All Forum Posts by: Nick G.

I had an attic fire this April in a rental property (NJ) I own. The insurance company investigators determined a specific electrical cause (and were starting  to subbrogate) of the fire. Right at the completion of repairs, in August, there was another fire (perhaps electrical - there is stucco lath covering the house in contact) within a few feet of the first one at the attic eaves. Again this was investigated extensively by electrical engineers, fire investigators but no cause was found. Additionally it seems the cause of the April fire was misdiagnosed. So that's two fires with unknown causes, most likely the same cause. The insurance company settled for damages for the second fire and said "I can start repairs".

I do not want to proceed with repairs and risk (which seems quite possible) having another fire. Additionally the insurance company did not renew my policy.

Is the insurance company obligated to find and remedy the cause of a fire? Or to investigate further to find a cause? Just wondering what my options are.

I could sell "as-is" to a developer. 

Hello,

My insurance Co is not renewing the policy.

Background:

There was a fire on 7/27/2017 which was determined to be caused by cooking on the deck. After that fire the property was extensively rehabbed, including new roof, new plumbing, complete rewiring including service line. insurance rates were not affected and policy was renewed.

In April 2020 there was another fire (in the attic at eave) that was determined by investigating electrical engineers from Ins Co to be caused by an over-tight wire staple from the 2017 rehab. This claim was subrogated and lawyer is filing lawsuit against general contractor.

Right at the completion of the April restoration work there was there was another fire at the end of August. This was also in the attic at the eave about 4 foot from the April fire. This has been preliminary investigated by electrical engineers who said there was a short circuit on one of the interior house circuit(s) to the stucco (which is under the siding) lath/mesh. They are coming back with the electricians, contractor and company lawyer etc on later in October to investigate further in their presence. No doubt that will be subrogated too.

The property does not have a mortgage.

Any advice on obtaining new insurance? Is it worth appealing? Should I contact the State Div of Insurance for advice? Go through a broker?

I was studying there. I was there from 1993 to 95. After that so I moved to the East Coast. I'm originally from England and that was the first place in the US that I lived.

HI Devin,

I'm in Plainfield NJ and have 3 investment properties in this town.  Always looking to connect with other New Jersey investors.  I also used to live in Indianapolis

thanks for the replies. 

To clarify.  I transferred the property from my ownership to my llc as part of a loan based on the equity in the property. The lender required this for a commercial loan. My lawyer did the llc formation and all necessary title work.

In the following example: 

1) I bought a rental property in 2011 for $100,000 which has been fully rented since.

2) I transfered the property from myself to a single-member (myself) LLC in June 2017. The "sale" price was $1. The property was appraised at $150,000 at the time of LLC formation.

Determining depreciation before LLC formation was straight forward. How is this done for the LLC? Do I use the orriginal sale price that I, as an individual, bought it for? Sould depreciation for the property in the LLC start whan the property was transfered to the LLC?

Hi all,

I'm looking at a possible purchase of an unlisted wholesale deal.

My previous three purchases (foreclosures and short sales) were listed properties and done with a realtor.

I'm looking for pointers and advise on this.

Closing: use title agency? attorney?

I want any contract to be subject to a successful inspection (structural).

I'm in New Jersey.

Hi

I have a property in New Jersey that was badly damaged by fire and will be uninhabitable for several months. No one was injured.

It appears that the tenant was grilling on the back covered porch and storing small propane canisters nearby although they deny this. Witness accounts mention explosions from the back porch. It appears to me that the tenant was negligent in maintaining the house safely although the full fire investigation is not available.

Under NJ law the security deposit must be returned within 5 business days is displaced by fire. 

Any comments on this?

I'm in Union County and live and have rentals in Plainfield.  PM me if you are interested in chatting. 

@Jena Richards 

I have done 2 short sale purchases in NJ. The first went pretty smoothly but the second took about a year to close. Some banks are better than others. On my 2nd deal the bank was extremely unresponsive and slow. In the end we had to go high up in the bank management to get things done.