Q. When our renter gave us his 30 day notice he paid the months rent. he was inform he would be charged for cleanup of cigarette smoke damage if it wasn't taken care of by them. the cost would be deducted from their cleaning deposit. We got 3 estimates of the damage before the left. They were moving out of town. They left early and we did not receive the stop payment until they were gone. The clean up and the 1/2 months rent will probably exceed the deposit. Legally I need to give them an itemized statement of costs however with the stop payment on the check where do i stand. thanks Jean

A. If they put a stop on the check and you were charged a returned check fee as a result, you are more than welcome to include that amount in your deductions. You need to add up the cost of the cleaning/repairs and the last month's rent they skipped out on and send him an itemized list. If the total cost exceeds the security deposit, you can take them to court to recover it, but you should try settling out of court first by including this in the itemization letter. Inform them that you are witholding the entire security deposit for unpaid rent and cleaning/damages, and you will be expecting payment from them in X days for the excess charges. Advise them you will be forced to take legal action if you do not receive payment, although you will have to decide for yourself if this is worth it. The fact that they left early is irrelevant; they still owe you last month's rent in full, regardless of the day they actually moved out.

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Q. Okay, so my tenants burned a good portion of my house down. Now I have to deal with the claims adjuster and this is a first for me. I feel like he is not being fair. For example, he says "both upper and lower cabinets have damage but I think we will change out the doors un the upper and fully replace the lower" WTH...seriously? They are both damaged and you only want to replace half? How am I supposed to eventually sell a house with mismatched cabinets? Other little things as well such as "we'll scrape where paint bubbled, repair the wood damage without actually replacing it". Seriously? Then the entire house has smoke damage, the walls are charcoal grey/black, and from the pictures I can clearly see water was sprayed on the walls. He says instead of replacing the drywall they will clean them up. I ask what about the insulation in back of the drywall or mold issues and he says "it's okay because there shouldn't be any holes in the wall". OMG, I'm at a loss right now on what to say because I don't want to say the wrong thing. Any suggestions? I really can't go through and have a house that is mismatched, stinks, and hard to resell because he's "been an adjuster for over 20 years" as he puts it. To him I'm just a number. BTW the cleanup crew went through the house (a company they recommended using) and they said from their expertise the entire house needs gutted and it's about an 80% loss. Big difference from what my claims adjuster is saying

A. Most policies say that the insurance company does not owe you an exact decorative match. So, the adjuster does not have to replace all the cabinets so they match. That argument will get you no where. Once you get the adjusters estimate, have your repair contractor meet you at the house. Let him review the estimate and the damages. If there are repairs that he disagrees with - ask him to call the adjuster and work it out with him. A good contractor is willing to meet the adjuster at the home and walk through it together. A good adjuster is happy to walk through the home with the contractor and discuss the damage. That way, they can get on the same page about what repairs are needed. Your best bet is to get the adjuster and repair contractor together and let them work it out. Drywall can sometimes be cleaned....sometimes it can't. If the nails have "popped" in the dry wall then that will need to be replaced. It's heat damaged. If the nails have not popped then it probably can be cleaned/sealed/painted. We can't tell you if it's a gut job or not since we can't see it.

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Q. IM NOT SURE HOW TO SUMMARIZE THIS ! my teacher will fail me and im not very good in english! PLEASE HELP! Police and fire officials are investigating the cause of a blaze that killed a woman on Saturday night and sent a 3-year-old girl to hospital in serious condition. Police were called to a five-storey apartment building on Rosemount Ave. north of Lawrence Ave. around 11:40 p.m. Toronto Fire Services said the blaze started in the living room of a unit on the fifth floor. The victims, who are believed to be mother and daughter, were both found in the apartment. The mother was pronounced dead at the scene and the child rushed to hospital. Officials have not released the name of the victim, but said she is a woman in her 40s. “She was amazing. She had a golden heart and (was) a good tenant,” said Aishe Barhani, wife of the building’s superintendent. “She was a wonderful lady . . . she was quiet and gentle, smiling to everybody.” Residents were evacuated from the building and watched as flames shot out of a window on the fifth floor. Ed Stekar woke up just before midnight to what sounded like a loud explosion or bang. “I thought it was fireworks,” he said. Then the building’s fire alarm went off and Stekar made his way outside with the rest of the tenants. “I saw smoke and flames shooting out the window on the fifth floor,” Stekar said. “They took her out right there,” said tenant Denis Kent of the victim, pointing toward the front entrance of the building. “They were performing CPR in the lobby.” Kent said the woman was taken away by ambulance. No other people were in the apartment at the time and the fire did not spread to neighbouring units. “Right now the cause is under investigation,” said Jeff Minten, an investigator with the Ontario Fire Marshal’s office. “We have two investigators in there right now, and that’s what they’ll be digging through the debris trying to determine.” Investigators are trying to figure out whether there was a working fire alarm in the apartment where the woman and toddler lived. Officials said there are no sprinklers in the apartment complex, but the blaze triggered the building’s alarm system. Residents on the first four floors were allowed back inside their apartments on Sunday, but the fifth floor was closed off for the investigation and cleanup. Lorna Grey, who lives in a unit near the source of the fire, said she and her sister had to wait in the apartment for firefighters to retrieve them and escort them out of the building. “It was quite scary,” said Grey, who dropped by the building briefly on Sunday to pick up a few belongings. The fire caused approximately $100,000 in damage, according to Toronto Fire Services.

A. If you fail, then you should take responsibility for that. Cheating by getting someone else to do your homework for you is the wrong path.

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Q. Last week my washer malfunctioned and flooded my condominium floor. The floor, trim, and painting will be covered by my homeowners insurance company. However, an 18" tall portion of drywall was removed all along the perimeter of the damaged area by the floor restoration services company (cleanup/drying was requested and paid for by my insurance company). New drywall installation isn't covered by my homeowners policy, because coverage starts at the finish layer (paint in this case). My condominium association manager said that since the damage was caused by my washer and not a broken pipe, it is my responsibility to repair and the condo assoc. insurance will not cover it. Is it really my personal responsibility in this case? What is your opinion on this situation?

A.

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Q. Here's my story: I bought an amplifier to put in my car for $650 off or ebay (retail: $1800) and the wiring kit for it ($110). I'm in high school, and i have an auto tech class. Now, i don't know much about installing audio equipment in my car. But my classmates all said they could install it everything for me. I asked my teacher and classmates if they are 100% sure that they can install it for me, otherwise i would take it to get it professionally installed. Everybody said they guaranteed they will get it to work, and the teacher said he sees no reasons why we wouldn't be able to get it to work. So, everybody went to work. After a while, they discovered that they couldn't get it sucessfully installed, so they left it "half-way" installed. I then decided to take it to a professional car audio shop. One of the workers simply looked at the install my classmates did and said "they obviously didn't know what the !*@# they were doing." So, i set an appointment to get it professionally... ...installed with the shop. So as soon as the got back in my car to leave the audio shop, i started my car, and my car started smoking inside and underneath the hood. I mean A LOT of smoke. Then one of my amp wires leading from my car battery to the INSIDE of my car caught on fire. I quickly ran and got the audio professional to get rid of the fire. Upon examining, the two of us discovered that the fire was a result of the sloppy installation my classmates did because they pierced on of the wires. If the fire wasn't put on in time, my whole battery and car would have exploded with me inside of it. The only resulting damage was that the carpet in my car is burned, my $650 amp is blown and useless, and my $110 are also useless. Now, i realize that i didn't sign any contracts which greatly lowers my chances, but do u think i could sue and win anything at all for such a sloppy install from my classmates? i could have been seriously injured u guys didn't let me finish the story yet before you started answering...now read it... so even though the install was sloppy to the point where it was fatal, i still couldn't sue? it wasn't an "experiement". they've done these types of installs many times before succesfully. that's why they said before that they were absolutely sure they could get it working. but i guess the equipment i was more advanced than they were used to

A. First Question: Can you sue? Yes. Implied question: Will you win? Um... You might be able to get negligence, but I doubt it. You agreed to let a high school class try to install your amp (not one of your greatest moments, I'm guessing). You tried to get a deal cheap, and you got burned (or at least your car did). Next time, take it to the shop in the first place.

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Q. Ok, here is what happened. My fiancé and I rent an apartment from my fiancé’s dad. My fiancé has renters insurance (Had not added me yet, I had my own before I moved in). His Dad has insurance on the building as well, 4 units. Well, my fiancé was heating cooking oil on the stove to make fries. I already know it was a dumb thing, and if I had known he was doing that, I would have turned it off. Well, we were in and out BBQing, and next thing we know…..our smoke alarms are going off. We come running in, and our kitchen is in flames! My bf got to the fire extinguisher (also part of our renters insurance policy), and got the fire out. We had a lot of damage from that short minute. Long story short, we were told our renters insurance would cover any items that were damaged (kitchen utensils, food, dishes, etc) It would also cover any cleaning, (dry cleaning, laundry from smoke, electronics to be cleaned, and our home cleaned pretty much). Then we were told his Dad’s insurance would cover the structure (the stove, microwave, counters, cupboards, lighting, paint, and carpet cleaning). His Dad’s insurance adjuster came out, and saw everything. Then said since my bf’s Dad is a contractor (he built the apartments), that they would pay him to do the work. Well, his Dad got a call yesterday from his insurance company poking around, and asking for contact info for my bf. It kinda sounds like they want to come after my bf for the damage? We are paying his Dad’s deductable and our own. I kinda thought the point of having insurance was so when accidents like this happen, it’s covered? Is his Dad’s insurance aloud to contact us in any way? What would they need to talk to us for? Can they sue us for the damage? I have never been through something like this and we are really stressing. Our insurance has already issued us a check for our stuff, and it’s been less than 2 weeks. GO ALLSTATE!  I’m not sure who his Dad is through? I am just really wondering if they can come after my fiancé for damages, when everyone had insurance? Any help please? Thank you!

A. Your bf's renters insurance covers his stuff. The landlord's insurance covers HIS stuff. The landlord's insurance company WILL go after the guy who caused the fire - your bf. Legally, they are entitled and obligated to. They're going to sue him for it. His renters insurance will likely pay out the judgement. Dumb of you guys to pay dad's deductible - because you'll have to pay it a SECOND time, to dad's insurance company, and then they'll write a check to dad for the deductible. So. Yes, landlord's insurer can contact anyone they feel is responsible for the damage, and can -and WILL - sue for reimbursement. I HOPE you don't get named in the suit, because YOU are not covered under bf's renters insurance.

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Q. I read a story from newsweek about how BP officials in conjunction w/ the Coast guard and police are preventing people from taking pictures of the spill's damage. I am not one to buy into conspiracy theories, but it's a little strange to me that our government is helping them cover this up. Coast guard officials are saying "it's BP's rules, not ours" How can BP be allowed to control the Coast Guard? Why is BP in charge of the cleanup? They should just be paying us to clean it up.... They caused this how can they be allowed to control the cleanup, would you allow a murderer to be in charge of their own crime scene? Here's the link to the Newsweek article http://www.newsweek.com/2010/05/26/the-missing-oil-spill-photos.html How is a British Company allowed to Control our government agencies? I have a feeling this spill is MUCH worse than we are being told. They only allow approved photographers to take pictures of what they decide and when. They are obviously not allowing us to see everything? Why and how can a foreign corporation do this to american citizens?

A. The clean up effort and damages done are a national security issue. Think about how a terrorist could use the clean up effort or damages to cause a larger and intentional problem. BP is in charge of the clean up because they're the responsible party and they're paying the bill. They are paying us -- they rented boats from local fishermen, they hired local captains to drive the rented boats, they hired laborers to deploy containment boom and pick up contaminated debris and tar balls from beaches and marshes, they hired safety companies to watch the laborers, they hired ambulance companies to ride on the laborers' boats, they rented marinas to serve as staging areas.

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Q. I live in a condo in CT. On Thursday, my neighbor upstairs used Drano to fix a clogged drain. He left his water running and him and 3 other adults left the house. While they were gone, the sink over flowed and flooded my condo (right below his). He said he did not have insurance and I was unable to get ahold of the condo association. I then called my insurance and asked them what to do. They told me to open a claim with them because it was critical to get the water cleaned up ASAP to minimize damage. (rule 1: never do anything your insurance company tells you to without first researching it). I opened my claim with them. They sent a clean up crew out. On Monday afternoon, my condo association got back to me saying they contacted the condo insurance and someone would be getting ahold of me (i am still waiting). In the mean time, my insurance sent out their adjuster to look at the damage today (Monday). She did everything in her power to devalue the damages. At first I could not understand why. She said the sheet rock did not have to be replaced (the clean up crew punched holes in it to increase air flow for drying). She said, once the baseboard is put over it noone will notice. I told her that was unacceptable and that I wanted my unit restored to its original condition prior to the accident. She said that was not going to happen. She basically said I would be compensated for 2 hours of my time (even though I so far have missed 1.5 days from work over this) and they would do a patch job. I finally realized why she was doing this. The condo insurance (primary insurance has a $10,000 deductable). As a result, my insurance says they wont be covering this damage. My insurance will. There is also apparently a condo bylaw that says my insurance company can not go after my upstairs neighbor for reimbursement. In other words, my upstairs neighbor negligently destroys my home as a result I am forced to file it with my insurance (my association insurance is out to lunch and the guy upstairs has no insurance... or so he says). My insurance refuses to restore it back to original condition and wants to do a half ass patch job. The accident goes on my insurance record and I was told by my insurance my rates will most likely increase because of this. Any advice? Apparently, I am getting royally screwed over here.

A. Look, on the standard policy, YOU PICK what coverage you get, when you buy the policy. You can't unilatirally upgrade, AFTER the claim. If there's no water damage, it's UNREASONABLE for you to expect to have brand new sheetrock put up - your insurance owes you the cost of repair or replace, whichever is LESS. YOUR unit coverage does NOT pay for your lost wages!! You have NO lost wages coverage, under a standard condo policy. The 2 hours of time, would be LABOR, for your direct cleanup time. They'll pay the contractor for their time, or if you do it yourself, you are entitled to be paid for cleanup time. Of COURSE your association won't cover this, it's under the deductible! And whether or not there's a BYLAW involved, stupidity is not the same thing as negligence. That won't stop you from suing your neighbor, but you'll probably not WIN that lawsuit, in court. My advice, is sell the condo. Water damage claims like this happen ALL THE TIME. So much so, that MOST master policies flat out won't cover them, AT ALL. If you don't want the hassle of dealing with possible damage to your unit from a neighbor, you'll have to buy a stand alone home. My other advice is, read your policy. You really need to understand what is covered. Waiting until AFTER claim time to find out that you have a deductible, and your damages are only $200 over your deductible, and you'll see a rate increase (and worse, another claim will likely get you NONRENEWED and you'll be uninsurable), is, well, you not reading your policy. So go read it.

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