All Forum Posts by: Tiffany Brewer

Thanks Joe!  We understand- just wanted to share that the first estimate was quite significant, somewhat in response to Eric's comment above.  USAA, in our prior experience, requires 2 estimates.

As an update, we got our first estimate back to fix the repairs.  It was $30k for all of the damages that they caused.  I also found out that they stole almost all of the towel racks and toilet paper dispensers, which only adds to our claim that it was vandalism.  We still haven't heard back from USAA following the adjuster's visit, so we're just waiting to hear back.

Thanks Eric and Matthew.  I appreciate your advice so much!

Cal., that's great advice!

We haven't had issues with them on other things, but I have NO idea how this will go.  I will keep your advice in mind - hoping for the best, and preparing for the worst.

Tamara, that's horrible.  We know they will have to get involved with part of it, but it remains to be seen what exactly they will cover.  

I have heard of other insurers paying for this type of damage, and I consider USAA to be the best of the best, so I just have to hope and pray.

Scott, it's in Greenville area (Simpsonville to be exact).  The sheriff's deputy that came out said he had never seen anything like that in that part of the county - lucky us.

My husband was in the Army previous to the time we lived in SC.

We are not sure if we are going to take a trip there or not.  My husband is planning on it, but he owns a business, and it's hard for him to get away, and we have a 7 month old.  We're going to talk to our saint of a neighbor tonight to see what the next steps are.

We have called USAA, and they sent out an independent assessor.  Originally, speaking with USAA, we were very positive, and they said it sounded like they would cover most of the damage.  Then the assessor said that 85% looked like "wear and tear".  This is when I really got worried.  He hasn't reported back to USAA yet, so we are waiting for that right now.

Thanks Barry - I really appreciate you saying that.

We were absolutely going to sue them until we found out that SC does not do wage garnishment.  They don't own anything of real value, so we likely wouldn't get anything out of them.  However, we do plan to take legal action, if only to make their lives miserable for the next 10 years that the judgement is good for.  

Unfortunately, our neighbor did not take pictures during his visits, nor did he do so after the eviction was filed.  USAA has been so good to us over the years, and I have to hope that they will continue to do so.  Also, I will have to hope that common sense prevails, and that, if they were seen throwing bricks into the pool, and urinated on the carpets, etc, it follows that some of the other things were vandalism as well.  

Thanks Joe.

He called the police, and they came out to take a statement, and make a report, but then said that they could not file the report, because the tenants were still living there at the time of the damage.  I am now working on calling the magistrate instead.

Regarding a lawsuit, we are also working on that, but money is (obviously) tight with our current situation.  We now know that SC consumer laws do not allow for wage garnishments, so the lawsuit will be primarily to give us warm fuzzies, rather than money, so it's a lower priority at this time...unless, of course, it helps our case with USAA?

My husband and I have one rental property in South Carolina - our previous home that we were unable to sell. We live in Tennessee, and it has been managed for the past 4 years by a neighbor/friend. The tenants (our second set of tenants) that were just evicted were there for 20 months. Our neighbor did regular check-ins, and made repairs as needed. His last check was in March, and things were in good shape. However, that is also the time that the wife moved out. They stopped paying in June, and we had them evicted by July 3rd. The place was completely trashed (some clear vandalism - neighbors saw the teenage son throwing concrete blocks into the pool, urinated on the floor, wrote on walls, and smeared feces on the wall). Other things are less clear - siding torn off of the house, all screens and blinds torn apart, all appliances ravaged, wood floors smashed. There are also things like a cockroach infestation (again, not present in March), cabinets needing to be replaced due to sink leakage that we were never told about. We have a lease and rental property insurance coverage.

What should we expect out of insurance? We have USAA Rental Property Insurance.  This obviously goes way beyond normal wear and tear, but some of it is also not technically vandalism.

Also, I did check on the renters with a previous landlord before they moved in, but didn't do a background check. However, I don't think we could have planned on this, because it seems to be directly related to the wife moving out. Either way, we are definitely beating ourselves up for not doing a more formal check.