Following are a few hot points to focus on should you ever be faced with a natural disaster where hazardous materials may be affected:

• First, the age of your home is a good indicator of the presence of hazardous building materials. Any home built prior to 1979 may have lead, and/or asbestos materials present. The second course of action is to have an independent, certified asbestos consultant perform tests to identify the presence of hazardous materials. The consultant will take samples of materials such as drywall, plaster, flooring, paint, popcorn ceilings, roofing, siding, and stucco. The samples will be sent to a laboratory to be analyzed and determine if any hazardous levels of asbestos or lead are present.  If you have insurance coverage, the fee for testing can sometimes be billed directly to your insurance carrier.

• If hazardous materials are discovered and need to be removed, the environmental abatement contractor you select must have proper licensing, insurance, and a DOSH (Division of Occupational Safety and Health) license. These documents certify that the abatement contractor is capable of handling removal, transport and disposal.

• It can be very helpful to involve a licensed environmental abatement contractor to coordinate the testing and work with your insurance company, as well as answer any environmental concerns from the very beginning.  Once results on the testing have been established, they should be provided to both you and your insurance company.

• Finally, with test results in hand, an abatement estimate can be prepared that will illustrate the specific costs of the handling and disposal of hazardous materials.

Please check out www.epa.gov , or www.calosha.gov, for specific regulations in your area.

“Would you, and your family, be able to recover quickly if your community suddenly experienced a flood, wildfire, or some other disaster? How would the Native government remain operational? Experiencing a disaster can take a devastating toll and, if recovery assistance like this is available, having access to it makes the process quicker and less stressful” says Alec Grandon on behalf of the Tribal Risk and Emergency Management Advisory (TREMA). Read More…

It’s important to know that even if you report your personal damage to the Red Cross or state officials, you must still apply with FEMA directly to be considered for federal assistance.  Check out their blog for more details.  We agree with FEMA, that “every bit of knowledge we have about the process arms us all in a way to make the recovery just maybe a small bit easier.”

Also, check out The Red Guide to Recovery pages on Disaster Recovery Financial Issues and Insurance Claim Resources for more resources to help with the financial aspects of disaster recovery.

FEMA is a federal agency that partners with local groups and communities to prepare and respond to disasters.  You won’t find nation-wide emergency alerts from FEMA, but the article does share the many communication channels FEMA supports.

There are many ways to be alerted to emergencies, but just be cautious before clicking a link for information.  Save yourself from injury to your internet access, and the many legitimate recovery resources!

Also visit FEMA’s Ready.gov website for a helpful article on Preparing Your Pets for Emergencies.

Video by FEMA:

Your time will be well spent, and your approach to these past clients can gain you a valuable new friend, one who may even be willing to show you their finished project!

If your home has been damaged or destroyed by a disaster, you will be faced with the task of getting accurate estimates to repair or replace what was damaged prior to the disaster.  This usually requires multiple contractors to provide detailed line-by-line estimates along with descriptions of the materials to be used and pricing.  This is a critical step in the recovery process that cannot be over emphasized.  If the adjuster or contractors fail to accurately estimate the scope and cost to perform the work, you may be faced with a very bad situation that could even cause you to lose your home.

Assuming you have insurance and once you have obtained a detailed estimate from your insurance adjuster or contractor, it is imperative that you review every line item to be sure nothing is missing or undervalued before the claim is settled.  In situations where a disaster has completely destroyed a home, you will need to recall and point out what some of the finishing elements were that may no longer be visible.  These elements include things like cabinetry, hardware, countertops, window treatments, wallpaper, flooring, light fixtures, alarm systems, water filters, custom closet systems, railings, appliances, etc.  Qualified contractors should be able to accurately estimate the basic building components of your home on their own for elements like concrete, framing, insulation, drywall, stucco, plumbing, electrical, roofing, etc.

No one knows or has the detail of what your home looked like prior to the disaster better than you, so your involvement in this process is critical.

 Here are a few problems that can result from getting an incomplete or undervalued estimate:

1. You may not get enough money from your insurance company to cover the costs to repair or rebuild your home to the condition it was in prior to the disaster.  The materials used for the repairs could be of far less quality than what your home had prior to the disaster.
2. Items needing to be repaired or replaced could be missed or undervalued, which could result in you having to pay for work out-of-pocket and/or incur costly change orders.
3. If the contractor performing the work gets part way through the work and later realizes that there isn’t enough money to complete the work and make a profit, they may abandon the job.  This can lead to any material suppliers that may have not been paid by the contractor to place mechanics’ liens on your property and possibly sue you for payment.
4. You may be forced to do some of the work yourself.
5. You may be forced to get a loan to complete the work.
6. If the description of what is to be done is not clear, you could become embroiled in a conflict with the contractor which could cause strained relationships and lengthy delays.

This is only a partial list of potential problems that can arise from not getting an accurate estimate and scope of work.  Before you sign a contract with a contractor to get repair work started, be sure to go over the scope of work line-by-line, very carefully to be sure everything you expect is included in the contract price.  Remember, if what you think you are getting is not clearly written in the scope of work or estimate attached to the contract, you may not get what you bargained for.

After a disaster, you may be faced with selecting a contractor to perform the repairs.  In some cases your insurance adjuster may recommend one or even bring one with them to provide estimates and/or agree on the scope and cost of the repairs. Some insurance companies have vendors that they like to use on a regular basis and some even have more formal preferred vendor programs where certain contractors will get referred on a regular basis.

Keep in mind that just because a vendor or contractor may be recommended by an adjuster doesn’t necessarily mean that company is the best choice.  Once again, selecting the right contractor to work on your home, especially after a disaster is a crucial decision that requires time to do your homework before you sign any contracts.

Here are a few possible benefits of hiring a “preferred” contractor:

1. Contractors that are recommended by insurance companies can have a certain level of accountability over them to perform.  The idea here is that the contractor may be getting a lot of business from the insurance company and it would be in the contractors best interest to make you a happy customer so they can continue to be recommended.
2. In some cases, preferred contractor programs may offer  extended warranties for the preferred contractor’s work.  However, a warranty is only good as long as the contractor is in business unless the insurance company agrees in writing to stand behind the contractor’s work even if they go out of business.
3. Some preferred contractors may be able to handle the entire scope of the restoration versus only the structural repairs.  Some preferred contractors may be able to handle everything from the emergency services to handling and/or cleaning of personal property, storing personal property, perform structural drying or deodorization, and the structural repairs.
4. Some preferred contractor programs require their vendors to work with estimating guidelines and approved price lists.  This can help keep the restoration or repair costs more clearly defined and possibly lower.
5. If the preferred contractor has been doing work for the insurance company for a considerable length of time, this may be an indication of stability and a history of serving their clients well.

As with selecting any contractor, the 7 suggestions listed in the previous blog in this series should be considered before hiring any contractor, preferred or not.

Here are a few concerns of hiring a “preferred contractor”:

• Some preferred contractors may be very reluctant to oppose the opinion of an adjuster or stand with a homeowner when it comes to an issue of an item that needs to be replaced versus being cleaned, patched, or repaired.  In this kind of situation, a preferred contractor may fear losing favor with the insurance company and  may not be willing to take a stand for what needs to be done regardless of the adjusters opinion on the matter.  Or they might agree with the adjuster up front until they get the job of actually performing the work, only to change their mind.

• If the preferred contractor is not on a formal approved vendor program but simply a friend or acquaintance of the adjuster, you may not get any real benefit over using another contractor of equal or superior qualifications.  The danger here is that there may be a false sense of security created in the homeowner by the preferred contractor simply because he or she was invited by the adjuster.

• In most cases, insurance adjusters are required to write their own estimates.   Typically insurance adjusters are not licensed general contractors and do not have the knowledge or hands-on experience building or repairing damaged property. If the adjuster has a preferred contractor with them, they may try and reach an agreed cost or scope of work using that contractor as their “expert” in order to expedite the claim.  While most adjusters try to be as thorough and accurate as possible, you should always get more than one opinion as to the scope and cost of the repairs.  If for some reason the adjuster underestimates the costs or scope of work, you may not be able to get the repairs done to the quality you expect.  In addition, if the estimator for the preferred contractor is inexperienced with the type of work that needs to be done, you could be stuck in a situation where the blind are leading the blind.

• Just because a contractor may be on a preferred vendor program, you still run some of the same risks using them as any other non-preferred or independent contractor.  This includes the risks of going bankrupt, doing shoddy work, causing construction defects, not showing up, failing to pay sub-contractors and a host of other less-than-favorable issues.  Ultimately it is your choice on who you will have work in your home and if you decide to use a preferred contractor to do the work and they fail to perform you may have no recourse with the adjuster or the insurance company that recommended them.

In my opinion a homeowner should always get at least three estimates from qualified contractors before the cost and scope of work is agreed on.  Two of these estimates should be from independent contractors.  Once you have a check in hand to get the work started and have thoroughly checked out the contractors being considered, you can then select the contractor you feel is the best choice to work with.

For more information on this topic, get The Red Guide to Recovery – Resource Handbook for Disaster Survivors, available now as an e-Book from Barnes & Noble and iTunes, or a Mobile App from iTunes.

Selecting the right contractor to work on your home, especially after a disaster can be a daunting task. When you start the interviewing process, everyone looks and sounds so good with the nice pictures, brochures, and videos.  How do you determine which one is a better choice than another?  How do you know if you’re getting the straight scoop or if your just being “sold”?  How do you know if the contractor you are considering is even qualified to perform the type of work you need done?  These are just a few questions to consider before hiring a contractor.

Here are 7 basic tips to consider:

1. Check to see if the contractor you are considering has the proper licensing.  Check to see if the license is current and that it states the classification and/or trades that the license covers.  Check to see if the license is for general contracting, or if it is for a single specialty trade like plumbing, electrical, or roofing, etc.
2. Have the contractor provide you with certificates of insurance that show that the contractor carries the appropriate coverage for Workers’ Compensation Insurance as well as General Liability Coverage.  Call the phone number of the broker or agent that should be on the certificate to be sure the policies are current and in force.
3. Go see the contractors’ physical place of business.  Does it appear that the business is legitimate?  If the contractor works out of his or her truck and uses a P.O. Box for mail, this should be a red flag.
4. Verify how long the contractor has been in business and get at least 5 references of clients that the contractor performed work similar in size or scope as your project.  One or two of these references should be projects that are currently in progress.  Then go and see these projects and talk to the owners and see what their experience has been working with the contractor.
5. Check with local trade organizations, the Better Business Bureau, and any suppliers or financial institutions that work with the contractor to see if they have a good reputation and track record of paying their bills.
6. Ask about any warranties or workmanship guarantees, and how long they are good for.  Keep in mind that a warranty is only good as long as the contractor is in business.
7. Check to see if the contractor has any lawsuits against them.  This can usually be done easily by searching the contractors company name and/or the owners names in the public records of your county courthouse.  If the contractor has a lawsuit history, this may also be a red flag.

For more information on this topic, get The Red Guide to Recovery – Resource Handbook for Disaster Survivors, available now as an e-Book from Barnes & Noble and iTunes, or a Mobile App from iTunes.

If your home has been damaged by a flood, you may need to hire the services of professionals to mitigate the damages, handle any damaged personal property, or perform repairs.  Typically, contractors who specialize in flood mitigation and repair are most familiar with the techniques and processes that this type of work requires.  Contractors who specialize in flood damage remediation or “flood restoration contractors” understand the proper procedures necessary to restore and/or dry out a home or building and its contents.  Some of the specialized equipment they may include: truck mounted and portable vacuums or water extractors, high velocity air movers, dehumidifiers, and moisture meters to monitor the drying process.

Residential home remodelers or custom home builders may not have the experience that flood restoration contractors have in this field and may not have the expertise to properly mitigate the damage and/or prevent increased levels of microbial growth (mold).  If mold becomes a concern, you may need to hire a certified industrial hygienist to test for mold and provide a restoration protocol or guidelines to mitigate any mold issues.  Keep in mind that if you have insurance, your homeowners’ insurance policy may have very little or no coverage for mold remediation, so contact your insurance company to find out if you have coverage and what your limits are.  Mold remediation can be very expensive!

Usually after a flood, the restoration process will have three main components:

1. The first is the structural drying phase.  This is where the water and moisture is removed along with any materials that cannot be saved such as warped or damaged flooring, baseboard, wet drywall, etc.
2. The second component is the handling of any personal property.  This may entail packing up all of the contents of the home including clothing, furniture, or other items and storing and/or restoring them offsite until the structural repairs are completed.  This phase also may require the creation of an inventory to document or list any personal property that may have been damaged beyond repair and that needs to be replaced.
3. The third phase in the restoration project is the structural repair.  This entails the restoration of building elements that need to be repaired or replaced, including insulation, drywall, baseboards, cabinetry, flooring, painting, etc.  In some cases a single restoration contractor may offer to perform all three phases or you may want to choose one company to handle the drying while other companies handle the contents and structural repair.

Before you sign a contract for flood remediation services, consider the following:

• Read every word of the contract and be sure you understand the terms and conditions.

• Review any fee schedule that details what the charges will be for labor and equipment.

• Get an estimate of what the drying process may cost before any work begins.  Any costs or charges that your insurance company does not cover or pay for, you may be held personally responsible to pay.

• Obtain copies of certificates of general liability and workers compensation insurance and be sure the policies are current and in force.

• Obtain copies of any Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) if the contractor intends to use any chemicals, anti-microbial agents, or other substances in your home that could cause adverse health effects.

• Check references and affiliations with trade organizations and the Better Business Bureau.

• Photograph and document your home, its contents, and the extent of any damages prior to anything being done or moved.

For more information on this topic, get The Red Guide to Recovery – Resource Handbook for Disaster Survivors, available now as an e-Book from Barnes & Noble and iTunes, or a Mobile App from iTunes.