I received a call from a victim of a fire referred to me by an attorney friend last Friday. She called to see if I could help her recover from her fire that caused $240K damage to her home but discovered she only had a $135K maximum payout in her insurance policy.
I explained to her that her insurance company had no duty to pay her more coverage than what she purchased, and I asked her how she came to be underinsured by so much money. Through her tears, she told me that this was her first home, and her real estate agent handled the insurance for her at closing. She said she knew nothing about home insurance and let the agent handle it for her.
Suspecting that her real estate agent was an idiot, I asked her how much she paid for the house. She confirmed my suspicions when she said she paid $135K for the house. In other words, the real estate agent didn’t insure the house … she insured the bank loan so the close would go through and she could get paid.
Interestingly, thanks to the hapless real estate agent … the client will be homeless, and the bank will be stuck with a partially paid note ($95K is being paid up front and $40K will be paid when the restoration work is finished) and a house needing $240K in repairs. The only one who came out ahead in this arrangement was the real estate agent. At least for now, anyway. I advised the homeowner to consult with the attorney about suing her.
I thought about this thread while I was speaking to this poor girl who was running out of money paying her hotel bill, had an uninhabitable home, and was $100K shy of repairing it. Real estate agents have no business advising their clients on home insurance. Warn your customers.
I was asked 3 days ago to certify the condition of a roof for an insurance company. As the conversation went forward the insurance company wanted a certified roof inspector to which I am. Common sense. Become a Certified Roof Inspector
mauger
(Mike Auger, CMI - RI 43685, RMC-142, RMB-096)
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I had a similar thing given to me for the appraisal a few years back. We trade liability for money basically. If they want to hire and pay you for your professional opinion then they can sign an agreement and enter into a business deal with you. But I would not just sign it for them like that.
You’re certified by InterNachi… Great, but that certification means nothing to most insurance companies… Basically they’re asking if you’ll promise the roof is good, and if its not, you’ll be held liable.
I understand what you are trying to say but, Brandon, how is that different than a home inspection?
For one we are Certified Professional Inspectors. Certified being the underlying theme.
One builds up their degrees of Certifications as you move along in your carrier.
The moral of the story being, don’t inspect systems or components you are uncomfortable with. Don’t sign anything without the advice of your attorney.
Right, and as there are no standards for certification in MN, my attorney advised me not to “certify” anything regardless of my “certification” with InterNachi. My Insurance company said the exact same thing. The members on this forum almost unanimously say the exact same thing as well. I’m comfortable inspecting a roof, I’m comfortable doing my job, which is to identify defects on the day of the inspection that are visible in a non-invasive manner.