Have A House Fire? Know The Steps Towards Restoring Your Home
Posted on: 4 August 2016
A house fire can be quite devastating. Even if the home doesn't burn down to the ground, the soot and smoke can still be enough to destroy everything inside it. Thankfully, home insurance can help take care of the financial aspect of the repairs for you. By knowing the process for restoring your home, you can be well prepared for what is ahead.
Contact Your Insurance Provider
Start by getting in touch with your insurance agent regarding your homeowner's insurance policy. They'll be able to verify what kind of coverage you have, and walk you through the process of getting your claim started.
Once your home has been verified as being safe to walk through, a representative from your insurance company will do a walk through with you to verify the extent of the damage. This will help guide you towards your next steps to repair your home.
Assess The Damage
The big question your insurance agent will need to find the answer to is if the home can be repaired or if rebuilding is the best option. They'll have the home professionally assessed for what the value of the home would have been before the fire. After taking a look at the type of construction and materials used, they will know what your home is worth.
A repair contractor will then take a look at your home to determine how much money it will cost to repair the damage. This could involve removing and replacing the existing structure of the home and replacing it with comparable materials, as well as smoke remediation costs to remove the smell that has permeated any part of the structure that will remain. So if you had plaster walls instead of drywall, your home will be repaired with the more expensive plaster because that is what you had before the fire.
If the assessed value of the home is less than the cost of repairs, then it will be more financially viable to tear down the home and build from scratch. If the estimate for repairs is cheaper than the assessed value of the home, then repairing the home will be the recommended option.
Select A Contractor
When deciding to repair a home, it's important that you find a contractor that has expertise in fire damage restoration. It is the best way to ensure that the smell of smoke is not in the home after it is fixed.
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