Natural disasters such as wild fires, floods, typhoons, and aircons, have affected millions of lives over the years, sometimes displacing families and often causing a huge financial burden for those who were unfortunate enough to be affected.
As a homeowner, your house is likely one of your biggest concerns after the natural disaster.
Was it damaged? Can it still be repaired? Should we move? Are we still safe here? These are just some of the questions that you’re going to ask yourself as you try and recover.
To help you come to a more sound and logical decision, here are some tips that you can follow to guide you on what to do if in case your home is ravaged by a natural calamity.
1. Contract your insurance company immediately
Emergencies like natural calamities are exactly what insurance coverage is for.
As soon as the disaster is over and you’re starting to go back to your daily lives, call your insurance representative immediately. Ask about your policy. What’s included in the coverage? How much can you realistically expect to receive and be reimbursed?
Insurance claims can sometimes take days if not weeks and months, so it’s always best to have a head start.
If you didn’t have insurance before, then now is definitely a good time to start looking for a provider.
2. Let your mortgage company known
Most people don’t know this, but there’s such a thing referred to as “mortgage forbearance”.
This is an agreement where the lender and the borrower come to terms so as to allow the borrowing party to freeze the payments for a defined period of time. This can last from a month to as long as six months, even a year, depending on your agreement with your mortgage company.
Remember, when a disaster strikes, the last thing you’re going to want to worry about is if you’re going to lose your home or not.
While applying for a mortgage forbearance might extend your mortgage and set you back for a couple more years, it’s still a lot better than having a big payment hanging over your head at a time when you need all the financial help that you can get.
3. Seek government aid
The federal government will likely provide aid in the form of small loans to allow you to get back on your feet and make small repairs to your home.
Affected families can borrow as much as $200,000 for home repairs, and $40,000 to buy new furnishes, appliances, clothing, and even vehicles.
Natural disasters are somewhat inevitable. You can’t really predict when they’re going to happen and how devastating they can be. But you can prepare for such a scenario. You can make sure that your home has extensive insurance coverage for all types of natural disasters, and you can follow tips such as the ones we listed above to make such a trying time easier for you and your family.
In case you’re no longer willing to repair your home nor seek out aid from the federal government, you can seek out cash buyers in your area. These real estate companies will not hesitate to pay for your home upfront with cash, regardless of the extent of the disaster-related damage.
The only thing that you need to so, is ask.
