I managed to come into a windfall of $6.64 from a class action against my bank! So I threw caution to the wind and made another donation @Czarcasm. T’was a bit more than the $6.64, but as I considered that a damned affront, I’ve stuck my thumb up the arse of my bank and deprived them of a few more dollars to go invest.
Go well Czar. Hope those kitties turn up! We lost one for two MONTHS a couple of years ago, and the stupid thing was only behind a neighbours fence FFS. Keep doing what you’re doing, leave food, water, and hopefully they’ll come back.
Just got a settlement letter from USAA, and I’m betting the fact that the amount of the settlement and the amount needed to pay off the mortgage just happen to be the same amount of money, leaving us with the GoFundMe money to find a place to rent.
@Czarcasm, I just returned to the SDMB after a long absence. My heart goes out to you and yours. Take gentle care of yourselves. Heading to GFM now and happy to help.
I thank you. I spent the day looking for a suitable place for us to live in (roof and floor and walls) and we have got a couple of possibilities. The GoFundMe allows us to pay for application fees/upcoming first/last/security deposits/reestablishment of services/cheap-ass furniture/clothes/Oscar Meyer Wieners etc.
There such a thing as mortgage payoff insurance. If that’s what the OP had, then there’s no coincidence at all; it’s by design.
Or the letter is imprecise or misunderstood and the total loss settlement is X, of which the mortgage holder gets the first Y dollars, and the OP gets X-Y which is probably a positive number. And the ketter is informing the OP about Y, so they can quit worrying about making mortgage payments on a wrecked house.
USAA is a sufficiently reputable company that hanky panky is about #245 on my personal list of reasons for that amount.
Could’ve been insured for actual cash value not replacement cost. Now what happens with the burned out hulk of a house? If not cleared away the lot may be cleared by city and a lien on the property eventually go to tax sale auction?
I’d read your policy, and if you think you’re being scammed, hire a lawyer. My house is calculated at replacement cost, with the sq ft multiplied by the cost per sq foot to build new. In fact, mine is insured for more than the average cost per sq ft, because to rebuild my 200 year old house, which has wooden floors, walls, ceilings and exterior, 10" ceilings, etc. would be more costly than your average house. I meet with my insurance guy every few years to review the policy, since costs change so much.
I second this. In addition, most policies have ALE, providing money for alternative living expenses while your house is being rebuilt (or you claim is being adjusted). It’s frequently not sufficient, but it’s something.
What she said, most definitely. We have friends that tell us “We have a used…” and we have to tell them that, at the moment, what we occupy is a small place in a Residence Inn.
Having relatives who live in hurricane country, I know there are companies that specialize in buying up houses that have been destroyed by natural disasters. What they’re really buying is the property lot. They will tear down whatever remains of the house and build a new house on the site.
The insurance payment is just for the house and the contents, not the value of the lot. My house is worth less than the lot it sits on, and my neighbors who moved in recently almost certainly owe more on the mortgage than they’d get in insurance for a total loss of the structure and contents. And also, they could rebuild for what they’d get in a fair insurance settlement, even though it’s less than the value of the mortgage.
I have no idea of Czarcasm’s situation, but i thought they lived in a place with high land values, and if so, it’s quite possible Czarcasm’s insurable losses are close to the amount owed on the mortgage. If i were the claims adjuster, and i calculated a settlement value just barely under the amount of the mortgage, I’d probably bump the offer up to the mortgage amount, because that would reduce the odds of ill-will, and possible suits or bad press.
An update. Thank you so very much! Because of money raised, we were finally able to get an apartment and pay a year’s lease. The insurance company will rent the furnishings through mid-December, giving us time to eventually replace it with our own stuff. We can’t replace our poor cats, and we can’t replace all those items and the memories they brought with them…but the kindness and generosity shown by y’all helps fill that hole a great deal. Paperwork is to be signed tomorrow, and we move in on the 18th of this month.
Again-thank you.