My Rental Condo in Malibu burned down in the fire today

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My Rental Condo in Malibu burned down in the fire today

Douglas Stewart
Los Angeles · Member since 2018 · 14 posts · 1 vote

Not sure if this is where to post this.  My grandparent house burned down too, and not sure about my parents house.  Everyone is ok and that's the main thing.  I was just watching the news (I'm in NYC) and saw my condo burning.  I have no idea what happens now.  A few questions:

1. I am assuming I have fire insurance through my HOA, does this sound right? My sister has all the documentation at my parents' house (again not sure if this is still standing) so I can't check it.

2.  Assuming I do have insurance, are we going to rebuild the condo essentially as it was?

3. Will my mortgage remain the same? I do not have much spare cash to cover the mortgage ($1400/month), HOA dues were $600/month and rental income was $2800. Is there anyway to get the payments suspended on it until it is rebuilt?

Thank you!

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  • Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
    7y

    I couldn't answer any of these without knowing what coverage is provided by your HOA and what your insurance policy covers.

    I know an HOA that only covers the exterior and common areas, but only due to natural decay. If it burns down in a fire, each individual insurance policy pays to renovate.

    How do they rebuild? I don't know that, either. It's an interesting question and another reason why I'm not a fan of buying adjoining properties that depend on each other. You can't rebuild the third floor unit until the owners of the 1st and 2nd floor rebuild theirs. What if an owner refuses to pay the deductible? Let their policy lapse?

    If you have proper Landlord insurance, they will pay you for the loss of rent income. I hope you didn't take any shortcuts.

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  • Douglas Stewart
    OP
    Los Angeles · Member since 2018 · 14 posts · 1 vote
    7y

    Thank you for the reply @Nathan Gesner.  I am looking at my rental condo unitowner's policy and it appears I have Building Property coverage for $95,400.  This would be to rebuild I assume?  I also appear to have Loss of Rents, which is also a relief.  We will see what happens. 

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  • Londell Reedman
    Pinole, CA · Member since 2017 · 49 posts · 15 votes
    7y

    with my condo HOA only over the outside if the building, and your responsible for having coverage for the walls/inside.

    I think you will still have to pay mortgage based that its going to be a rebuild and not a loss

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