All Forum Posts by: Shane H.

You should be good with State Farm -- Do you have the date of loss (date the storm happened)?

They'll want this when filing a claim -- as stated if your mother had the policy for years try and get as close as you can to when it happened, they can sort out the rest -- if your mother was not with State Farm very long - make darn sure you have the exact date nailed down before you turn it in.

Find out who your mothers agent is - they should be more than willing to walk you through the rest.  Probably the easiest way for them to pay the  claim right away is if you just ask for them to make the check payable to your mother/lien holder (credit union) unless you have a contractor picked out already.

You're also likely going to have to deal with something called recoverable depreciation depending on the type of policy she had.  Again, Ohio may not allow recoverable depreciation, however most states do per my understanding.  Dont worry when the check you get is far less than it will take to repair it -- If she had a "replacement" cost policy you'll get the rest later -- if you pick a contractor who has dealt with ins claims/companies before they can walk you through everything.

Find the agent - they can help you with the rest -- You shouldnt need the policy # is you have your mothers social sec # -- they can look it up that way, her address etc. Just be prepared to fax in a death cert, or POA/executor of the estate to the claims adjuster if you were not listed on the policy. If you have a probate atty they should be help you with this as well.

Find that agent - nail down the date of loss and they should be able to help you with the rest.

If you have an idea when the storm occurred, you can try searching the NOAA website.  Normally it is pretty accurate as far as reports of high winds/hail and flooding.   This should help you  nail down an exact date as this will be important, some ins companies place more importance on this than others.  If your mother has had continuous coverage with the same company for years and minimal prior claims history, the exact date probably is not too important if the adjuster is looking at the big picture.  If she's had coverage for a minimal amount of time, nailing the exact date of the loss is extremely important.

http://www.spc.noaa.gov/climo/online/

Also, if you go ahead and get the property in your name and take a policy out in your name with another company at a later date, it will not affect your ability to go back to the carrier that was insuring the house at the time of the loss.  Just keep in mind, all that matters is what was in place coverage wise and ownership wise at the time the incident happened.  Not 6 mos from then, a year from then etc.

@Paul Farley

Paul please ignore KMarie's advice.  I've worked as a claims adjuster for 11 years and in regards to property/casualty claims if a company looks for "every" reason to not pay a claim they would get sued and lose for "bad faith"  in the court room.  Health Insurance companies on the other hand have a different reputation.  I know what KMarie typed out seems to be the word on the street, however this simply could not be further from the truth.  More often than not, when someone is saying this they've had a negative experience due to customer service, or something was not covered due to language in their policy they did not understand.  The policy always will spell out what is or is not covered.  There really is not much grey area at all.

That being said, if your mother had a reputable company insuring her home, their job as the claims adjuster is to look and find coverage if there is an active policy in place.  If they do not do this they are not doing their job.

Each state has its own rules/regulations as to the statue of limitations on filing a claim, in KS depending on the situation, it's typically 2 years, I'd guess Ohio is similar, but I do not know.  If you look up your states insurance commission, they will probably have a number you can call and they should be able to provide you the specifics as to the statute of limitations on filing a storm claim.   Having a policy holder pass away is nothing new to the insurance company and they will walk you through what you need to do in order to present a claim and in order for them to deal with you in regards to your  mothers policy.

#1 which is obvious - find out who the insurance carrier is.  I'm sure you can find paperwork somewhere or at least get a copy of the escrow statement from the CU that says where the bank has been sending payment for the insurance premium.  

If your mother had an agent, probably best to go in their office - they should be able to walk you through the process.

If she had some sort of no name or small company, they will probably make it a bit tougher on you, however you'll still be entitled to file a claim. As has been alluded to, death certificates or obituary will likely be needed, and then executor of estate or a POA will be needed. They will more than likely issue payment to your mother, or to her estate and then it will be up to you to have the appropriate paperwork on your end in order to cash the draft or proceed with finding a contractor to perform repairs etc.

First and foremost - find out to the ins carrier is, if there is an agent, get in there and talk to them.  

Secondly - at this point you would not be able to take out an insurance policy of your own as you do not "own" the property -- There are ways around this and it would take too much time to type out or explain.  But the basic premise is if you are going to insure something, you either need to be the legal owner, or the legal owner needs to be on the insurance policy with you.  You'd also be complicating matters as it appears there is already an active policy in place, and that would need to be canceled first etc.

Find the agent -- they should be able to help you.  I'd be glad to assist with any other questions to the best of my ability.  

Sorry for your loss.

Wasnt necessarily talking about an add on the bank would sell you - per my understanding it appears the bank is looking at whether or not you have life insurance in place as part of their underwriting.  Would I be correct in this assumption?

@John Mattox

You are correct John -- Regus is already here -- they have a location near K96 and Rock rd in the office park there N of the Hwy and will be putting in their marque location at the old Union Station presently being rehabbed by Occidental Company Downtown.  (Think 2 buildings to the east of Union Station)

I have a different model in mind vs what Regus offers -- I would think of there model as a Cadillac high end hotel if you will with all the amenities, what I have in mind is more like a dorm room or hostel type setting, would offer less amenities, etc...maybe to borrow off of Brandon Turner's term House Hacking -- call it Office Hacking.

Most people in the Wichita area have failed to make offices appealing and put little money into the property - I think if you make the place more appealing and modern (easy enough to do with some simple changes to most places) that alone would have you stand out.  I'd call a lot of these office owners slum lords if you will - no updating, and still looks you're stepping into a 70's or 80's time warp, bathrooms look embarrassing, etc.  I'd shoot for B+ office space -- nothing like that really exists here - either B- or C/D office space or A to A+.  Even what they call A/A+ space boggles my mind sometimes, the quality of the finishes and craftsmanship is sub-par sometimes IMO when you really look up close.

Feel free to move this topic to another forum if it fits best there.  However given the correlation to commercial RE thought here was best.

I've noticed on some of the financial products I've been pursuing/commercial loan apps, and personal financial statements, all of them have asked about life insurance.

For any in the commercial lending realm or those who have filled out more commercial lending applications/financial statements than they care to remember, do you feel or know if the life insurance section carries much weight on  your application/ability to obtain the loan?

I'm presently employed in a W2 job and carry the max insurance I have the ability to purchase, however since the birth of my son and analyzing our financial future a bit more have figured this is something I need to focus on at the moment.  

Was meeting with a financial advisor today as I want to move money out of my employers 401k (I have a unique plan in which the employer puts lots of money in if we have good years and can move lots of it out into what/where I choose) into something a bit more diversified than what is offered and naturally the topic of life ins was brought up.  The wealth advisor seemed to have a good point that banks like to see the value of the life insurance policy/type of policy as assignable so if you pass while covered, it can meet your obligations, then the remaining is left for family/spouse children.

Any truth in this, and could this potentially sway commercial lending apps one way or the other?

Trying to get a good idea on what type of products (more than likely term) and how much to purchase.  

@Samia Bingham

Samia - Would you be able to elaborate any more on the present setup you are involved in/have the option to purchase.

This type of investment interests me quite a bit as locally it seems to be a niche that could be filled, I'm sure plenty of other locales this works in as well besides established markets.

What I'm interested in, are rents paid (if you know the ranges possibly) roughly the space someone gets for the rent, what perks they get -- is there coffee, virtual receptionist -- how is the office decorated/set up - any furniture supplied by landlord, can you pay online, terms of leases, bathroom set up -- do the tenants have to pay for web access or utilities, housekeeping, any fights/spats between neighbors, what type of tenants make up the mix.

Really any insight from your experience would very much be appreciated.   Please keep us posted in another thread if you follow through with this venture.  Would certainly follow along.

Following this thread.  Interested in the same.

You might check Hutch as well.  Just as easy for someone to shoot over on the highway from there as Wichita.

I've got no experience with PM's other than hearing through the grapevine some stories of bad management.  Neighbors of mine that have lived next door for 3 or 4 years so far have been managed by Wichita Rentals and do not have good things to say.  I've also stayed in touch with the property owner since he moved away and he does not have good things to say either.  As a result when his contract is up will either have me manage or switch to another company.  Would probably steer clear or buyer beware of them.

Maybe Weigand Omega would be someone to check into.  I'd think they would operate there.

@Bill P.

Question for you -- a couple posts above you stated Buildium does not have the full fledged accounting features you'd like....You definitely have a different perspective since you are an accountant by Trade and I've had to learn on the fly managing my own books.  Could you elaborate more?

I've used Buildium for 5 years now and love it -- (can find many of my posts to this effect...ha) 

Love the one stop shop aspect - financial reports, online payments, ease of advertising vacancies, paying owners online, online application, basic website, background checks, automatically pulling financial transactions down etc.

Curious what your perspective is.