Homes
Lessons From a First-Time Home Buyer: How a Storm Made Me Realize There’s A Lot I Don’t Know
Remember when I wrote about my hatred of and anxiety during the Spring season? Well, this week has exemplified exactly why I feel that way.
After a round of storms on Monday brought some small hail, heavy rain, and high winds to my area, Tuesday’s storms were surprisingly worse. Luckily, at my house, I “only” observed hail that was maybe dime-sized. However, on the west and north sides of town, hailstones the size of baseballs were falling. In fact, at the Springfield-Branson National Airport, a majority of vehicles in the parking lot sustained major damage, with a local charity stepping in to donate tarps that could be used to cover smashed-out windshields!
So, while I’m feeling grateful that our property was largely spared, this latest incident made me realize a few things. Namely, it’s made me think about just how little I know about our home, our insurance, and more.
How Do I Know if My Roof is Damaged?
Only a few hours after the storm blew through, I got an email from the local newspaper, which was highlighting one of its advertising partners: a roofing company. Naturally, this email pointed out that they offered free inspections and noted that even small hail can cause issues you may not notice “until it’s too late.”
That led me to wonder whether I actually should have my roof inspected. After all, just because I don’t see any obvious damage doesn’t mean there isn’t any. Of course, that also means that, if they did tell me there was damage, I’d have no choice but to believe them.
For now, I think I’ll just keep an eye out for others in our neighborhood and see if they call out any roofing companies. If so, then maybe I’ll follow suit (to be fair, the company email did mention a recurring package that included a gutter cleaning, which could be useful). Until then, though, I’m not so sure.
How Would I File an Insurance Claim?
In the event that there was legitimate damage and we needed major repairs or an entirely new roof, I realized that I have zero idea how to navigate the insurance side of things. In theory, this is the type of issue that would be covered. Still, I wouldn’t know where to start.
Even worse, it occurred to me that I have no idea what our deductible is! The good news is that this is something my wife (who manages the policy) should be able to look up easily, so hopefully I’ll know soon. Also, if we did need to file a claim, we’d likely reach out to our insurance broker, who has always been super helpful with pointing us in the right direction.
How Do I Coordinate With My Neighbor?
One unique wrinkle that comes with this house is the fact that we share a roof with our neighbor. Technically, our house is a duplex, with a “party wall” between us and one other house. And while the back roofs are different heights, the front basically looks like one, long, continuous unit. With that in mind… how exactly would we navigate that?
When we moved in, there were some papers about the house that were written back in the 80s. It seemed as though there was more of a homeowners association then, as there were some rules listed that no one seems to be abiding by these days. Among those rules was a note that adjourning units should have the same issuer. While I suppose it’s possible we do, we’ve never asked our neighbors about their policy.
What’s more, as I recently shared, the house next door is currently on the market! And although I assume I could get a hold of the owners and that they’re still in town, it certainly wouldn’t make it easier to figure out a plan if it came to that.
Just when I feel as though I’m starting to get the hang of being a homeowner (after 2.5 years now), I’m quickly reminded just how much I have to learn. It also makes me wonder how other people seem to just know these things intuitively, while I feel completely lost. Looking on the bright side, I suppose this experience allows me to start looking at these questions now so that I might be better prepared in the event I need to take action in the future. In the meantime, though, I’m sure I’ll find out many other things I don’t know — and that’s life.
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