One mortgage payment away, house burns down

[Hum]

ST. PETERSBURG -- Firefighters rescued a man from a burning St. Petersburg home early Monday.

According to St. Petersburg Fire Rescue, firefighters responded to a home in the 2200 block of 2nd Avenue North just after 1 a.m.

Officials said an unconscious man was rescued from the two-alarm fire after being trapped in a second-floor bedroom by smoke and flames.

Officials said eight people were in the two-story home at the time of the fire. There were no other injuries.

Homeowner Daniel Shoemaker, who wasn't injured, said he awoke to flames and smoke.

"(I saw) a bunch of crackling and popping and stuff," Shoemaker said. "And I woke up and saw the fire underneath my door."

The injured man, who suffered third-degree burns, was flown to Tampa General Hospital. His condition is unknown but not considered life-threatening. His name has not been released.

The fire remains under investigation, but officials said it appears the home will be a total loss.

Shoemaker said he had one remaining mortgage payment on the home, which he was set to pay today. He also said he did not have homeowner's insurance, due to high cost. :huh:

source

[jerzdawg]

ST. PETERSBURG -- Firefighters rescued a man from a burning St. Petersburg home early Monday.

According to St. Petersburg Fire Rescue, firefighters responded to a home in the 2200 block of 2nd Avenue North just after 1 a.m.

Officials said an unconscious man was rescued from the two-alarm fire after being trapped in a second-floor bedroom by smoke and flames.

Officials said eight people were in the two-story home at the time of the fire. There were no other injuries.

Homeowner Daniel Shoemaker, who wasn't injured, said he awoke to flames and smoke.

"(I saw) a bunch of crackling and popping and stuff," Shoemaker said. "And I woke up and saw the fire underneath my door."

The injured man, who suffered third-degree burns, was flown to Tampa General Hospital. His condition is unknown but not considered life-threatening. His name has not been released.

The fire remains under investigation, but officials said it appears the home will be a total loss.

Shoemaker said he had one remaining mortgage payment on the home, which he was set to pay today. He also said he did not have homeowner's insurance, due to high cost. :huh:

source

This doesnt make sense to me. Any mortgage company I know of does not allow you to not have insurance, its a requirement. While FL does have fairly high insurance rates (mostly due to hurricanes) you can opt out of hurricane coverage and still get fire coverage for MUCH cheaper. Really sux for this guy.

[neufuse Veteran]

This doesnt make sense to me. Any mortgage company I know of does not allow you to not have insurance, its a requirement. While FL does have fairly high insurance rates (mostly due to hurricanes) you can opt out of hurricane coverage and still get fire coverage for MUCH cheaper. Really sux for this guy.

yeah, I just read that and thought WTF too, pretty much all mortgage companies require Home owner insurance, it's proteting THEIR investment... because its technically their property until you pay it off... and high cost? I pay a whole $800 a year for a $350,000 house (in an area a $80,000 house is considered normal) I don't think $800 a year is much, its less then my car insurance! And usually you have the mortgage place pay it for you through an escrow account, which you incrementally pay into each month as part of the monthly payment...

[abysal]

yeah, I just read that and thought WTF too, pretty much all mortgage companies require Home owner insurance, it's proteting THEIR investment... because its technically their property until you pay it off... and high cost? I pay a whole $800 a year for a $350,000 house (in an area a $80,000 house is considered normal) I don't think $800 a year is much, its less then my car insurance! And usually you have the mortgage place pay it for you through an escrow account, which you incrementally pay into each month as part of the monthly payment...

My thoughts, exactly.

[Hum]

Maybe you can legally drop home insurance, once you owe less than a certain amount.

[neufuse Veteran]

Maybe you can legally drop home insurance, once you owe less than a certain amount.

My contract says I must maintain it through life of the mortgage, I think they are protecting them from lawsuits from people that want to pull the well you are the co owner you have to pay up too kinda thing

[Hum]

^ Maybe it varies by state, and Florida is different.

Or maybe he just dropped it without letting the lenders know.

Either way, he's sure up the creek ...

[threetonesun]

Assuming it was a 30 mortgage, it may have not been required when he got the mortgage.

Still, not having home insurance seems like a super-terrible incredi-bad idea.

[remixedcat]

My house ins. Is only 125/yr... way worth it. I paid 18,800 for my house ... was a foreclosure. 4br 2ba 1800 sq ft. Needed a lot of work tho..

[xendrome]

Living in Florida I can tell you it is a requirement and it is included in the monthly mortgage payment via an escrow account. So something is fishy here for sure.

[Growled Member]

yeah, I just read that and thought WTF too, pretty much all mortgage companies require Home owner insurance, it's proteting THEIR investment... because its technically their property until you pay it off... and high cost? I pay a whole $800 a year for a $350,000 house (in an area a $80,000 house is considered normal) I don't think $800 a year is much, its less then my car insurance! And usually you have the mortgage place pay it for you through an escrow account, which you incrementally pay into each month as part of the monthly payment...

I thought the same thing. You can't get a loan on anything with first having insurance.

[neufuse Veteran]

I thought the same thing. You can't get a loan on anything with first having insurance.

yeah, wells fargo wouldn't even close on our mortgage until allstate had the HOI insurance papers in their hands and it wasn't even allowed to go from us to them, they had to be sent from allstate directly to WF... they are pretty strict on it

[123456789A]

Obama needs to make it a mandate that everyone has home insurance.

[NoLiMiT06]

Obama needs to make it a mandate that everyone has home insurance.

:shiftyninja: sure that will be next, will also be law we have to report when we wipe our asses as well... :p

[jnelsoninjax]

:shiftyninja: sure that will be next, will also be law we have to report when we wipe our asses as well... :p

But what if we don't wipe are asses... :shiftyninja:

[Order_66]

I used to pay $530 a year, a tree fell on my roof and I turned in a claim two years ago, they paid to have my roof repaired, this past January and despite living in a good neighborhood and having several cops as neighbors my home was burglarized, $8,500 loss, insurance paid it then cancelled me.

I'm now known as 'high-risk' and I pay 1500 a year, that's with a $1000 deductible and bare minimum coverage.

[Noir Angel]

Absolutely understandable, I personally don't trust insurance companies anyway they will do their utmost to weasel out of paying a claim. Although it sucks for him that his lack of insurance has cost him everything.

[moloko]

Umm yeah banks require you to have insurance on your house. Of course maybe not the case 30 years ago. Oh well. What the big deal. It almost paid off. Get new house now.