Insurance thread: Your house just got destroyed by a....

[Rightwinger]

Lightning bolt, bulldozer, freak train derailment, tornado, hailstorm, act of plague, whatever....

Your insurance company cuts you a huge check for the structure, what do you do?

A: Hand the check over to a contractor and tell them to build you an exact same house with similar/upgraded stuff for the entire amount.
B: Contract out the work yourself and save $30,000
C: Say "To hell with it", selll the property and buy a Trans Am.
D: Other

Discuss!

 

[BriGy86]

screw the trans am, you buy yourself one of these

http://www.thedodgegarage.com/video/paul_van_12.zip

for those of you who don't have real player or don't want to download it

its a 1989 Dodge Caravan 2.5 Turbo

12.65 @ 105 mph, RT. 66 Raceway, 6-6-2000

 

[jadinolf]

A. Get a contractor to build you the house of your dreams which can be covered by the check. Pocket the difference if there is any.

 

[Rent]

Originally posted by: BriGy86
screw the trans am, you buy yourself one of these

http://www.thedodgegarage.com/video/paul_van_12.zip

for those of you who don't have real player or don't want to download it

its a 1989 Dodge Caravan 2.5 Turbo

12.65 @ 105 mph, RT. 66 Raceway, 6-6-2000

A T/A could pull a 12.65 with $1000 in mods and not break afterwards. Its trap speed wouldn't suck either.

 

[meltdown75]

since you worded your post in poll form, might as well fire up a poll...

i'd build essentially the same house, with upgrades / improvements or money-saving elements based on experience with the original design.

 

[her209]

Hire strippers.

 

[EyeMWing]

Originally posted by: BriGy86
screw the trans am, you buy yourself one of these

http://www.thedodgegarage.com/video/paul_van_12.zip

for those of you who don't have real player or don't want to download it

its a 1989 Dodge Caravan 2.5 Turbo

12.65 @ 105 mph, RT. 66 Raceway, 6-6-2000

I already own one of those. Tailored my buildup around that guy's, and I'm SLIGHTLY faster. These things are essentially old Mitsu eclipses in the shape of a shoebox with FAR more room to install ridiculous pieces of hardware and far more removable weight.

 

[EyeMWing]

Anyway, as for what I'd do - Either rebuild the same place and layout (contracting everything myself) and ensure that the corners are actually RIGHT ANGLES and everything is STRAIGHT AND LEVEL (There isn't a single fvcking straight line or level floor in the original construction here, in fact, the original kitchen floor dips almost half a foot in one corner. We built it up to level when we refinished the room); or, depending on the value of the dirt, sell it and move further out into the boonies. I hate people.

 

[SVT Cobra]

"no poll no service"

 

[sharkeeper]

Give it to mortgage company after all it's theirs unless you outright own.

 

[her209]

Originally posted by: Kvaerner Masa
Give it to mortgage company after all it's theirs unless you outright own.

??? Right...

 

[sharkeeper]

Call your homeowners insurance agent and see what they say.

Same way with car. If there is a lien, you do not get money.

That is why banks require hazard insurance. If a person could afford not to they would not mortgage. (well in most cases)

This is why it is absolutely crazy to be upside down in any note especially on goods that depreciate! Fortunately housing is not one of them but most people owe too much IMO.

 

[DrPizza]

Originally posted by: Kvaerner Masa
Call your homeowners insurance agent and see what they say.

Same way with car. If there is a lien, you do not get money.

That is why banks require hazard insurance. If a person could afford not to they would not mortgage. (well in most cases)

This is why it is absolutely crazy to be upside down in any note especially on goods that depreciate! Fortunately housing is not one of them but most people owe too much IMO.

misconception... housing *usually* doesn't depreciate.

1. Mortgage would, of course, be paid off first.
2. I'd use the remainder of the money to outright purchase a relatively cheap property to use as my primary residence. Since it's going to be my primary residence, I get a better interest rate.
3. Turn right around, take out a home equity on the 2nd place. Then, use that money to rebuild the home that was destroyed. If I build it myself, I'd probably have enough money available.
edit: 3b: purchase a cheap (but clean) trailer to move onto my property to actually live in while I build the new house.
4. Rent out the property that I just purchased for more than the mortgage and insurance combined...
5. Profit!

 

[Rightwinger]

So you'd all just fix the house with no money left over with a few bonuses instead of everything fixed similar with $30k left over.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: Rightwinger
So you'd all just fix the house with no money left over with a few bonuses instead of everything fixed similar with $30k left over.

If you could get things "fixed", that implies the house wasn't "destroyed" to begin with...

I'd say it depends on how nice the house was, and the location. If it was awesome, fix it, use the $30k to put a nice down payment on a Lotus Elise. If it was "meh", this might be a good chance to move...

 

[cavemanmoron]

Originally posted by: Son of a N00b
"no poll no service"