House flooded (1 Viewer)

[Complex Kid]

But yes, he solid. Doing for LONG time

Had me worried for a minute.

The other guys we had come look at the house were all like "that's a big house but uhhhhh we can do it". When he came out he was just really confident and stayed for like an hour going in depth about what and how they would handle different issues if they came up. The other guys were in and out in 15 minutes and just kind of glossed over our questions. Then when you go to their youtube channel and they are not only lifting but moving these giant churches and three story buildings we just felt really comfortable with them.

 

[efil4stnias]

Had me worried for a minute.

The other guys we had come look at the house were all like "that's a big house but uhhhhh we can do it". When he came out he was just really confident and stayed for like an hour going in depth about what and how they would handle different issues if they came up. The other guys were in and out in 15 minutes and just kind of glossed over our questions. Then when you go to their youtube channel and they are not only lifting but moving these giant churches and three story buildings we just felt really comfortable with them.

LOL i was just about to tell you about the church.

So he from upper midwest ( iirc ) - obviously he came down post Katrina to do lifting. I was one of a very few agents who knew where to go/what to get etc but i was also quite stringent on clients experience - that video now on website( he had no website back then ) was on his phone. I had him fwd that video to me while at my desk in 2008 or so, to send to the underwriters to show , yeah he knows what he is doing lol

and also IIRC - he and another developed what is now known as the "unified jacking system" - a large control panel with gauges and buttons and knobs ( i aint that "technical" lol ) that control the hydraulic jacks in unison. Prior to that, it was a bunch of dudes all depressing levers at the sound of the boss. lolol.

old school

 

[dtc]

PLEASE listen.

My best friend of 40 years lived in Walker LA.

Called me one afternoon as i was driving home to ask about what he can do to lower his flood renewal. I said NOTHING. Pretend you didnt see it. Take the small increase in Escrow and move on.

HE didnt listen to me- removed his content coverage.

3 days later he had 4 ft of water in his home.


I know its a lot right now- home insurance costs up, flood rates up etc etc. But remember where you reside and that 1 inch of water in your home can be devastating.

I can't agree more.

As a person who has done over 1000 flood claims as expert for either the NFIP or homeowner, not having flood insurance is stupid. It's not something you don't need until it's already flooded. It's something you need now. It's generally cheap and the cost of repairing even an average house is expensive.

Most of the flood damaged houses we dealt with after Sally almost 3 years ago had less than 1 foot of water. The average price per sq ft was about 80 so if you're prepared to have a 3000 sq ft house cost you 240k instead of the 500 or 1500 for flood insurance, then fine. If you don't have 200k around to fix your flood damage then pay the insurance.

 

[dtc]

LOL i was just about to tell you about the church.

So he from upper midwest ( iirc ) - obviously he came down post Katrina to do lifting. I was one of a very few agents who knew where to go/what to get etc but i was also quite stringent on clients experience - that video now on website( he had no website back then ) was on his phone. I had him fwd that video to me while at my desk in 2008 or so, to send to the underwriters to show , yeah he knows what he is doing lol

and also IIRC - he and another developed what is now known as the "unified jacking system" - a large control panel with gauges and buttons and knobs ( i aint that "technical" lol ) that control the hydraulic jacks in unison. Prior to that, it was a bunch of dudes all depressing levers at the sound of the boss. lolol.

old school

You ever seen the bank that got moved in Saint Louis? I think that was Ducky Johnson. Also very good and been around. The've done a number for me including a 6 unit gulf front condo on Perdido Key after Ivan. It's a crazy thing to watch.

 

[efil4stnias]

I can't agree more.

As a person who has done over 1000 flood claims as expert for either the NFIP or homeowner, not having flood insurance is stupid. It's not something you don't need until it's already flooded. It's something you need now. It's generally cheap and the cost of repairing even an average house is expensive.

Most of the flood damaged houses we dealt with after Sally almost 3 years ago had less than 1 foot of water. The average price per sq ft was about 80 so if you're prepared to have a 3000 sq ft house cost you 240k instead of the 500 or 1500 for flood insurance, then fine. If you don't have 200k around to fix your flood damage then pay the insurance.

today , in SE/S LA, insurers will NOT allow less than $150/sq ft

And Flood renewals are now requesting RC Estimators either Xactimate or something similar. The days of "under-insuring" a structure to save $300 are disappearing fast.

 

[efil4stnias]

You ever seen the bank that got moved in Saint Louis? I think that was Ducky Johnson. Also very good and been around. The've done a number for me including a 6 unit gulf front condo on Perdido Key after Ivan. It's a crazy thing to watch.

no, but i can only imagine. The engineering to MOVE is a whole other animal than simply elevating/lifting ( not to say the engineering behind that isnt intense, but all you are doing is going straight up lol )

 

[dtc]

no, but i can only imagine. The engineering to MOVE is a whole other animal than simply elevating/lifting ( not to say the engineering behind that isnt intense, but all you are doing is going straight up lol )

They lifted the condo we did and moved it 50' towards the gulf so that we had room to build a new piling foundation. They then lifted it and put it back where it started only 4' higher.

We had already gutted and removed the siding from the building, but they were so smooth none of the old windows even broke. It made us look very cool!

 

[dtc]

today , in SE/S LA, insurers will NOT allow less than $150/sq ft

And Flood renewals are now requesting RC Estimators either Xactimate or something similar. The days of "under-insuring" a structure to save $300 are disappearing fast.

Definitely. I was talking about the repair costs for a 4' tearout with basic finishes.

NFIP won't pay to match so not even upper cabinets.

Another thing to be aware of with NFIP is that if you do manage to get yourself underinsured you would subject yourself to a coinsurance penalty and the claim paid at a discounted ACV rate instead of RCV with recoverable depreciation.

Saving that 3 or 400 could cost you tens of thousands.

 

[efil4stnias]

Another thing to be aware of with NFIP is that if you do manage to get yourself underinsured you would subject yourself to a coinsurance penalty and the claim paid at a discounted ACV rate instead of RCV with recoverable depreciation.

this is why they now require, not request, REQUIRE, an RCE.... to make sure you arent getting into a really bad coinsurance situation compounded by ACV payment ON TOP of coins penalty.

jig is up

 

[brandon8283]

PLEASE listen.

My best friend of 40 years lived in Walker LA.

Called me one afternoon as i was driving home to ask about what he can do to lower his flood renewal. I said NOTHING. Pretend you didnt see it. Take the small increase in Escrow and move on.

HE didnt listen to me- removed his content coverage.

3 days later he had 4 ft of water in his home.


I know its a lot right now- home insurance costs up, flood rates up etc etc. But remember where you reside and that 1 inch of water in your home can be devastating.

To be fair, my escrow increase has hardly been “small”.

Flood insurance is up, but also homeowners is up, and property taxes are up due to increases in property values.

My monthly mortgage payment is over $500 more than it was when I bought the house in 2018 for $160k.

Escrow now makes up more than a third of my payment on a 15-year mortgage.

I can afford the increase, but I imagine a lot of people are having to make tough decisions these days.

 

[efil4stnias]

To be fair, my escrow increase has hardly been “small”.

Flood insurance is up, but also homeowners is up, and property taxes are up due to increases in property values.

My monthly mortgage payment is over $500 more than it was when I bought the house in 2018 for $160k.

Escrow now makes up more than a third of my payment on a 15-year mortgage.

I can afford the increase, but I imagine a lot of people are having to make tough decisions these days.

I understand that a very large contingent is in exact same position with having to make extremely tough choices.

All I'm saying is look everywhere you can before making changes. If his home is on realively high ground, no history of flooding, then he has to assess his risk retention. If he is mortgaged, he may not have a choice. Idk

All I'm saying is I have seen it all too often...friends, clients etc. Remove, delete or lower coverage and bam. Bad bad situation.

 

[dtc]

To be fair, my escrow increase has hardly been “small”.

Flood insurance is up, but also homeowners is up, and property taxes are up due to increases in property values.

My monthly mortgage payment is over $500 more than it was when I bought the house in 2018 for $160k.

Escrow now makes up more than a third of my payment on a 15-year mortgage.

I can afford the increase, but I imagine a lot of people are having to make tough decisions these days.

The replacement cost of your home has increased drastically. That is a huge component of the cost of insurance.

Sucks to insure, but great for equity.

 

[efil4stnias]

The replacement cost of your home has increased drastically. That is a huge component of the cost of insurance.

Sucks to insure, but great for equity.

I think this gets overlooked....your "market value " is not the same as your "replacement cost value".

Folks should understand the difference to get a better understanding of what insurers are insuring.

RC is what it would cost you today to rebuild. I built in 2019 for $160/Sq ft. Today would cost me close to $200 to $220 to build exactly the same home I have now. If the market is flooded with inventory my market value may be lower, but that's what someone would pay to buy my home. To build is totally different.