August is here and it’s hot! The forecast for the next week, and probably the rest of the month, is 100 + degree days and no rain. It makes me miss the rain we had in May that erased the drought conditions we’d experienced the past three years. August, however, usually means little to no rain and with the clay content of our soil, it’s time to review foundation care.
There are 20 homes in Carrollton, Texas on Barclay Drive which back up to Dudley Branch Creek. The retaining wall behind the homes is failing causing the lots to sink as the soil begins to move downhill toward the creek. Some of the residents have filed a lawsuit against the city of Carrollton saying it’s responsible for repairing the retaining wall while the city contends it’s the homeowners’ responsibility to repair the wall. The estimated cost to repair the wall is $3 million. Home insurance won’t help the homeowners either.
What would life be without options? Most people assume that all home insurance policies provide the same coverage, or that they cover everything that could potentially happen to a home. They don’t. Due to differences in policy types and what insurance companies provide as standard coverage, there are several options I recommend to most home buyers or owners.
Do home insurance policies cover everything? No! There are coverage holes in every home policy as to what they cover and what they don’t cover. In last week’s post, I introduced 3 Items No Home Policy Covers, http://50.87.248.161/~wiseinsu/3-items-no-home-insurance-policy-covers/, including:
One of the questions I’m asked about a home policy is whether or not it has foundation coverage. If you’ve lived in the Dallas / Fort Worth area, or many other parts of Texas, you know our soil moves. This seems to affect north Texas more than any other part of the state. The reason is our homes are built on “blackland prairie.” This is an ecoregion that runs from the Red River to San Antonio. The soil has a high clay content that contracts and expands. This “soil movement” can either …
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