask and the primer almost killzed me. I'm joking (poorly), but It is very strong so wear a mask!
Rental Property Investor · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2013 · 281 posts · 133 votes
7y
The Insurance company was pretty easy the adjuster came out soon after the fire. I have to review my notes, but they cut multiple checks some to cover lost rent and personal items which were made out to me directly. Then they cut a check in the beginning for a percentage of the repairs maybe 30% of total cost to repair, but it was made out to me and the bank holding the mortgage. So I could not cash any of the repair checks until after everything was done, and then the bank sent out another inspector to approve the work. So yes I carried the cost of repairs until the end.