House Explosion in North Arlington

[Anonymous]

So hold on - this family is literally f#cked because their neighbor committed a crime?

What if they owe $500K on their mortgage? They now have half of a worthless property that will sell for peanuts.

If my neighbor sets his house on fire and in the process burns down my house (live in a townhouse), am I essentially screwed and my insurance won't cover ANYTHING?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[twitter]

Anonymous wrote:Here is the GoFundMe for the family in the duplex that lost everything. We go to the same elementary and I can vouch it’s legit. PTA is circulating it.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/yqu87u-draft

Don't they have renters insurance or home owners insurance to cover the loss of their possessions?

+1
$40k for your things in a tiny duplex seems like a lot of money to me.

FFS you're begrudging these people money that people donated to them because they ended up in a $hit situation they had no control over??? What's wrong with you?

Let's blow up your house and see how you feel. I'm sure $40K would be chump change in that situation.

+1

Imagine every piece of furniture you own (we don’t even have crazy expensive tastes, but 3 bedroom sets + office furniture + dining room table/chairs + a couple couches is easily 15k (built up over a period of years). Think of every article of clothing you own, every piece of decor, sports equipment and instruments, electronics, etc. Now imagine you are having to do extra takeout because you don’t have a kitchen. You may need to take time off work (maybe even unpaid). Perhaps they want to splurge on something a little nice like a trip to get away for Christmas since they don’t have a home to bring new toys to. Insurance will take a while to pay out and the land issues could be weird with trying to re-build.

I don’t begrudge these people their GoFundMe one bit. I’m sure they’d gladly trade the money for their normal lives/home again.

Seriously. This is a family of four and their home was literally flattened. 40k is nothing.

In the past two hours, they have reached over $50K and increased their goal to $100K.

And you think that's too much? We keep a home inventory list for insurance purposes and have $150k worth of furniture/clothing/houseware in our little 3-bedroom house.

Where did I say I thought it was too much? I didn't. I literally just said they increased the amount. What is wrong with you that you have to jump all over someone for stating a fact? Have a little empathy, people lost their home and ALL of their belongings. Their kids lost all their toys, maybe even their favorite stuffies. You are a real jerk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[twitter]

Anonymous wrote:Here is the GoFundMe for the family in the duplex that lost everything. We go to the same elementary and I can vouch it’s legit. PTA is circulating it.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/yqu87u-draft

Don't they have renters insurance or home owners insurance to cover the loss of their possessions?

+1
$40k for your things in a tiny duplex seems like a lot of money to me.

FFS you're begrudging these people money that people donated to them because they ended up in a $hit situation they had no control over??? What's wrong with you?

Let's blow up your house and see how you feel. I'm sure $40K would be chump change in that situation.

+1

Imagine every piece of furniture you own (we don’t even have crazy expensive tastes, but 3 bedroom sets + office furniture + dining room table/chairs + a couple couches is easily 15k (built up over a period of years). Think of every article of clothing you own, every piece of decor, sports equipment and instruments, electronics, etc. Now imagine you are having to do extra takeout because you don’t have a kitchen. You may need to take time off work (maybe even unpaid). Perhaps they want to splurge on something a little nice like a trip to get away for Christmas since they don’t have a home to bring new toys to. Insurance will take a while to pay out and the land issues could be weird with trying to re-build.

I don’t begrudge these people their GoFundMe one bit. I’m sure they’d gladly trade the money for their normal lives/home again.

Seriously. This is a family of four and their home was literally flattened. 40k is nothing.

Adding on - imagine losing everything. Every piece of clothing. Every memento. If they get a million dollars, it will not undo the loss.

I do not think it is too much, because they will need money right away.

Imagine if they are staying in a hotel? (they might be). That adds up quickly.

Even if friends or family put them up, they will have to rent a place soon. So I’m fine with anyone asking for $100k for a whole family to get by for months in this area.

On the bright side: the land is worth half a million or more. And they absolutely should hire a lawyer to sue the nut-jobs estate; his land is also valued over a half million.

And I think that poor family should get his land too.

But this will take months, if not years, for a pay out.

They are already looking for a rental, which is further complicated by the fact that they have a 50lb dog.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So hold on - this family is literally f#cked because their neighbor committed a crime?

What if they owe $500K on their mortgage? They now have half of a worthless property that will sell for peanuts.

If my neighbor sets his house on fire and in the process burns down my house (live in a townhouse), am I essentially screwed and my insurance won't cover ANYTHING?

I didn't think this was how insurance worked. Yes, if I burn down MY house in purpose I can't collect..but if I burn down my neighbors house that is different. Burning down my own house ans attempting to collect is insurance fraud. Burning down my neighbors house with them having no part in the crime is NOT insurance fraud and therfore I dont see why they can't collect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[twitter]

Anonymous wrote:Here is the GoFundMe for the family in the duplex that lost everything. We go to the same elementary and I can vouch it’s legit. PTA is circulating it.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/yqu87u-draft

Don't they have renters insurance or home owners insurance to cover the loss of their possessions?

+1
$40k for your things in a tiny duplex seems like a lot of money to me.

FFS you're begrudging these people money that people donated to them because they ended up in a $hit situation they had no control over??? What's wrong with you?

Let's blow up your house and see how you feel. I'm sure $40K would be chump change in that situation.

+1

Imagine every piece of furniture you own (we don’t even have crazy expensive tastes, but 3 bedroom sets + office furniture + dining room table/chairs + a couple couches is easily 15k (built up over a period of years). Think of every article of clothing you own, every piece of decor, sports equipment and instruments, electronics, etc. Now imagine you are having to do extra takeout because you don’t have a kitchen. You may need to take time off work (maybe even unpaid). Perhaps they want to splurge on something a little nice like a trip to get away for Christmas since they don’t have a home to bring new toys to. Insurance will take a while to pay out and the land issues could be weird with trying to re-build.

I don’t begrudge these people their GoFundMe one bit. I’m sure they’d gladly trade the money for their normal lives/home again.

Seriously. This is a family of four and their home was literally flattened. 40k is nothing.

In the past two hours, they have reached over $50K and increased their goal to $100K.

And you think that's too much? We keep a home inventory list for insurance purposes and have $150k worth of furniture/clothing/houseware in our little 3-bedroom house.

Where did I say I thought it was too much? I didn't. I literally just said they increased the amount. What is wrong with you that you have to jump all over someone for stating a fact? Have a little empathy, people lost their home and ALL of their belongings. Their kids lost all their toys, maybe even their favorite stuffies. You are a real jerk.

PP here. I was agreeing with you and saying that $100k is still probably not enough…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[twitter]

Anonymous wrote:Here is the GoFundMe for the family in the duplex that lost everything. We go to the same elementary and I can vouch it’s legit. PTA is circulating it.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/yqu87u-draft

Don't they have renters insurance or home owners insurance to cover the loss of their possessions?

+1
$40k for your things in a tiny duplex seems like a lot of money to me.

FFS you're begrudging these people money that people donated to them because they ended up in a $hit situation they had no control over??? What's wrong with you?

Let's blow up your house and see how you feel. I'm sure $40K would be chump change in that situation.

+1

Imagine every piece of furniture you own (we don’t even have crazy expensive tastes, but 3 bedroom sets + office furniture + dining room table/chairs + a couple couches is easily 15k (built up over a period of years). Think of every article of clothing you own, every piece of decor, sports equipment and instruments, electronics, etc. Now imagine you are having to do extra takeout because you don’t have a kitchen. You may need to take time off work (maybe even unpaid). Perhaps they want to splurge on something a little nice like a trip to get away for Christmas since they don’t have a home to bring new toys to. Insurance will take a while to pay out and the land issues could be weird with trying to re-build.

I don’t begrudge these people their GoFundMe one bit. I’m sure they’d gladly trade the money for their normal lives/home again.

Seriously. This is a family of four and their home was literally flattened. 40k is nothing.

Adding on - imagine losing everything. Every piece of clothing. Every memento. If they get a million dollars, it will not undo the loss.

I do not think it is too much, because they will need money right away.

Imagine if they are staying in a hotel? (they might be). That adds up quickly.

Even if friends or family put them up, they will have to rent a place soon. So I’m fine with anyone asking for $100k for a whole family to get by for months in this area.

On the bright side: the land is worth half a million or more. And they absolutely should hire a lawyer to sue the nut-jobs estate; his land is also valued over a half million.

And I think that poor family should get his land too.

But this will take months, if not years, for a pay out.

They are already looking for a rental, which is further complicated by the fact that they have a 50lb dog.

Thx. I did not know that detail.

I feel bad for this family. They are the epitome of “innocent victims” in todays society.

I might pitch in a few $$. None of this is their fault.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So hold on - this family is literally f#cked because their neighbor committed a crime?

What if they owe $500K on their mortgage? They now have half of a worthless property that will sell for peanuts.

If my neighbor sets his house on fire and in the process burns down my house (live in a townhouse), am I essentially screwed and my insurance won't cover ANYTHING?

I didn't think this was how insurance worked. Yes, if I burn down MY house in purpose I can't collect..but if I burn down my neighbors house that is different. Burning down my own house ans attempting to collect is insurance fraud. Burning down my neighbors house with them having no part in the crime is NOT insurance fraud and therfore I dont see why they can't collect.

Say you and your neighbor decide to burn down each other's houses. Now what?

[Anonymous]

I can't imagine what this family is dealing with. My DC is in the same age range as their daughters. The police evacuated them, meaning they probably didn't say "hey take an hour to pack some suitcases", they said COME WITH US NOW. They probably put a leash on the dog, grabbed their coats and ran.

We were talking this morning about the loss of everything. From clothes to furniture to simple things like silverware or books or irreplaceable things like wedding albums and baby books, baby's coming home outfits, their daughters' favorite stuffed animals and family heirlooms. They'll need some of that money for therapy on top of replacing everything in their lives.

The Go Fund Me is approaching $150K this morning, and even with insurance I bet that's not enough to fully rebuild their lives from scratch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[twitter]

Anonymous wrote:Here is the GoFundMe for the family in the duplex that lost everything. We go to the same elementary and I can vouch it’s legit. PTA is circulating it.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/yqu87u-draft

Don't they have renters insurance or home owners insurance to cover the loss of their possessions?

+1
$40k for your things in a tiny duplex seems like a lot of money to me.

FFS you're begrudging these people money that people donated to them because they ended up in a $hit situation they had no control over??? What's wrong with you?

Let's blow up your house and see how you feel. I'm sure $40K would be chump change in that situation.

+1

Imagine every piece of furniture you own (we don’t even have crazy expensive tastes, but 3 bedroom sets + office furniture + dining room table/chairs + a couple couches is easily 15k (built up over a period of years). Think of every article of clothing you own, every piece of decor, sports equipment and instruments, electronics, etc. Now imagine you are having to do extra takeout because you don’t have a kitchen. You may need to take time off work (maybe even unpaid). Perhaps they want to splurge on something a little nice like a trip to get away for Christmas since they don’t have a home to bring new toys to. Insurance will take a while to pay out and the land issues could be weird with trying to re-build.

I don’t begrudge these people their GoFundMe one bit. I’m sure they’d gladly trade the money for their normal lives/home again.

Seriously. This is a family of four and their home was literally flattened. 40k is nothing.

In the past two hours, they have reached over $50K and increased their goal to $100K.

And you think that's too much? We keep a home inventory list for insurance purposes and have $150k worth of furniture/clothing/houseware in our little 3-bedroom house.

Where did I say I thought it was too much? I didn't. I literally just said they increased the amount. What is wrong with you that you have to jump all over someone for stating a fact? Have a little empathy, people lost their home and ALL of their belongings. Their kids lost all their toys, maybe even their favorite stuffies. You are a real jerk.

PP here. I was agreeing with you and saying that $100k is still probably not enough…

People in this region are really generous - they are over $100K now and have increased the goal further.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can't imagine what this family is dealing with. My DC is in the same age range as their daughters. The police evacuated them, meaning they probably didn't say "hey take an hour to pack some suitcases", they said COME WITH US NOW. They probably put a leash on the dog, grabbed their coats and ran.

We were talking this morning about the loss of everything. From clothes to furniture to simple things like silverware or books or irreplaceable things like wedding albums and baby books, baby's coming home outfits, their daughters' favorite stuffed animals and family heirlooms. They'll need some of that money for therapy on top of replacing everything in their lives.

The Go Fund Me is approaching $150K this morning, and even with insurance I bet that's not enough to fully rebuild their lives from scratch.

The wife is a therapist so hopefully has a good network to help them through this. Those poor children, though. I can't imagine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So hold on - this family is literally f#cked because their neighbor committed a crime?

What if they owe $500K on their mortgage? They now have half of a worthless property that will sell for peanuts.

If my neighbor sets his house on fire and in the process burns down my house (live in a townhouse), am I essentially screwed and my insurance won't cover ANYTHING?

I didn't think this was how insurance worked. Yes, if I burn down MY house in purpose I can't collect..but if I burn down my neighbors house that is different. Burning down my own house ans attempting to collect is insurance fraud. Burning down my neighbors house with them having no part in the crime is NOT insurance fraud and therfore I dont see why they can't collect.

Say you and your neighbor decide to burn down each other's houses. Now what?

Well, setting fire to each other's house - even via an agreement - is a crime (arson). And, actually, the agreement itself is a separate crime (conspiracy, maybe RICO).

So insurance wouldn't payout to either party.

It's not clear to me that this family will get anything from their home owners' insurance. Someone else committed a crime that resulted in the destruction of their home. It's the same logic where insurers don't pay out to a policy owner after a riot - a crime was committed that resulted in the destruction of insured property. That lets home owners insurance off the hook.

I hope this family has hired a good lawyer and claims adjuster to deal with the insurance company.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So hold on - this family is literally f#cked because their neighbor committed a crime?

What if they owe $500K on their mortgage? They now have half of a worthless property that will sell for peanuts.

If my neighbor sets his house on fire and in the process burns down my house (live in a townhouse), am I essentially screwed and my insurance won't cover ANYTHING?

I didn't think this was how insurance worked. Yes, if I burn down MY house in purpose I can't collect..but if I burn down my neighbors house that is different. Burning down my own house ans attempting to collect is insurance fraud. Burning down my neighbors house with them having no part in the crime is NOT insurance fraud and therfore I dont see why they can't collect.

Say you and your neighbor decide to burn down each other's houses. Now what?

Well, setting fire to each other's house - even via an agreement - is a crime (arson). And, actually, the agreement itself is a separate crime (conspiracy, maybe RICO).

So insurance wouldn't payout to either party.

It's not clear to me that this family will get anything from their home owners' insurance. Someone else committed a crime that resulted in the destruction of their home. It's the same logic where insurers don't pay out to a policy owner after a riot - a crime was committed that resulted in the destruction of insured property. That lets home owners insurance off the hook.

I hope this family has hired a good lawyer and claims adjuster to deal with the insurance company.

I wonder if the family is going to be stuck in civil lawsuits with the guy's estate trying to get the money their insurance company denies them. What a mess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So hold on - this family is literally f#cked because their neighbor committed a crime?

What if they owe $500K on their mortgage? They now have half of a worthless property that will sell for peanuts.

If my neighbor sets his house on fire and in the process burns down my house (live in a townhouse), am I essentially screwed and my insurance won't cover ANYTHING?

I didn't think this was how insurance worked. Yes, if I burn down MY house in purpose I can't collect..but if I burn down my neighbors house that is different. Burning down my own house ans attempting to collect is insurance fraud. Burning down my neighbors house with them having no part in the crime is NOT insurance fraud and therfore I dont see why they can't collect.

Say you and your neighbor decide to burn down each other's houses. Now what?

Well, setting fire to each other's house - even via an agreement - is a crime (arson). And, actually, the agreement itself is a separate crime (conspiracy, maybe RICO).

So insurance wouldn't payout to either party.

It's not clear to me that this family will get anything from their home owners' insurance. Someone else committed a crime that resulted in the destruction of their home. It's the same logic where insurers don't pay out to a policy owner after a riot - a crime was committed that resulted in the destruction of insured property. That lets home owners insurance off the hook.

I hope this family has hired a good lawyer and claims adjuster to deal with the insurance company.

I wonder if the family is going to be stuck in civil lawsuits with the guy's estate trying to get the money their insurance company denies them. What a mess.

Or anyone else who may have a lien on the property of the deceased. If he had a mortgage, that lender would be first in line to make a claim for the title of the land.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:[twitter]

Anonymous wrote:Here is the GoFundMe for the family in the duplex that lost everything. We go to the same elementary and I can vouch it’s legit. PTA is circulating it.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/yqu87u-draft

Don't they have renters insurance or home owners insurance to cover the loss of their possessions?

That assumes that they documented all of their possessions.

This assumes that the insurance will pay out.

Why wouldn't they?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no insurance coverage for intentional acts. Otherwise it’s a huge moral hazard. This is why insurance companies have arson units. This is absolutely devastating for the family.

This was not an intentional act on their part or even against them. I'm SURE insurance will cover, and if the man had any money, hopefully they can sue the estate, but it will take years.

Soooo naive….

hahaha (I practiced insurance coverage litigation for decades)

Can you recommend a coverage litigation lawyer in VA? Thank you.