Post #97,833
4/22/03 9:48:11 AM
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The saga continues: the hidden cost of buying an old house
is, apparently, homeowner's insurance.
I'm paying 109K for the house. To have it built from scratch using new materials would cost 235K or thereabouts. However, every homeowner insurance company I've talked to so far say that they have to ensure the house so that it can be rebuilt completely from original materials -- which puts the coverage on the homeowner's insurance at just under FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS.
Cripes. Fortunately, because the purchase price is on the low end of what we were looking for when we were buying, We can afford a 1500/year homeowner's insurance premium tacked on our mortgage payment. Still... criminy.
According to family in the real estate biz, this is a common problem for people who are fond of old houses.
"We are all born originals -- why is it so many of us die copies?"
- Edward Young
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Post #97,837
4/22/03 9:54:32 AM
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Gah.
Regards,
-scott anderson
"Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson..."
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Post #97,841
4/22/03 10:03:43 AM
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On the other hand...
... I can brag to people that my house is worth five hundred thousand dollars. :) I mean, it's technically not true, but I work in the computer industry, so that doesn't bother me too much. :D
"We are all born originals -- why is it so many of us die copies?"
- Edward Young
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Post #97,842
4/22/03 10:16:31 AM
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Re: On the other hand...
One big disadvantage of living in old established areas, which you will soon discover, is property tax. Be ready :(
-drl
Light is heavy:
R{} = (2R/W)T - (1/2W){D-2,D-2}W
Heavy is light:
(D-3)(RF[] + 5/4 g) = 0
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Post #97,857
4/22/03 10:58:46 AM
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We already know about the property tax
and it is a bit on the hefty side, but that's already been factored in to our budget. What we're not sure about is the local school tax -- since the governor of New York has seen fit to royally screw over every school and unversity in his state, we expect that to be hiked up quite a bit.
"We are all born originals -- why is it so many of us die copies?"
- Edward Young
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Post #97,866
4/22/03 11:06:34 AM
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You're a NYker now
..so what you say is
FREAK-in' PaTAki!
-drl
Light is heavy:
R{} = (2R/W)T - (1/2W){D-2,D-2}W
Heavy is light:
(D-3)(RF[] + 5/4 g) = 0
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Post #98,133
4/23/03 6:53:04 AM
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LOL
Everybody seems to hate this guy. How the hell did he get elected?
"We are all born originals -- why is it so many of us die copies?"
- Edward Young
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Post #97,854
4/22/03 10:48:06 AM
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Does your house
Run on Windows BC1? Those hidden costs are what <pun>code</pun> inspectors hit you with after you are moved in and committed. Did they get you for the "'Access' Keys and Licenses 2" yet? Does the often touted/proverbial "running Hot and Cold" pipes work? What about the Garbage Collection? Is the Backend 3 and Frontend 4 well maintained? I am guessing you got a gaurantee to be "Bug-free", make sure you hold them to it! How is the Firewall looking? The backdoors are closed? Hoping that IP 5 stack and escalation are very robust and built well, too. You also made sure there aren't any foundation "class" cracks right? I hope the CEMENT is a good solid base for the BC1 house. You might want to look at some alternatives that are emmensely popular lately and quite robust too. Linole ux is an eXellent™ way to put older hardware, like your house, back into (re)production. It amazing what a few amateur and unorganized people 6 can do when they put there heart into it. There are others, also. I can make sure your cielings are all "apache"d up, giving you a very nice looking site, it handles many different treatments as well. PHP 7 very effective at increasing the beauty of the site as well, so you might want to think about using it. I wish you luck in you long-term projects.
1 Bloated Cost 2 Key to the house and occupation permit 3 The yard behind the house 4 The yard/driveway in front of the house 5 Internal Progressive 6 As taken from a recent lawsuit against IBM. 7 a Pache-ing Has Proven b4k4^2
| [link|mailto:curley95@attbi.com|greg] - IT Grand-Master for President | | [link|http://www.iwethey.org/ed_curry/|REMEMBER ED CURRY!] | | [link|http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,3959,857673,00.asp|2004, the year Microsoft develops for Linux ] | Heimatland Geheime Staatspolizei reminds:
The DHS [link|http://www.whitehouse.gov/pcipb/cyberspace_strategy.pdf|Cyberer-Stratergery]. The ultimate in Cyber. |
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Post #97,860
4/22/03 11:01:28 AM
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*groan*
LOL. You are evil.
"We are all born originals -- why is it so many of us die copies?"
- Edward Young
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Post #97,891
4/22/03 12:36:04 PM
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Wait a minute...
I thought that the homeower's insurance was to ensure that the mortgage company got their money in the event of a "disaster", not to cover the rebuilding of the house.
Unless you are opting to have rebuild coverage.
Different by state?
[link|mailto:jbrabeck@attbi.com|Joe]
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Post #97,930
4/22/03 3:37:34 PM
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That's a different insurance.
There's insurance that allows the mortgage company to recoup their losses, and then there's the insurance that allows you to rebuild. And then there's PMI, which is insurance the mortgage company can take out in case you default on your loans. We have no PMI, but the mortgage company (our credit union) automatically took out their own insurance (already factored into the loan) and require us to have our own.
I think that's how it's working out, anyway. The one the mortgage company took out is called "Hazard Insurance."
"We are all born originals -- why is it so many of us die copies?"
- Edward Young
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Post #97,977
4/22/03 4:52:13 PM
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From the sound of it...
YOu'll end up with double coverage on the house. If house is destroyed, who gets the money? If the mortgage company is escrowing your insurance, then they shouldn't be makeing you get additional coverage. Imagine if you get your coverage from the same company, and you both try to file a claim for the same "damage".
Something doesn't sound right to me. In my home ownership I've had both the insurance escrowed and self paid. In both cases, I chose the insurance company, and when necessary filed claims and had repairs made. If the house were destroyed (hasn't happened), I think, the mortgage company would get a check for the coverage amount and refund me anything in excess of the balance due. Or I'd get the check and still be liable for the mortgage. Don't remember which way it is written.
[link|mailto:jbrabeck@attbi.com|Joe]
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Post #98,132
4/23/03 6:51:21 AM
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I was wrong.
The hazard insurance and the insurance I'm getting are the same thing. I don't understand why I'm being asked to cover so much, the only response I'm getting in return is that "old houses are different." My brother's father-in-law works in real estate and he says this happens a lot.
"We are all born originals -- why is it so many of us die copies?"
- Edward Young
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Post #98,053
4/22/03 9:09:19 PM
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Sounds fishy
Do you really want to rebuild? Or do you just want to end up with your equity so you can move on?
I'd be happy with the bank's plus my equity covered so we can all just walk away (after selling the lot or getting a new mortgage to construct a new house at prevailing rates - which would leave you right where you are now - having a house with a mortgage.
"Packed like lemmings into shiny metal boxes.
Contestants in a suicidal race."
- Synchronicity II - The Police
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Post #98,103
4/22/03 11:02:23 PM
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I'm thirding this
Check with an independent authority on this. [link|http://www.nolo.com/|Nolo Press] is a good source, likewise a friend in real estate or contracting / construction. --\r\n
Karsten M. Self [link|mailto:kmself@ix.netcom.com|kmself@ix.netcom.com]\r\n
[link|http://kmself.home.netcom.com/|http://kmself.home.netcom.com/]\r\n
What part of "gestalt" don't you understand?\r\n
[link|http://twiki.iwethey.org/twiki/bin/view/Main/|TWikIWETHEY] -- an experiment in collective intelligence. Stupidity. Whatever.\r\n
\r\n
Keep software free. Oppose the CBDTPA. Kill S.2048 dead.\r\n[link|http://www.eff.org/alerts/20020322_eff_cbdtpa_alert.html|http://www.eff.org/alerts/20020322_eff_cbdtpa_alert.html]\r\n
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Post #98,135
4/23/03 6:56:57 AM
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my brother's father-in-law is in real estate
and he says this happens to people who own older houses quite a lot.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel... the underwriters for USAA insisted that they send their own guys out to inspect the property, after we move in, to see if the've over-insured the house. If the light at the end of the tunnel is an oncoming train, then they decide "No, this house is worth MORE" and they raise our rates. On the other hand, they might say "No, this house is not worth 465K," and lower them.
Meanwhile, today I make one more call, to see if I can get Allstate to shed any light on this.
"We are all born originals -- why is it so many of us die copies?"
- Edward Young
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Post #98,105
4/22/03 11:04:00 PM
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call state farm other mainline folks
You might need replacement cost, same sq footage and rooms not rebuilding the same. Some folks want the black walnut replaced and get pissed at their insurers if they dont get it. Others are happy with vineer. Shop around.
thanx,
bill
will work for cash and other incentives [link|http://home.tampabay.rr.com/boxley/resume/Resume.html|skill set]
questions, help? [link|mailto:pappas@catholic.org|email pappas at catholic.org]
Carpe Dieu
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Post #98,131
4/23/03 6:49:51 AM
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State Farm gave me same spiel
damn their eyes. :)
Both USAA and State Farm flatly refuse to "under-insure" the house.
Me: But if I need to rebuild, I'm not going to have plaster walls. I'm going to have sheet rock walls, and PAINT IT.
Them: We know, but we have to insure it to the full value.
Me: But my mortgage company says the full value of the house, to rebuild new, is $235K.
Them: But the true cost to rebuild from original materials is much higher thant hat.
Me: ...
Them: Will you be paying by Visa or MasterCard?
I'm on the ropes here, because I have to provide homeowners insurance within 5 days of closing, and I have 3 days left before those 5 days are up.
"We are all born originals -- why is it so many of us die copies?"
- Edward Young
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