Need Some Advice - House Fire in My Rental

[Shaun Palmer]

Hi there.  So I recently had a house fire in one of my rentals and I am looking for some advice as I have not been through this situation before.  I was hoping someone out there could provide some guidance and things to watch out for just so that I am covered.

At the end of the day, I want to get this fixed and back to being rented asap.  

To set the stage, here are a few key points:

Property:

• 2 story townhouse
• 2 bed / 2.5 bath
• Mostly carpet
• 18 month old (yep, its brand new)

Situation:

• Nobody was hurt to my understanding
• Tenant did not have rental insurance even though it was required in the lease per my property manager
• Tenant admitted, in writing, they caused the fire.
• Kitchen fire that burned the kitchen completely and I have smoke damage throughout.  The structure is intact and was put out prior to the place burning down. See photos below.
• Fire department kicked the front door in and put the fire out with a lot of water.  The kitchen and other parts of the house are damaged completely from the fire and other damage due to smoke.
• I am fully insured for this and am working with my insurance company as we speak

Questions I have that I am hoping you can help me with:

Tenant

• My tenant does not have insurance.  Anything I should be concerned about?  We have informed the tenant that they should look for another residence as this will take some time to fix. 
• What about their belongings (total loss from what I understand)?  I plan on providing them notice that they need to have anything out by XXX date so we can start renovations.

Construction

• I am in construction so I am well informed on construction means and methods as well as contractual documentation.  However, I have not completed disaster restoration work and I am mostly concerned about smoke damage.  I am working on getting quotes from GC's but is there something I should specifically be looking for them to do? (i.e. should the smoke be handled in a specific way in areas of the house where the fire did not touch)?  Clearly something will need to be completed in the entire house but is there a special way this gets treated for smoke that is different from usual sealing?
• Two of my biggest concerns are the HVAC and places where the fire did not touch but smoke did.  Should I be concerned about the high heat being sucked through the HVAC (Again the entire house is 18 months old).  How do walls get treated (full drywall removal or can the drywall be sealed and is this a good idea?)  
• I am working with disaster specialist only for this work as well

Insurance

• I have insurance and at this time, it is a matter of working through the process to get his fixed.  Is there anything I should be watching out for specifically?  
• Should I be asking for anything specific?

After Work Is Completed

• Is there anything that I should be looking for specifically to ensure the smoke damage is completely taken care of?  

If there is something I am missing, please let me know as I am looking for advice on how to work efficiently through this process.

Thanks in advance

Shaun