Tuesday, August 17, 2010

You're Getting Warmer

I received another good looking email from Richard Who Hands Me Money yesterday evening. In it, he said that the adjuster has raised the estimate to just over 68 thousand bucks. That's pretty good. He also said that the next step might be going to appraisal. I called him to discuss this morning.

My main questions for Richard during the conversation centered around the appraisal process. Here's the process, in a nice four (or six) step process:

1. Travelers hires an appraiser
2. I hire an appraiser ( and pay him)
3. The two appraisers compare notes
4a. If the two appraisers can agree on a figure, I get that figure.

OR

4b. If the two appraisers cannot agree on a figure, the process goes further
5. A third appraiser, nicknamed the "umpire" (awesome) is hired, with the fee split between Travelers and me
6. The "umpire" looks things over and gives a final figure. That final figure is it. No more fighting. I get a check for that number.

Basically, this is a two or three week process (at least) that I really don't want to go through. Especially since it could end up being worse than what has been negotiated so far. After the thorough explanation from Richard, I vetoed the appraisal option. Plus, he said that he can probably squeeze a few thousand more dollars out of it (as the allotments for the siding and the floors are insufficient) and we would settle thereafter.

Al Medina, General Contractor is in Portugal, returning tomorrow, so when he's back, I will get his estimate and get to work.

Hooray.

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