A loss for my wife's family.

[polkanut]

Today around 12:30pm I received a phone call that my wife's uncle's house was on fire. Fortunately for us, the house has been vacant since Jan. 2nd when we had to place Uncle Edmund in a nursing home. I picked up my wife from work and we drove out to the house, it's a total loss. I broke down and cried worse than my wife did. What makes it so hard is the fact that this farm was homesteaded by her great-grandparents. The house was built in 1903. We had been out there last Saturday to clean it out, and we brought all the family photo albums, birth certificates, and other family documents with us then. Thank God we did it then, rather than waiting until it was too late. As you can see from the video clip, it is a total loss. Also, this is the 4th house in this township to burn under suspicious circumstances in the last year. I hope it's not arson. A correction, in the video they mention that the house was abandoned, that is wrong, it was vacant instead.

http://www.wsaw.com/home/headlines/40742227.html

 

[toggleswitch2]

WOW sorry to hear that.

So many damn sickos running around freely...

 

[frontaloadotmy]

pn

sorry about the loss to your family ; a shame for something
to have survived so long and then just be gone. Glad though
that no body was hurt and you saved all of the records.

 

[sdlee]

How cool that the pictures and documents survived. In my family there was a devestating flood that wiped out most of my hometown ( ive mentioned it here before) THe day of that flood my parents were moving to a new house and in load number one to the new house just happened to be the family pictures, us boys bunk beds and my parents bed.That was the entire load..flash forward about six hours, those items were the only things we had left to our names.

Same flood, my grand parents trailor...my grandpaw had built a lean to for an extra bedroom and in the closet on the top shelf my grand ma had stored her family albums...When the flood hit the trailor went into a big fire a blew up ...the lean to went it seperate way and wound up wedged between a couple of motel units sitting at an angle. only a small four foot corner of the upper corner had remained dry.....it was that upper corner where the pictures were.

I now have all those pictures and I hope and pray no matter whatever happenes they have the same luck to not only survive but end up in the hands of a family member who cares as much as I do. I am very happy for you.

 

[polkanut]

I just got back from meeting with the insurance adjuster, and they will only pay a depreciated value on any contents in the building. Uncle Edmund sold the farm about 4yrs. ago but had reserved a life tenancy in the house. He then switched his coverage to renter's insurance. The property was sold last summer to a neighboring Mennonite family, and they weren't told that they were responsible for insuring the physical structures. So to make a long story short, only the "contents" of the house were insured. What a damn mess this is going to be.

 

[toggleswitch2]

wouda. coulda. shooda

Weren't told?

UHM they just bought the biggest purhcase most people will make in their lives, and they need to be TOLD to insure it?

Tell them:

PIENSA LO PAPI.
THINK ABOUT IT, MISTER

I had a boss who has a sign on his desk in GREEK AND IN GREEK LETTERS:

"SKEPSOU"
It's a reflexive word that means "(YOU)! THINK!"

 

[iheartmaytag]

I am sorry about the loss and the mess. It is good that you got the important things out of the house though.
Insurance companies are the devil. Their favorite word is "Unfortunately" Which translates to bend over you gonna get it now.

 

[polkanut]

From the conversation I had with the property owner today, I get the feeling that he thinks we should turn any insurance monies over to him for replacement of the building. I don't think that this is right. What do the rest of you think?

 

[iheartmaytag]

What do I think?

Property owner was repsonsible for the structure, renter (Uncle) was responsible for contents. Insurance is paying for the contents, property owner (here I get to say that word) Unfortunately is out if he didn't carry hazzard insurance on the structure.

 

[j2400]

I'm sorry to hear about this, but at least it's good that documents, etc were saved.

I agree with others here--the people who bought the property should have bought insurance for the structure.