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My in-laws had a fire very much like yours, about five years ago. The garage was completely destroyed; the house had minor damage in one room, water in some areas and smoke damage throughout. They lost a car. They had a large dog. (So sorry for the loss of your dog).
Where their situation was different was that the fire was caused by a speeding DUI driver losing control and running into the garage. So from the get-go, they knew they would not have to pay anything as the driver was responsible for all the damage.
They stayed with a neighbor for the first one or two nights, then went to an extended stay hotel which allowed dogs (have you looked for one around you?) They were there for a month, then a friend of a friend who was planning to sell his beautiful house in a gated senior community told them they could live there as long as necessary (which turned out to be nine months). So by all means ask around, maybe a friend knows a friend...
Start right now to make a list of everything that was destroyed or damaged, to the best of your knowledge. And if you can, list or, better, take photos/video of everything that is in the house, because it will have to be removed by a fire restoration company and you want to make sure it all comes back.
One thing about rebuilding is that there is a whole range between just fixing things back to where they were before, and taking advantage of the opportunity to remodel/improve the house while it is empty anyway. My inlaws put in new flooring, one new window they had always wanted, removed a second door in a room and closed the wall, changed the fireplace, etc. None of this was necessary. It made the job take longer and they had to pay for this work instead of having it covered by insurance, but it was a lot easier to do because they weren't living there. But these are decisions to make after you have determined what is covered by insurance and what it is all going to cost.
Wishing you all the best. This is a long road but you will get through it.
DH an I woke up at about 9 AM today and discovered a fire in our garage. Our two dogs were out there; one, an English mastiff, Junior, survived. Unfortunately, our elderly, frail presa canario did not. Neither DH nor I was injured.
The response of our fire department was remarkable. They were able to confine most of the damage to the garage, which has been reduced to a pile of black debris. The rest of the house does have some heat damage and a lot of water and, of course, smoke. My car was not in the garage but close to it. It is now nothing but a metal skeleton. DH was able to move his vehicle and it is undamaged.
We are (well) insured with USAA and their response has been fantastic. They sent someone to board the house up right away, and I have been in contact with their adjuster and someone who will help us find a place to live. We are spending the night at DH's office. I will be able to get a rental car until I can replace mine.
The problem with a place to live is finding a landlord who will have a yard for a mastiff. Condos and townhouses are pretty much out. We will be checking into the possibility of a long term boarding situation for him.
Do any of you have any suggestions for avoiding pitfalls with rebuilding? We have had great service from USAA with other issues in the past and will go with one of their recommended contractors.
I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your beloved companion.
I can't offer any advice about a rebuild but I wish you the best of luck. I'm sure you will get plenty of advice here.
All the sadness aside, my recommendations, even if taken with a grain of salt, are as follows:
a. Whatever reconstruction will take place, the insurance company's construction crews aren’t always are the best, since the insurance company will choose the most cost-effective way to accomplish the work at the lowest cost to the company. In this case, it is a good idea to have the work assessed by an independent construction engineer, even you have to pay out of your pocket. It is similar to getting a second opinion when going to the doctor, but this will be your choice to make. The insurance company is looking for itself, not for you, regardless of how nice they seem to be.
b. The insurance company will give you a set of documents for you to write how much you paid for every item (computer, pot, pan, whatever...) you lost to the fire, and somewhere near this number, the cost of the item (replacement) if you go to the store today to buy an equal one today. This is where you have to be careful, since even after great depreciation of the old item, the replacement in the store you visit will get you "sticker shocks."
c. Make sure that you remember everything that you owned, not matter what. Talk to family members and see if they still have photographs that were taken in your house years or months prior, and look at furniture or whatever is in the background. Take notice of anything that will remind you if the item you lost in the fire.
That's why it is imperative to record everything you have in the house. The easiest way to do this is by using a video recorder (camcorder, video camera, etc.) to records everything in your house, then make an extra copy and store it at another location, or even your insurance company. You can also do the same by creating a database, or even writing it on a notebook, and recording every item you have (model, serial numbers, cost, date of purchase, and address of purchase).
The last paragraph above is something I didn't do before a house fire we (wife and I) had in 2011, but since the fire was isolated to the kitchen, I took a bunch of photos of everything that was left (damaged or not), before the insurance company stored everything we owned at a remote location. Our insurance company agent is very nice, and when we had the house fire she had her company rent a house for us to live at for a couple of months or more, all paid for by the insurance company. The landlord asked for an extra fee for the dog
d. The last pointer is as follows: during the reconstruction process there will be assessment values for the new floors, cabinets, walls, roofs, etc. Each room will be assessed. But lest say that the old kitchen countertops were formica-covered or something else; the cost for replacing the counters with a new formica one will be shown (the contractor tells the insurance company how much the new counter, plus labor will cost). At this point you can decide if you want to improve the looks of the new formica counter with one made of granite (for example). Then you consult with a granite counter-maker and have him or her figure the cost of a granite counter. The added cost (parts and labor) comes out of your pocket, since the insurance company is paying only for the cost of a formica counter.
The insurance company pays for the reconstruction or restoration of your house and belongings to their former state, not for improvements. The improvements over the former state comes out of your pocket. After the house fire we had in 2011 we had granite counters installed in the kitchen and bathrooms, and ceramic (plus other) tiles on the kitchen, entry area, and one of the bathrooms. This "out of pocket" money wasn't very high, and the made the areas involved quite pleasant-looking.
Don't forget to go to the store and check the cost of every replacement item before you write the number on the form the insurance company will give to you. A simple example: a MacBook Pro laptop that I had purchase in 2008 was replaced in 2011 by the insurance company. Back in 2008 the MacBook cost around $1,100.00, but by 2011 the same MacBook cost around $1,300.00. The replacement cost was higher than what it cost in 2008. And don't forget every piece of clothing you lost, specially garments made of wool, leather, and such, or even custom made. Some companies will put your wool and other garments in the washer...you can figure the rest. Don't forget that even the foods you had in the refrigerator, freezer, and storage areas in your house cost a lot of money.
I apologize in advance for my front page newspaper article
We had a fire the USAA contractor did a perfect job. Everything looks exactly like it was. We did some upgrades and made a few changes since house had to be rebuilt. USAA was absolutely wonderful. Depending on your coverage we were able to rent a house with a yard for the dogs. You will be responsible for the deposit, but USAA pays the rent for one year. USAA went above and beyond for us I have no complaints best insurance ever!
Look for places close enough to your house that you can check on it daily.
When a tornado destroyed the house of a neighbor in B'ham, they rented my rental house, which literally overlooked theirs. They then got to comfortably watch the GC and make sure nobody was coming in and taking their "stuff." Talk about ideal!
Another possibility, although it is the wrong season, is to rent an RV or trailer and park it ON your property if you are allowed. The mastiff can then stay where he is familiar, life goes on much as normal but in a more condensed space.
If you have concerns at all about theft, rent a storage unit for the most valuable / easily fenced items.
I say buy an RV. There are always good deals on older ones and you can sell it when you can move back into the house.
Meanwhile, you can keep track of contractors coming and going and your dog is home.
How absolutely horrible. That's one of my worst nightmares. I'm so glad you and your husband are OK, but the loss of your dog is just too sad. My condolences to you on your loss.
When my uncle lost a house (the entire house) in a forest fire he decided not to rebuild. I remember that it took months to do the inventory for the insurance company - remember, it was an entire house - and all the extended family members pitched in with photos of family heirlooms and at family gatherings at that house. I never thought of doing a video inventory of my garage but that's probably a good idea going forward.
Do you have any family members or friends who can keep Junior until life settles down? My uncle had two dogs who survived the fire and one elderly one who did not. Family members took care of the survivors for the short term.
There was a poster on C-D who wrote multiple posts about his experience rebuilding after a fire. Wish I could remember his name but I'm drawing a blank. Hopefully he'll see your post and step up.
Best of luck to you. I hope the whole process goes smoothly and quickly for you.
The problem with Junior is his size: about 270 pounds. He also cannot be trusted inside by himself. He tore up the walls and woodwork and some furniture that was on a sunporch. That is why the dogs were living in the garage and brought inside when they could be supervised.
The garage was attached to the house and most of the fire damage to the house is the part next to the garage: laundry room, master bath, master bedroom.
The rest is smoke and water, especially water.
Sorry about your uncle's pup. I can certainly empathize.
The one we lost was an escape artist. She was often corralled by one of our neighbors, who cried when she found out that Happy did not make it.
I’m also a USAA member- and yes, that service aspect is still good. You can use whoever you like for the rebuild- sometimes the suggested contractors are not the best. It’s just ones that have a “working relationship”.
The adjuster will use a software program called Xactimate. It is a calculating software that determines materials and labor. It is “programmed” for certain areas based on zip code and other “industry protocols”. For a garage, it should be somewhat straightforward- but all the incidental casualty can be “grey” depending on the adjuster. I’d probably ask how up to date the system is due to current supply chain and labor issues- otherwise, be prepared to do some brow-beating to cover costs.
What most people miss is contents. And if your garage is like 75% of the country you probably have/had a lot of “STUFF” that is now gone.
I have no idea what the Rome area has in the way of GC’s, but I’m sure there are several. Talk to friends, neighbors, work peeps, family members in the area who have had remodeling/building done. Would they recommend who they hired? Maybe one of them will be the same as suggested by USAA adjuster. Do damn good and deep due diligence before signing a contract. This may seem like a small/medium job that could be handled in the matter of a couple/three months- but don’t get your hopes up! Everybody is busy, short handed, and generally lack supplies to complete jobs in a timely matter. Ordering some materials may take months to get.
Think of this “project” as a short-term relationship between you and the GC (your assigned adjuster is your arbitrator- but I sometimes wonder in who’s corner are they actually in), if you don’t get the “warm&fuzzies”, keep looking. Communication is a really big key- and I don’t just mean the GC to you. You have to be communitive also. Ask questions, relay concerns and wishes. If you see something you don’t understand- ask! See something that doesn’t look right, is wrong, or just doesn’t seem right- say something. Get an explanation that you understand- if you don’t understand, say so. Hopefully another explanation will clear the air.
I know there maybe a push to settle for less expensive, or more readily available items just to get the job done- resist as much as possible (remember, insurance is to replace “like-for-like”). Once done, you’ll have no recourse to change later.
As far as the other questions, I’m probably not the one to ask because I have not been in that situation. All I can tell you is I’ve heard good stories, and bad. But, with no first-hand knowledge let’s just call it “hearsay”.
Sorry for your loss; you will get through it. Life may have skipped a beat, but it does go on. And this maynot be the easiest thing to get through- but the more you know, the “more better” the experience!
The USAA adjuster and I have already had a discussion about upgrades. He will be at the house on Monday.
The water and smoke damage is considerable. USAA has classified it as a "large" loss. I suspect six months to get back in would be optimistic, depending on material availability.
The stuff in the garage (and the attic over it) was mostly junk. There was a small chest freezer (empty; it needed cleaning), a metal work bench, a tall A frame ladder, a power washer, a moving dolly, and various lawn chemicals and painting supplies.
The laundry room and master bath will need to be rebuilt. Hard to determine how much the master bedroom will need. Other rooms will need new sheetrock at a minimum.
The gentleman who remodeled DH's office about four years ago has offered his help. He did a superb job but is no longer doing construction. He has done insurance adjusting in the past, too. We will ask him to go over the documents with us and check on the rebuilding periodically.
I would recommend that you make 100% sure you understand exactly what your policy covers and to what extent. You'll be surprised how many people have come up short after a casualty because the terminology was not what they thought it meant.
We had a homeowner in out development that found that out when they discovered their policy with all the fancy words and terms ended up paying to rebuild the damage portion but not to the same like standard that was before the loss. The maximum of the policy was not enough to cover all the quality details needed and it ended up being more builder grade to get everything done. Even their attorney who ended up getting just a few extra thousands out of the insurance company, basically told them they were underinsured where it counted. There were also issues with the contents as some items required a rider that they didn't get because they assumed it's based only on all value.
Many of their issues arose just because they didn't understand the actual terms and conditions of their policy so they had to make lots of decisions they didn't want to make just so they didn't run out of insurance money or end up with their original Nordstrom's exterior finishes with a Dollar Tree interior.
USAA does have a good reputation for handling claims but they are not without similar "surprises" over policy limits as non-affinity companies have. So make sure you fully understand exactly what they are covering and to what extend/quality from the start.
We have replacement coverage, not actual cash value. USAA will pay to return the house to its previous condition. Any improvements will be on us.
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He also cannot be trusted inside by himself. He tore up the walls and woodwork and some furniture that was on a sunporch. That is why the dogs were living in the garage and brought inside when they could be supervised.
