Do i need an appraiser for an accident?

[Brandon Aguero]

An accident occured involving my car and a house. Long story short i made a 3 by 4 foot hole in a brick wall house
*pushed a pipe out of place
*messed up some ceramic tile
*a hole in the inside of the room

And the owner wants to charge me 10k to rebuild it. i know he's over charging me but i want to know should i go through the trouble of finding an appraiser to take a look at the house or find somebody else to give me estimates?

any info will help and if you know of any other sites please leave a link here. admins sorry if this is in the wrong forum.

more details about the damage will come soon.

 

[JRS at OBX]

I would think you need a contractor instead of an appraiser. Your insurance should cover it and your insurance adjuster will figure out how much it will take to fix the house.

 

[Otis Key]

Agree with Jason - get several bids from licensed and bonded contractors and the talk with your insurance agent. Far better estimate of the cost to repair.

 

[DB]

Better yet ... what will likely happen is that the homeowners insurance will pay the claim for their client and then subrogate against your insurance company for reimbursement. There really isn't anything that YOU should do at all ... except notify your insurance company and then let them handle it.

 

[Em Tee]

Agree with Doug, unless.... maybe you're uninsured and have to pay the damages youself? :Eyecrazy: If that's the case, make sure you get a contractor's bid to fix the house.

 

[Steve Owen]

All good answers. Part of the confusion might be that sometimes people call the insurance adjuster an appraiser. I'd wonder how the home owner got his estimate of damages. If he has a contractor he wants to use that will charge that much, you may be on the hook. Therefore, in addition to the other professionals listed by the previous posters, you may need an attorney. If you do, your insurance company should take care of that for you also.

 

[DB]

Agree with Doug, unless.... maybe you're uninsured and have to pay the damages youself? :Eyecrazy: If that's the case, make sure you get a contractor's bid to fix the house.

If that's the case ... get a lawyer ...and a yoga instructor so it won't hurt so much when you bend over ...

 

[Brandon Aguero]

well thnx for the help guys. I dont think the owner has home owners insurance and plus he knows the guy thats doing the house. Just incase my insurance doesnt cover it i took pictures of the damamges and the so called "extra damages" that they claimed. His contractor already started to remodel the room which there is no need. So in the worse case i would have to go to small claims court and get the right amount of damamges.

 

[JTip]

Brandon, if YOU made the hole in the house by running YOUR car into it, then YOUR auto insurance will pay for the damage, under your Property Liability coverage. Depending on your state, property damage is state required (in Pennsylvania, property damage is $5,000 minimum). An insurance adjuster will review all estimates and pay accordingly. Regardless if the homeowner has insurance or not, you hit it, you pay for it.