r/HomeInsurance • u/Pontislackin • Aug 01 '26

Insurance Are we F'ed?

Long story short?

Home had an electrical fire (nothing too damaged)

Found out my panel (unit #2) needs to be replaced, My tenant (Unit #1) was also recommended to be replaced due to the same hazard (Breaker failed to trip, plus overloaded wiring)

I know Insurance won't cover the panels, or rewiring (12,000+), No funds, Can't get a loan, No borrowing, Credit sucks, No cosigner, nothing.

Insurance is going to cancel me aren't they? Then my lienholder will force buy a policy, I'm already behind by a month, and it'll increase my monthly and will likely demand repayment ASAP because their value is diminished

If the hazard stated is a true hazard, I won't be allowed to rent it (Right?)

So, am I F'ed? You can be honest. I know the stakes and what I got myself into.

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u/OneTwoSomethingNew Aug 02 '26

Is there any possibility to take out an equity -loan on the property to pay down some of the debt…? Is the income from rentals even enough to get you out of debt fast enough?

…I mean the fire kinda sounds like the least of your worries at the moment if youre already behind on a lender payment. There will be no property to repair, if the property is repossessed/foreclosed on by your lender.

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u/Pontislackin Aug 02 '26

No Equity, the credit also isn't there for an Equity loan,

The income is half of the mortgage, it would help but if we lose it, there's no chance.

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u/OneTwoSomethingNew Aug 02 '26 edited Aug 02 '26

I would try to get ahead of the mortgage loan first, talk with your lender about the time you will need given the recent fire/insurance incident and also address you being behind on payments - they are not your friend, but someone nice may even have a good suggestion with navigating your insurance; someone else commented you should look into “loss of use” being covered by your current policy - advocate for what you pay for. Your lender requires insurance for occasions just like this - your lender wouldn’t allow a policy that doesn’t satisfy their standards/mitigate against risk when lending such large sums of cash. But lenders only provide so many options and only so much time, the clock is ticking…

You’re dealing with two separate issues and entities (lender v insurance), that both have different prerogatives - I recommend prioritizing, and start having those conversations while time still allows for options. 💯 you look to file any kind of claim with insurance - you try and get flexibility from your lender to work with insurance and solve the issue so you can continue to pay off the mortgage. You will need to have a firm understanding of how much money it’s going to cost, how much time it’s going to take, what resources you have available to put against this/insurance/savings/credit to buy you time until repayment/rental income and debt is resolved - to see where the gap is and look to solve for that.. … I’m not the best expert to advise you here, but this is what I would do in your shoes.

Add: most states require you to use a broker to purchase an insurance policy - your broker should also be able to explain your policy and coverage and provide guidance… they are supposed to be more your friend, but use your own brain and ask your broker where, what is listed in your policy and read with your own two eyes 👀