Condo unit next to mine nearly burnt down
Hey NA,
So a couple of days ago the condo building directly next to mine, also part of my complex, nearly burnt down. Entire second floor is scorched, and part of the third as well, but fortunately they caught it in time. It got me thinking about some stuff, and just figured i would reflect here.
Some poor guy died in the unit it started in, and a few others had to jump from the 3rd story windows because the fire spread so fast, thanks to no sprinkler system in our buildings as well as the poor layout with only one stairwell that got barricaded off by flames.
Crazy to think, if the same thing had happened in a unit in my building, barely 10 yards away from where this happened, my unit could have been torched with all my collection or even worse potentially my family and I.
Luckily I am on the first floor with windows in every room, so if anything were to happen, i would like to think we could easily escape. I also have an axe under my bed, i know probably extreme, but just in case for any reason the door or windows needs to be hacked away i can do so.
I definitely need to look into insurance now, but i am just wondering how that all works? How do you prove every little item in your collection? Everything was off NA and Ebay, so i guess i could probably pull up receipts that way? But man, i have over 350 games, and a bunch of other items like signs and rare posters. Just seems like a nightmare trying to insure it all. And how far back can i even pull up data from ebay purchases?
And now that this happened, it has me spooked. You just never know when something crazy like this is gonna happen.
So a couple of days ago the condo building directly next to mine, also part of my complex, nearly burnt down. Entire second floor is scorched, and part of the third as well, but fortunately they caught it in time. It got me thinking about some stuff, and just figured i would reflect here.
Some poor guy died in the unit it started in, and a few others had to jump from the 3rd story windows because the fire spread so fast, thanks to no sprinkler system in our buildings as well as the poor layout with only one stairwell that got barricaded off by flames.
Crazy to think, if the same thing had happened in a unit in my building, barely 10 yards away from where this happened, my unit could have been torched with all my collection or even worse potentially my family and I.
Luckily I am on the first floor with windows in every room, so if anything were to happen, i would like to think we could easily escape. I also have an axe under my bed, i know probably extreme, but just in case for any reason the door or windows needs to be hacked away i can do so.
I definitely need to look into insurance now, but i am just wondering how that all works? How do you prove every little item in your collection? Everything was off NA and Ebay, so i guess i could probably pull up receipts that way? But man, i have over 350 games, and a bunch of other items like signs and rare posters. Just seems like a nightmare trying to insure it all. And how far back can i even pull up data from ebay purchases?
And now that this happened, it has me spooked. You just never know when something crazy like this is gonna happen.
Comments
I would document your collection as best you can. Go through with video and still photo coverage, and upload it to the Cloud somewhere.
Video documentation of your stuff will help and like Tulpa said it's worth doing anyway.
If any of those youtube celebrities happens to read this, this would be an excellent topic to cover. Also sorry to hear about the fire and the guy who passed.
I know some people have huge collections that dwarf store inventories, where insurance is well justified.
Or individual items in the 4 or 5 figure range, for instance.
But with small or medium collections where there may not be any high dollar items, I think there are a lot of people buying insurance they don't really need versus insurance that just makes them feel better.
In my opinion, the purpose of insurance is to insulate you from catastrophic loss that otherwise could financially ruin you.
The vast majority of collections don't fit that criteria.
Hey NA,
So a couple of days ago the condo building directly next to mine, also part of my complex, nearly burnt down. Entire second floor is scorched, and part of the third as well, but fortunately they caught it in time. It got me thinking about some stuff, and just figured i would reflect here.
Some poor guy died in the unit it started in, and a few others had to jump from the 3rd story windows because the fire spread so fast, thanks to no sprinkler system in our buildings as well as the poor layout with only one stairwell that got barricaded off by flames.
Damn, I heard about that fire on the local news. Glad you're okay.
But with small or medium collections where there may not be any high dollar items, I think there are a lot of people buying insurance they don't really need versus insurance that just makes them feel better.
In my opinion, the purpose of insurance is to insulate you from catastrophic loss that otherwise could financially ruin you.
The vast majority of collections don't fit that criteria.
My collection is worth about 10k maybe a little bit more. It wouldn't financially ruin me, but it would be devastating to have invested all of that money and get none of it back if something were to happen to it. Especially if insurance could cover some of it.
I have condo insurance which i believe covers personal property up until a certain amount, but i need to find out exactly what it covers and how to go about getting documents ready in case they are ever needed.
Damn, I heard about that fire on the local news. Glad you're okay.
Thanks man, i am curious now what the start of the fire was. They are doing an investigation, and somehow the other person in his unit escaped. I just don't understand how 1 person escaped from a 650 sq ft unit but not the other, especially with with windows in every single room.
Damn, I heard about that fire on the local news. Glad you're okay.
Thanks man, i am curious now what the start of the fire was. They are doing an investigation, and somehow the other person in his unit escaped. I just don't understand how 1 person escaped from a 650 sq ft unit but not the other, especially with with windows in every single room.
If I remember correctly, the news report said firefighters responded a year ago to a fire in the same unit occupied by the person who died. I wonder if the person had a habit of smoking in bed.
Glad to hear you're safe. Sorry to hear about the other people.
Homeowners insurance.
Or, if you're renting... then renters insurance...?
I haven't asked (which I should) but I assume an excel spreadsheet and pictures would suffice. (Note to self: take pictures)
Also... while it's nice to have, as long as myself, loved ones, and pets are safe, I could give a shit about the games. That being said, if there was a fire, and they were all out. I'd be breaking the window and hucking all my games out the window, hahaha. I mean... AFTER emptying all the fire extinguishers on the fire attempting to put it out.
But with small or medium collections where there may not be any high dollar items, I think there are a lot of people buying insurance they don't really need versus insurance that just makes them feel better.
In my opinion, the purpose of insurance is to insulate you from catastrophic loss that otherwise could financially ruin you.
The vast majority of collections don't fit that criteria.
My collection is worth about 10k maybe a little bit more. It wouldn't financially ruin me, but it would be devastating to have invested all of that money and get none of it back if something were to happen to it. Especially if insurance could cover some of it.
I have condo insurance which i believe covers personal property up until a certain amount, but i need to find out exactly what it covers and how to go about getting documents ready in case they are ever needed.
I don't know how condo insurance is relative to standard homeowner's insurance, so you would want to look into your standard coverage.
(my guess is that it doesn't cover "collectibles" by default -- at least not at their real value -- and would only be providing passable coverage for your current-gen stuff and things like your computer and TV)
It would also be worth looking into how coverage works when a disaster originates in someone else' condo.
That is, if the fire doesn't start in your condo, does the other party's insurance cover everything anyway?
But with small or medium collections where there may not be any high dollar items, I think there are a lot of people buying insurance they don't really need versus insurance that just makes them feel better.
In my opinion, the purpose of insurance is to insulate you from catastrophic loss that otherwise could financially ruin you.
The vast majority of collections don't fit that criteria.
My collection is worth about 10k maybe a little bit more. It wouldn't financially ruin me, but it would be devastating to have invested all of that money and get none of it back if something were to happen to it. Especially if insurance could cover some of it.
I have condo insurance which i believe covers personal property up until a certain amount, but i need to find out exactly what it covers and how to go about getting documents ready in case they are ever needed.
I don't know how condo insurance is relative to standard homeowner's insurance, so you would want to look into your standard coverage.
(my guess is that it doesn't cover "collectibles" by default -- at least not at their real value -- and would only be providing passable coverage for your current-gen stuff and things like your computer and TV)
It would also be worth looking into how coverage works when a disaster originates in someone else' condo.
That is, if the fire doesn't start in your condo, does the other party's insurance cover everything anyway?
Your insurer may be able to subrogate some of the claim amount from a different insurer but there's no guarantee. If you're going to negotiate with the other guy's insurance directly instead for a $10K loss, good luck and don't expect much compensation without eating most of it in expenses.
Insurance exchanges an unknown loss amount over a given policy period of time for a fixed amount (premium). That's it. The distribution of loss amount depends on the nature of the coverage, but almost always has a large point mass at $0 and a small probability of a high loss at the tail. Deciding on whether insurance is worth it in a given situation depends the expected tail loss and each individual's appetite for risk.
For social/political reasons, some lines of insurance like personal auto liability are mandated by state government unless you can demonstrate sufficient assets to withstand a ruinous claim event. In this case, with $10K value at risk and maybe 0.5% chance per year of fire causing significant damage to your collection, you'll probably decide it's not worth the premium. Your risk appetite would likely be different if the VAR was $100K instead or fires happened more frequently.
Is the risk of fire damage even that high?
Is the risk of fire damage even that high?
Not for a single family home and it's been decreasing over time due to better construction methods. I think it's 1% chance of loss event for all risks combined per year (wind / fire / trees / clouds / etc.). I never did a lot of condo pricing so I just ballparked that it would be a little higher.
Only this time in MY building......
My smoke alarm went off, and usually it is just someone who burned their dinner, so i just went outside in my sweater like i always do. We just come back in 5 minutes later when the alarm shuts off and FD clears us.
Turns out some dumb bitch tried to kill herself somehow with a small charcoal grill, and almost set her entire unit on fire on the floor above me....They wouldn't let me back in to get my jacket or my cats.
Everything is fine now thank god, but man that was a stressful 45 minutes....... I really need to look into insurance, or sell everything, this was too close. And some kind of evacuation plan for my poor cats.
The building originally in this thread, hasn't even been rebuilt yet, they have been fighting with insurance all year and it is still boarded up. My buiding is right next to it. How many buildings are going to burn in this place lol......
Figured i would bump this because this almost happened AGAIN.
Only this time in MY building......
My smoke alarm went off, and usually it is just someone who burned their dinner, so i just went outside in my sweater like i always do. We just come back in 5 minutes later when the alarm shuts off and FD clears us.
Turns out some dumb bitch tried to kill herself somehow with a small charcoal grill, and almost set her entire unit on fire on the floor above me....They wouldn't let me back in to get my jacket or my cats.
Everything is fine now thank god, but man that was a stressful 45 minutes....... I really need to look into insurance, or sell everything, this was too close. And some kind of evacuation plan for my poor cats.
The building originally in this thread, hasn't even been rebuilt yet, they have been fighting with insurance all year and it is still boarded up. My buiding is right next to it. How many buildings are going to burn in this place lol......
That made me laugh pretty good.
Big reason why I sold my entire collection I was sick of worrying about it all the time or something happening...Good riddance too I didn't miss it in the slightest, I enjoyed the money and used it for more practical stuff.
Time to move.
I own this condo, and am likely stuck here for a couple years
When i bought it, it wasn't this bad. More and more idiots are moving in, and the management is horrendous.