Fire next door...damage to my rental property.

[Lauren Ruppert]

Hello all!

I'm not sure where I need to post this, but here goes....  I have a rental property that is a row home.  The home next door had a fire and now there is damage to my property.  It looks like water/drywall and the roof.  I'm wondering how to proceed.   Of course we have insurance, but do I need to file a claim with my insurance? Or, do I try and find out who their insurance carrier is?   

[Jeremy VanDelinder]

Background: I flip fire-damaged houses and own a restoration company. Have dealt with this many times. 

 I am sorry you are dealing with this. 

Your carrier will try to get you to claim it from your neighbor's policy; your neighbor's adjuster will try to convince you to do it through your insurance company. There are pros and cons, both ways, but my recommendation is make a claim with your insurance carrier. This is called a "subrogate loss"

Hire a quality restoration company and trust them to do the work and bill it properly. Do not allow the insurance carrier to bring in "their guy" (preferred vendor). Sometimes preferred vendors are good; sometimes they just do the insurance company's bidding instead of looking out for the customer. 

Let me know if I can help by answering any questions.