Q: My husband and I own a rental property that was insured for $287,000. When the last tenant moved out, we spiffed it up and put it on the market for $249,000.
Recently, we got a call in the wee hours of the morning that the house was burning. The fire department determined it was arson, probably kids stuffing paper towels between the screen door and inner door and lit it on fire. The insurance adjuster is telling us it is not a total loss and they will give us $140,000 to rehab the house. Several fire reconstruction companies were waiting for us at the house to get our business, and they have been calling nonstop.
Should we hire our own adjuster to look at the cost of the damage and try to negotiate with the insurance company if it says that it will cost more to rebuild?
A: First, hire an independent insurance claims adjuster. While the insurance company’s adjuster may have given you a fair and decent bid, he or she works for the insurance carrier so you might always feel you were low-balled.
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How do you find an independent claims adjuster? Your telephone book or the Internet will list a number. Try to interview two or three just to make sure they know what they are doing and are truly independent. The problem is that some are hungry for business and often get to the fire before the fire department.
The second thing you should do is find a company that will do the reconstruction, so that you get an estimate of what the repairs will cost. That company does not necessarily have to be a fire-related company, but it certainly helps if it has experience working with insurance companies, especially yours.
You should also alert your lender. You may not realize it, but once you reach agreement with your insurance carrier, its check will be made payable to you and the lender. You will find that requirement in your deed of trust (the mortgage document).
So talk with your lender. It wants the house to be fixed up and returned to good condition, and may have some names of adjusters as well as construction companies it has worked with in the past.
Q: My boyfriend of 27 years died without a will. I had been living with him for over 26 years at our condo, which is only in his name. I didn’t realize there is no common law marriage in my state. He has four adult children who now inherit everything. There is a warehouse building, construction equipment and the condo, which includes belongings that he mostly paid for but that we decided on together from travels around the world.
The estate is in probate and the kids want to come into my home and take things. In addition to mourning very deeply, I am dealing with this stress. I don’t even know where I will live. They are coming from out of town to take things so that the estate is not overvalued for tax purposes, I’m told. I don’t think I will ever see these belongings again.
One of his kids said that I should not mention a lawyer or get anyone angry. What rights do I have? I don’t want to start a war, I just want everything to stay the way it is until I can think and get a grasp on living my life without him. They have keys; can they come and go as they wish?
A: Get a lawyer immediately. Clearly, at the very least, the children cannot just barge into the apartment without some advance notice to you. In most states, the personal representative of the estate (the executor) needs to be appointed to dispose of the real estate, although in some states, the property will automatically go to the heirs. You (or preferably your attorney) should contact the executor and discuss your situation. Perhaps an amicable compromise can be obtained.
But, and permit me to be a little blunt, your biggest mistake was that you did not have a partnership agreement. If you own property with anyone other than a spouse, please enter into a written partnership agreement spelling out who gets what if one wants out of the deal, who pays if one can’t pay, etc.
You also may have some rights under the landlord-tenant laws of your state.
Benny L. Kass is a practicing attorney in Washington and Maryland. No legal relationship is created by this column; [email protected].