So my garage burned down, with 4 wheeler and mustang inside.

[MobileAudio219]

It was a 1 car garage... It's more like an old building where somebody would keep lawn mowers and tools.... I really dont think to many people would have put there cars in it, I did long enough to pull the motor, but then started getting nervous everytime the wind blew....

[cargodz]

In that case you could probably rebuild it yourself for under $2,000... Might even be worth lookin into doing it that way and keep the insurance company out of it. Might just save you a bundle in the long run and it'll save him from filing the claim and his insurance possibly going up.

[Chris from MI]

Wow that sucks man! RIP to a another Stang. From the sounds of things it would probably be easier to just rebuild it yourself. Sounds like it would be some 2x4's 2x6's and plywood and thats about it.......oh and shingles. Like Mike was syaing it may save you a lot in the long run.

On a side note I have to renew my insurance in May and I will def be doing that. I have a condo that I own but i have to have what they call 'Contents" insurance. Only cost like 250 a year for 40,000 in coverage.

Good luck and hope everything works itself out.

[MobileAudio219]

So the landlord came over this morning and said that the garage probably only added 5 grand to the vaule of the house, so thats much more reasonable.

Because the garage is leaning so bad I think that they will probably have to tear it down, but I guess it depends on the insurance guy and the building inspector.

I'd say if somebody called the building inspector before the fire they still would of made them tear it down, or at very least fix do some serious fixing...

I'm willing to bring the garage back to where it was, or tear it down, but thats about it... If the garage would have fell on my stuff I bet they wouldnt of replaced the car and 4 wheeler... So I'm trying to do the right thing, but I need to protect myself as well...

I'll take pictures later and keep you guys informed....

Forgot to mention. They had put cardboard over the studs (think wall paper) and the cardboard caught fire causing the fire to spread much faster...

[MobileAudio219]

Picture of the car and garage afterwards... Notice the lean to the right???





All the pictures...

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2968715/4

[cargodz]

If the garage would have fell on my stuff I bet they wouldnt of replaced the car and 4 wheeler... So I'm trying to do the right thing, but I need to protect myself as well...
...

Actually had the garage fell on your stuff do to poor structure, yes the landlord would have been held responsible (or at least his insurance).

Since he knows the condition of the garage before all of this happened in the first place, and seems to be being reasonable about it (for now at least), maybe you and him could cut a deal and rebuild a new garage... Something like you pay half/ he pay half... and you flip the labor and permits. He may be willing to go for something like that since it is his property and will only benefit him down the road. And having a nicer garage will benefit you for as long as your there.

And the poor stang... although the pictures I imagined are far worse than what it looks like... Is anything of it salvagable?

[Ryan from Ohio]

If I was you I would in NO WAY accept responsibility. DO NOT make any offers as they will hold you to it.

You pay rent for a reason. Its your landlords duty to provide adequate insurance to cover things such as this.

While you may have played a role in it, so did you lanlord. He put up cardboard on the walls? They use drywall for a reason, its fire retardant. Make sure to point that out when they come in.

If it would of been drywall or no cradboard, you wouldnt be in this issue.

[cargodz]

Not the way the insurance is going to see it though... He was playing with fire (literally)... even though it was accidental... That's why they have renter's insurance... In the off chance that something happens and it's your fault.
Same way I have insurance on my cleaning business and automotive business... Just because I'm in their home or working on their vehicle and they have insurance doesn't mean I'm not liable for something that happens that's my fault.
Unlike your current landlord right now Ryan, his seems to be being very reasonable right now... I mean if his landlord was trying to be a jerk, he could have already filed in court for damages and would be fully justified to do so and since it would come down to it being his fault and not down to the condition of the structure, he would lose out bigtime... Court costs, lawyer, damages, and possibly even fined by the city or county for the call of the fire department.
I hate to say it but, sometimes you have to choose the lesser of 2 evils.

[MobileAudio219]

Renters insurance wouldnt of cover the structure, just my belongs inside it... So while renters insurance may or may not of paid for the car and 4 wheeler, but it wouldnt of helped with the garage at all...

I dont think the landlord can sue me, though the insurance company maybe able to... He has it insured for either 2,500 or 3,500 dollars, if it was worth 20,000, he should of insured it for that much. I was the cause of the fire, but it could of just as easy been electrical, and if it was he would still get the same 2,500-3,500...

If I sunk 20,000 grand into my mustang, I would of made sure it was insured for that much... And if I didnt and got into a wreck, even if it was the other guys fault, I'd still get what I had the car covered for, usually blue book...

So just pretend it was a car accident... I ran the stop sign, but if your car blue books for 2,500 thats what your going to get (or less), not the 20,000 you have in mods unless you have it properly insured....

And if you dont have it insured at all, my fault becomes your fault, and I can turn around and sue you for the damages to my car...

By him only insuring it for 2,500 - 3,500, that pretty much him agreeing thats what its worth...

I want to do the right thing, but I'm not going to build the guy a brand new garage to replace his leaning tower of crap...

In other words, if you have a 89 civic with 300,000 miles, expect a similar replacement unless you have it insured whatever amount...

I'm responsible for the damages I caused, fine and dandy, my damage could be fixed in a day for a couple hundred bucks and I'm willing to do so... But I'm not going to turn a turd into a diamond...

[cargodz]

We have a rider on our renters ins. that covers accidental damages... costs like an additional $40 somethin a year.

And I didn't say that you had to turn it into a gem... And if he had it insured for $2500-3500... that would be all it's worth.
Like I said though, maybe you and he can come up with some type of agreement that does screw you or him.