Hailstorm just damaged my rental home. Now what?

Question

I have never dealt with a home insurance claim, construction companies or a damaged house so this is new to me. Though I have been a landlord for over 15 years, luck was on my side.

Over the weekend, there was a hailstorm in North Dallas and my house was damaged. One window was smashed with water coming in one room. Damaged exhaust on the roof, dented gutters and garage door, and marks on the asphalt shingles. Marks on the wooden fence.

I have boarded the window and had a flood remediation come out (cut out carpets, removed broken glass and baseboard, put in a fan and dehumidifier). So far, I have a claim number with the insurance company, but the handler hasn't called yet.

What are my next steps or tips for:

1. Dealing with a tenant with kids. Only the office was affected. He stated that his office equipment is damaged.

2. Dealing with the insurance company. So far, I have a claim number.

3. Dealing with roofers/contractors. They are swarming the area like crazy. One wanted me to give him the insurance claim number so he could deal with the insurance company directly.

I live out of state but I have seen damage of the house.

Bill B. · Answer

Your insurance won’t cover their loss and their lack of insurance is why they will be out of pocket for their losses. Your don’t pay for their loss because they “forgot” to buy insurance they said they would. Assuming the roof is currently leaking get the window fixed and then worry about what’s next.

Be CAREFUL of every friggin roofer on the planet. They know you're not paying, the insurance company is. So while you might only do a $500 repair out of pocket they'll tell you they can get the insurance company to pay $5,000 for a new roof. WAIT until you hear from the insurance company inspector get another quote. DO NOT sign any kind of POA or subrogation to the roofer to act on your behalf.

With a $7k deductible I would call a roofing company and ask what has to be repaired, I’m paying out of pocket but don’t want future water damage. You may suddenly get a $1,200 quote plus the window. Do you care about “marks on the fence or gutters”? Enough to pay out of pocket?

Dan Marl · Answer

Hi Bill, you are right. I think at this point the roofing companies are just trying to add things up (dented garage, gutters, marks on the shingles / fence). I'll wait until the adjuster from the insurance company comes out.

Erica Morrison · Answer

Hi Dan,I am an insurance agent, but I am in CA. I don't know who your carrier is or what their policies are but I can give you some general information.

1. Do you have an agent you can contact directly? If you go through a broker or a brick and mortar I would call your agent and get them involved. If not, you can call the 1-800 number and give them the claim number and ask to speak to the claims representative assigned to your account.

2. If the home is uninhabitable while the repairs are being done, there is typically coverage for "loss of rents". So if the tenant has to move out and find somewhere else to stay, the insurance policy will pay you for the lost rents during the time it takes to repair the home. If they have a renters policy, they can file a claim on their policy also to pay for loss of use which will help them with expenses to stay somewhere else while the house is being repaired.

3. It is very common for contractors to request a claim number. They will create an estimate for repairs and send it to the insurance company. The insurance company can either approve or negotiate the estimate. They may initially have a lower estimate than the contractor, I wouldn't stress, it is common to get supplemental claims from a contractor showing that more work needs to be done than originally estimated. If it is found that this is part of the claim, then the insurance company will issue additional funds.

4. As far as his office equipment, he should carry a policy (renters) or some sort of business policy to cover their items. Their personal belongings are not your responsibility.

It sounds like you have taken all the correct steps to mitigate the damage. I'm sorry you are dealing with this, and I hope you have someone at your insurance company that can help you navigate the claims process!

Jules Aton · Answer

Sorry that happened, sounds like a nasty storm.

Mike Dymski · Answer

Sounds like you will get a new roof, window, gutters, garage door, office, etc. for $7k.

Matthew Thornton · Answer

That's a tough situation... definitely why I use property management so they can handle it

Dan Marl · Answer

The house is only 3 years old..So it's not worth it for me lol

Dan Marl · Answer

Thank you so much Erica! This is new to me...

The roofer said even though there are only slight marks on the asphalt shingles, there might be damage underneath, which will cause leakage later.

As for the house, only one room was damage with water and glasses. My insurance is with State Farm and the deductible is about 7K. My tenant didn't have rental insurance even though it's on the lease. I didn't enforce it - yikes.

Hailstorm just damaged my rental home. Now what?

Hailstorm just damaged my rental home. Now what?

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