WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.480 --> 00:00:04.040 KFI AM six forty. You're listening to Dean Sharp The 2 00:00:04.080 --> 00:00:07.719 House Whisper on demand on the iHeartRadio app. 3 00:00:09.919 --> 00:00:12.960 You know that this very program is also what they 4 00:00:13.039 --> 00:00:15.919 know as the House Whisper Podcast that you can listen 5 00:00:15.960 --> 00:00:20.199 to anytime, anywhere on demand. You may be listening right 6 00:00:20.239 --> 00:00:23.559 now live during our live broadcast about an hour after 7 00:00:23.640 --> 00:00:26.160 this one goes off the air. It will be a 8 00:00:26.239 --> 00:00:29.879 part a permanent part of the House Whisper Podcast, hundreds 9 00:00:29.920 --> 00:00:35.320 of episodes, all searchable by topic your Home improvement reference library. 10 00:00:35.359 --> 00:00:38.280 So if you've missed any part of this critical discussion 11 00:00:38.280 --> 00:00:41.399 here today with my special in studio guests, the founding 12 00:00:41.439 --> 00:00:44.920 partners of Damage Law, as we talk about insurance claims 13 00:00:44.920 --> 00:00:47.039 and all of the trickiness of that. If you've missed 14 00:00:47.079 --> 00:00:49.240 any part of this show today and then we've been 15 00:00:49.280 --> 00:00:53.000 given out a lot of solid info, then just turn 16 00:00:53.159 --> 00:00:56.640 to the podcast. You can listen any time at all, 17 00:00:56.759 --> 00:01:01.079 as much as you like on demand. And if you're thinking, hey, 18 00:01:01.320 --> 00:01:03.320 that's all great, but what we really need is you 19 00:01:03.359 --> 00:01:06.519 and Tina standing in our family room telling us what 20 00:01:06.599 --> 00:01:08.400 we're going to do with this beast, well you can 21 00:01:08.439 --> 00:01:11.079 do that too. You can book an in home design 22 00:01:11.159 --> 00:01:13.920 consult with me and the tea. You just go to 23 00:01:14.239 --> 00:01:19.120 house Whisper dot Design. All right, we are back at it. 24 00:01:19.519 --> 00:01:24.280 I want to get back in to conversation, excuse me 25 00:01:24.319 --> 00:01:27.159 with my very special in studio guests from Damage Law, 26 00:01:27.599 --> 00:01:30.680 Aria Shack and a dear b guys. So we talked. 27 00:01:30.719 --> 00:01:35.079 We've kind of identified the players now I set up. 28 00:01:35.200 --> 00:01:38.680 I kind of teased this out before we went to 29 00:01:38.719 --> 00:01:44.239 break about advice of what I call it wasn't your words, 30 00:01:44.280 --> 00:01:48.159 but not corrupting the crime scene. Homeowners want to get 31 00:01:48.200 --> 00:01:50.439 in to the debris and the mess, and they want 32 00:01:50.439 --> 00:01:52.159 to start picking through stuff, and they want to start 33 00:01:52.159 --> 00:01:56.159 cleaning up stuff. And again we're talking about more than 34 00:01:56.239 --> 00:02:00.319 just the fires. I'm just talking about any time this happens, right, So, 35 00:02:00.439 --> 00:02:05.719 there's a there's a balance here. There is leaving things 36 00:02:05.879 --> 00:02:08.400 be and there's a good reason for that that I'll 37 00:02:08.400 --> 00:02:10.960 have you explain. But there's also what we call mitigation, 38 00:02:11.120 --> 00:02:15.520 which means if the damage has opened up potential more damage, 39 00:02:15.919 --> 00:02:18.280 we have to at least address it to the point 40 00:02:18.319 --> 00:02:22.639 where the damage isn't causing more damage which causes more 41 00:02:22.680 --> 00:02:25.000 of a claim or basically stuff that won't get covered 42 00:02:25.080 --> 00:02:28.479 under a claim. Because the homeowner has a certain responsibility there. 43 00:02:28.520 --> 00:02:31.520 So let's start with the crime scene first. 44 00:02:31.960 --> 00:02:35.759 Yes, So the biggest and the most crucial aspect of 45 00:02:35.800 --> 00:02:39.159 this all is to making sure that you don't dispose 46 00:02:39.240 --> 00:02:43.439 of any items that may have been contaminated or damaged 47 00:02:43.879 --> 00:02:45.560 through the fires or even if you had a water 48 00:02:45.639 --> 00:02:48.919 damage situation. Because you want to prove your loss to them, 49 00:02:48.960 --> 00:02:51.280 you have to give them the right to inspect, and 50 00:02:51.319 --> 00:02:54.360 if you immediately dispose of these items, they're going to 51 00:02:54.400 --> 00:02:56.919 ask what the condition was and you can't prove it 52 00:02:57.039 --> 00:02:59.879 no longer because you've disposed of it. So it's really 53 00:03:00.360 --> 00:03:03.120 key to keeping all the items in place so you 54 00:03:03.159 --> 00:03:05.879 can show the insurance carrier, this is what's wrong with 55 00:03:05.919 --> 00:03:08.479 this item. It's either miss smoke damage or water damage, 56 00:03:08.479 --> 00:03:10.039 and this is what I need in order to bring 57 00:03:10.080 --> 00:03:13.039 it back to its original condition or to get it replaced, 58 00:03:13.080 --> 00:03:16.479 because we have a duty to prove our loss. And 59 00:03:16.719 --> 00:03:20.599 another aspect of that is you also don't know whether 60 00:03:20.639 --> 00:03:23.759 these items are contaminated or not, so it's really key 61 00:03:23.800 --> 00:03:26.280 that you don't touch it because you can take that 62 00:03:26.319 --> 00:03:29.039 contamination with you to other places and you can get 63 00:03:29.159 --> 00:03:31.199 very sick from these items. So you want to test 64 00:03:31.639 --> 00:03:35.240 before we're even doing anything and cleaning. The biggest key 65 00:03:35.319 --> 00:03:38.039 is if you you know, we have an automatic instinct 66 00:03:38.080 --> 00:03:40.759 where when we see our homes are dirty or there's 67 00:03:41.159 --> 00:03:45.120 there's ash and smoke around, you want to clean it. 68 00:03:45.479 --> 00:03:48.639 But the problem is when you start touching that stuff, 69 00:03:48.960 --> 00:03:51.879 not only are you exposing yourself to contaminants, you're also 70 00:03:52.319 --> 00:03:55.039 making it more difficult for yourself throughout the claim process 71 00:03:55.080 --> 00:03:58.840 to show that how horrific this scene really was. So 72 00:03:59.120 --> 00:04:01.439 you want to keep everything as is so your adjuster 73 00:04:01.639 --> 00:04:04.240 can see what they need to do in order to 74 00:04:04.280 --> 00:04:07.719 bring you back to your home and safe and clearly. 75 00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:08.319 At the end of the day. 76 00:04:08.719 --> 00:04:11.319 So hence my metaphor, which is not a bad one, right, 77 00:04:11.479 --> 00:04:16.240 don't tamper with the crime scene until the investigation is complete, 78 00:04:16.480 --> 00:04:18.600 until you get the sign off that it's time to 79 00:04:18.680 --> 00:04:19.199 clean it up. 80 00:04:19.279 --> 00:04:21.199 Does all the contents that are within and all the 81 00:04:21.279 --> 00:04:24.480 damage structure that are within is that crime scene. It's 82 00:04:24.519 --> 00:04:28.959 the evidence that helps prove your case to the insurance carrier. 83 00:04:29.360 --> 00:04:32.480 Hey, you got to pay for this right exactly? All right? 84 00:04:32.519 --> 00:04:36.319 So what about mitigation? What does that word mean? And 85 00:04:39.560 --> 00:04:42.079 you know why? Is that an important factor here as well? 86 00:04:42.680 --> 00:04:43.639 So mitigation. 87 00:04:43.759 --> 00:04:47.000 Why it's so important is because most policies require their 88 00:04:47.040 --> 00:04:51.240 insured to mitigate their damages to prevent further damages. So, 89 00:04:51.319 --> 00:04:53.879 for instance, if your roof has been affected by these 90 00:04:53.920 --> 00:04:57.480 fires and now there's rain coming this week and you 91 00:04:57.519 --> 00:05:00.639 don't get a professional roofer to EXAs and your roof 92 00:05:00.680 --> 00:05:04.360 and to do some temporary fixes or tarping to prevent 93 00:05:04.439 --> 00:05:07.319 water from coming in, the insurance company's going to say, hey, 94 00:05:07.439 --> 00:05:09.560 you had a duty to mitigate and you failed, and 95 00:05:09.600 --> 00:05:11.879 for that reason, now we're not going to cover for 96 00:05:11.920 --> 00:05:13.879 the water damage portion of this claim, or they're going 97 00:05:13.920 --> 00:05:16.040 to try to open up a second claim. So it's 98 00:05:16.040 --> 00:05:18.959 really important that you mitigate. And this also includes like 99 00:05:19.360 --> 00:05:22.680 if you had a broken window and now there's looters 100 00:05:22.720 --> 00:05:24.639 in the area and they come in and they start 101 00:05:24.680 --> 00:05:27.399 ceiling or damaging your property. They're going to say, if 102 00:05:27.439 --> 00:05:30.279 you had just boarded up your windows and secured your property, 103 00:05:30.319 --> 00:05:32.360 this could have been avoided, and for that reason, we're 104 00:05:32.360 --> 00:05:33.920 not going to cover or they're going to give you 105 00:05:33.959 --> 00:05:35.480 a hard time covering those items. 106 00:05:35.600 --> 00:05:40.879 So there are certain elements of the scene that we document. 107 00:05:41.079 --> 00:05:43.560 This is damaged, this is messed up, this is part 108 00:05:43.560 --> 00:05:46.240 of the claim. But it also has opened up a 109 00:05:46.319 --> 00:05:48.759 vulnerability and we got we gotta seal it up. So 110 00:05:48.920 --> 00:05:52.160 we board up damaged windows, we cover up, we at 111 00:05:52.279 --> 00:05:57.199 least tarp over you know, exposed roofs so that the 112 00:05:58.160 --> 00:06:01.040 next bout of rain or like you said, you know, 113 00:06:01.120 --> 00:06:03.759 looters in the area or whatever that that it's not 114 00:06:03.920 --> 00:06:07.519 like a multi level uh, you know chain reaction of 115 00:06:07.680 --> 00:06:10.680 damage and more damage and more damage, and the homeowner 116 00:06:10.759 --> 00:06:16.199 in a in an insurance contract is responsible for mitigating 117 00:06:16.519 --> 00:06:18.680 the damage that happens so it doesn't spread further. 118 00:06:18.879 --> 00:06:21.199 Exactly, But you don't want to just use your handyman. 119 00:06:21.360 --> 00:06:23.839 You want to use someone who's license so in the 120 00:06:23.879 --> 00:06:26.319 event something goes wrong, you can show your insurance can 121 00:06:26.360 --> 00:06:29.040 be you use the professionals that are within that industry 122 00:06:29.079 --> 00:06:31.319 to do this work and not just someone who is 123 00:06:31.560 --> 00:06:33.279 a handyman that wasn't licensed. 124 00:06:33.279 --> 00:06:35.120 So to Aria's point, you don't want to hire a 125 00:06:35.160 --> 00:06:36.920 handyman to come up to the roof and do the 126 00:06:36.959 --> 00:06:39.560 tarping to the roof because that person doesn't know how 127 00:06:39.600 --> 00:06:42.120 to do proper it doesn't know the proper protocol in 128 00:06:42.199 --> 00:06:42.560 terms of. 129 00:06:42.480 --> 00:06:45.800 Tarping or exactly they're not for boarding a roof, so they're. 130 00:06:45.600 --> 00:06:47.680 Not qualified to do so, and you can show the 131 00:06:47.680 --> 00:06:51.199 insurance carrier. Hey, I use the licensed roofer, who's insured, 132 00:06:51.519 --> 00:06:53.959 who did the work, and even that even after they 133 00:06:53.959 --> 00:06:56.319 did the work, it's still caused damage and therefore. 134 00:06:56.199 --> 00:06:58.639 And then it's then then you're safe. You're safe if 135 00:06:58.680 --> 00:07:02.519 you're using license proper expert pieple correct. All right, there 136 00:07:02.519 --> 00:07:06.040 are a bunch of things that homeowners are entitled to 137 00:07:06.680 --> 00:07:10.519 in their claims that I'm guessing most of us don't 138 00:07:10.800 --> 00:07:12.959 know or aren't aware of, or at least not aware 139 00:07:12.959 --> 00:07:14.920 of the scope. Can we talk about that next? Yeah, 140 00:07:15.120 --> 00:07:15.439 all right. 141 00:07:16.439 --> 00:07:19.759 You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from 142 00:07:19.839 --> 00:07:21.360 KFI AM six forty. 143 00:07:23.040 --> 00:07:26.360 I've gotten used to ignoring the sound of my regular voice, 144 00:07:26.600 --> 00:07:28.920 but I've got this little scratch in my voice, and 145 00:07:28.959 --> 00:07:31.279 now i feel like I'm back like on my first 146 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:35.079 day ever on the radio, where I'm overly conscientious about 147 00:07:35.079 --> 00:07:37.839 the sound of my voice, and so I'm just kind 148 00:07:37.839 --> 00:07:40.560 of taking it in these weird directions, like, you know, 149 00:07:40.600 --> 00:07:44.319 maybe I should just do the gangster thing. I don't know. Anyway. Hey, 150 00:07:45.079 --> 00:07:47.160 now that I've wasted a minute of your time, thanks 151 00:07:47.160 --> 00:07:49.399 for joining us on the program today. I'm so glad 152 00:07:49.439 --> 00:07:51.800 that you are here. We're having a really really important 153 00:07:51.800 --> 00:07:55.959 conversation with my very special in studio guests, who happen 154 00:07:56.040 --> 00:07:59.240 to be the founding partners of damage Law right here 155 00:07:59.240 --> 00:08:05.160 in LA, a very very specialized form of law all 156 00:08:05.240 --> 00:08:10.079 about property damage claims, working with insurance companies, helping homeowners 157 00:08:10.600 --> 00:08:14.399 get everything that they deserve from their claims, which is 158 00:08:14.519 --> 00:08:17.680 a tricky thing at times. So I've got Aria and 159 00:08:17.759 --> 00:08:20.920 a deer here, and what are we up to now? Oh? 160 00:08:21.120 --> 00:08:24.879 I wanted to ask you guys specifically about because in 161 00:08:24.920 --> 00:08:28.839 the course of our conversation, there have been several times 162 00:08:28.839 --> 00:08:31.480 that you've mentioned, you know, there are things that are 163 00:08:31.480 --> 00:08:34.200 homeowners entitled to, and you'll mention things that I'm like, wow, 164 00:08:34.279 --> 00:08:36.960 I had no idea, you know, and I know this 165 00:08:37.000 --> 00:08:40.639 stuff fairly well. And so just off the top of 166 00:08:40.679 --> 00:08:45.639 your head, let's talk about things that you encounter all 167 00:08:45.679 --> 00:08:49.200 the time that homeowners are usually entitled to in their 168 00:08:49.240 --> 00:08:54.440 contracts with their insurance company that they don't really realize. 169 00:08:54.639 --> 00:08:57.120 So one of the biggest things that we're noticing right 170 00:08:57.159 --> 00:09:00.679 now that is happening is that insurance company are not 171 00:09:00.840 --> 00:09:05.480 relocating or providing housing. It's called additional living expenses for 172 00:09:05.559 --> 00:09:06.639 those who have been affected. 173 00:09:07.360 --> 00:09:10.120 So doesn't that mean that, you know, they pay for 174 00:09:10.159 --> 00:09:10.960 my hotel room. 175 00:09:11.720 --> 00:09:14.799 And that's the problem. You know, they're placing individuals into 176 00:09:14.840 --> 00:09:17.159 hotel rooms when they're entitled to more than just a 177 00:09:17.200 --> 00:09:20.919 hotel room. Especially for family, to all squeeze into one room, 178 00:09:20.919 --> 00:09:25.679 it's quite difficult. So they're entitled to comparable housing to 179 00:09:25.720 --> 00:09:27.840 their own home. So if they had a four bedroom house, 180 00:09:28.159 --> 00:09:30.440 they're entitled to a four bedroom house within the area, 181 00:09:30.799 --> 00:09:34.399 same similar square footage and to be placed comfortably during 182 00:09:34.440 --> 00:09:34.919 that time. 183 00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:37.559 But again, you want to be careful. 184 00:09:37.200 --> 00:09:40.279 With exactly where you go and you spend your money 185 00:09:40.559 --> 00:09:43.000 for those funds that you have available, because they can 186 00:09:43.120 --> 00:09:46.360 deplete quite quickly, and you want to choose your own 187 00:09:46.399 --> 00:09:50.000 location because if you go through the carrier themselves, they'll 188 00:09:50.840 --> 00:09:53.559 they have these services which they get the housing company 189 00:09:53.600 --> 00:09:56.600 to find you a location and they add on as 190 00:09:56.679 --> 00:10:00.840 a management fee. So before you know it, your funds 191 00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:03.679 are depleted and your home hasn't even started the process 192 00:10:03.679 --> 00:10:05.840 of rebuild, and now you're going out of pocket because 193 00:10:06.039 --> 00:10:08.399 they put you in some kind of housing that's at 194 00:10:08.399 --> 00:10:11.279 an inflated amount and it depletes your funds. 195 00:10:11.559 --> 00:10:13.200 So you want to be careful for that. 196 00:10:13.360 --> 00:10:16.080 So is there like a fixed in most contracts? Is 197 00:10:16.080 --> 00:10:19.840 there like a fixed allotment for housing? 198 00:10:20.399 --> 00:10:22.159 Yes, so there's certain amounts. 199 00:10:22.159 --> 00:10:24.440 Some people have coverage up to eighty thousands, some people 200 00:10:24.480 --> 00:10:26.639 have two hundred thousand, So it depends on what you 201 00:10:26.720 --> 00:10:30.120 paid for. But there's an available fund which will cover 202 00:10:30.240 --> 00:10:33.000 for your living expenses while you're out of the home. 203 00:10:33.559 --> 00:10:35.840 So if you had any out of pocket expenses. Let's 204 00:10:35.840 --> 00:10:37.639 say you're in a hotel and now you have to 205 00:10:37.639 --> 00:10:39.840 go purchase food outside because you don't have a kitchen 206 00:10:39.879 --> 00:10:42.360 to cook, so they should cover those costs for you. 207 00:10:42.639 --> 00:10:44.960 It's really important that they insured is the one that's 208 00:10:45.000 --> 00:10:48.519 making these purchases, not anyone else, because the policy holder 209 00:10:48.559 --> 00:10:50.879 can only get reimbursed. So if your wife is not 210 00:10:50.960 --> 00:10:53.159 on that policy or your kids and they're the ones 211 00:10:53.200 --> 00:10:55.679 making those purchases, they're going to have a difficult time 212 00:10:55.720 --> 00:10:56.679 getting reimbursement. 213 00:10:56.919 --> 00:10:59.639 Gotcha. So whoever is on the policy needs to be 214 00:10:59.639 --> 00:11:02.000 the one who's at the tip of the spear for 215 00:11:02.039 --> 00:11:08.279 those expenses. So now it does I if I want 216 00:11:08.320 --> 00:11:14.799 to exercise more control and stretch my coverage further, is 217 00:11:14.840 --> 00:11:17.879 that me decide in other words. What you said is 218 00:11:17.919 --> 00:11:21.240 I'm entitled to like one to one, like a three bedroom, 219 00:11:21.320 --> 00:11:23.759 two bath house. They should put me in a three 220 00:11:23.759 --> 00:11:26.840 bedroom to bath house. But if I've only got a 221 00:11:26.840 --> 00:11:30.600 certain amount of expense and that rolls off and clicks off, 222 00:11:30.720 --> 00:11:32.519 like what if I decide no, no, I'll just put 223 00:11:32.519 --> 00:11:34.440 me in a studio apartment right now because I need 224 00:11:34.480 --> 00:11:36.639 this to go twelve months instead of sex. We can 225 00:11:36.679 --> 00:11:39.720 do that, Okay, but those are my decisions. That's not 226 00:11:39.799 --> 00:11:42.279 the decision that the insurance company should be making on 227 00:11:42.279 --> 00:11:42.919 my behalf. 228 00:11:43.240 --> 00:11:46.200 So the biggest key is making sure that you don't 229 00:11:46.200 --> 00:11:49.840 deplete your funds too quickly, right, And what I like 230 00:11:49.919 --> 00:11:52.720 to do the most conservative route is you provide the 231 00:11:52.799 --> 00:11:56.000 location that you're interested in to your insurance company and 232 00:11:56.039 --> 00:11:58.399 have them approve it before you go and bind yourself 233 00:11:58.600 --> 00:12:01.840 to that contract or to that at booking because you 234 00:12:01.879 --> 00:12:03.879 want to be guaranteed that you're getting reimbursed. 235 00:12:05.080 --> 00:12:10.240 Okay, great? What else is out there that most homeowners 236 00:12:10.279 --> 00:12:10.840 aren't aware of? 237 00:12:11.080 --> 00:12:14.879 When you're conducting your remediation portion to fix the damages 238 00:12:14.919 --> 00:12:17.879 to your home, you're also allotted what's called pack out 239 00:12:18.000 --> 00:12:21.080 and pack back expenses in order to move the items 240 00:12:21.080 --> 00:12:23.279 that are in your home out and they have to 241 00:12:23.279 --> 00:12:25.759 pay for that along with the storage for those items. 242 00:12:25.840 --> 00:12:28.519 It really just depends on the situation. If you have 243 00:12:28.600 --> 00:12:33.399 tenants who are at the property and they were displaced 244 00:12:33.440 --> 00:12:37.200 because of the fires or whatever the loss was, you 245 00:12:37.240 --> 00:12:39.039 can get that loss of income as long as you 246 00:12:39.039 --> 00:12:41.360 have a landlord policy in place and there's a policy 247 00:12:41.399 --> 00:12:43.080 limit provision for the loss of income. 248 00:12:43.240 --> 00:12:47.120 Okay, now this is something really important that you just 249 00:12:47.200 --> 00:12:51.080 touched on. Yeah, because as we all know here in 250 00:12:51.120 --> 00:12:54.039 southern California, in California in general, in the last five 251 00:12:54.080 --> 00:12:58.080 to ten years, eighty us have become a massive thing, 252 00:12:58.360 --> 00:13:02.159 right acessory dwelling in its guesthouses, granny flat whatever you 253 00:13:02.240 --> 00:13:05.039 want to call them, the idea that be in order 254 00:13:05.080 --> 00:13:09.399 to curb the housing crisis. Right the state has said, hey, 255 00:13:09.440 --> 00:13:12.039 we're going to make it really easy and basically have 256 00:13:12.240 --> 00:13:15.440 strong armed every county into building in safety like you 257 00:13:15.519 --> 00:13:19.200 will allow ADUs to be made. That means a lot 258 00:13:19.240 --> 00:13:24.120 of homeowners are now landlords. Yes, okay, what if I've 259 00:13:24.320 --> 00:13:27.440 got an ADU and I've got people renting it from 260 00:13:27.519 --> 00:13:30.320 me legally, I've got a lease agreement, but I never 261 00:13:30.440 --> 00:13:33.679 thought to turn to my insurance company and say I 262 00:13:33.720 --> 00:13:36.240 need a specialized policy for that. 263 00:13:36.240 --> 00:13:38.879 That's and that's the problem. If you never informed the 264 00:13:38.960 --> 00:13:42.399 insurance carrier that you now have tenants in an ADU 265 00:13:42.720 --> 00:13:45.480 and it's not covered under the policy, meaning they didn't 266 00:13:45.519 --> 00:13:48.000 update the policy to provide a specific endorsement for that, 267 00:13:49.320 --> 00:13:51.240 it's unlikely that you're going to get coverage for them. 268 00:13:51.240 --> 00:13:52.440 You're gonna have a hard time. 269 00:13:52.279 --> 00:13:54.759 All right. So everybody who has put an ADU in 270 00:13:55.600 --> 00:13:57.440 needs to turn around. I mean, if it's if it's 271 00:13:57.480 --> 00:13:59.720 for a family member, that's one thing. But if you 272 00:13:59.799 --> 00:14:02.320 are actually if it's a source of income for you, 273 00:14:02.399 --> 00:14:04.720 which it is for so many people, you got to 274 00:14:04.759 --> 00:14:09.159 make sure that your insurance company is accounting for that 275 00:14:09.240 --> 00:14:09.639 as well. 276 00:14:09.720 --> 00:14:11.399 And I just want to take the time now to 277 00:14:11.519 --> 00:14:14.559 just let everybody know, you know, I think it's incredibly 278 00:14:14.559 --> 00:14:19.360 important to review your insurance policies now, to go through 279 00:14:19.399 --> 00:14:23.960 your coverages, your limitations, your endorsements, and everything that's excluded 280 00:14:24.039 --> 00:14:26.600 or included in your policy, just to make sure that 281 00:14:26.639 --> 00:14:29.440 you have adequate coverage in case of an event like 282 00:14:29.799 --> 00:14:33.320 the wildfires that have happened. Without doing so, you don't 283 00:14:33.480 --> 00:14:36.440 know what coverage you may or may not have at 284 00:14:36.440 --> 00:14:38.720 a time of loss, and you may want to bolster 285 00:14:38.759 --> 00:14:39.879 your coverages at this point. 286 00:14:40.360 --> 00:14:44.159 All right, excellent, excellent stuff. All right, I still get 287 00:14:44.200 --> 00:14:46.200 some calls on the board. I want to try and 288 00:14:46.240 --> 00:14:48.600 come back and hit a couple of these calls and 289 00:14:48.759 --> 00:14:52.600 then we'll come back with you guys and wrap it 290 00:14:52.639 --> 00:14:55.279 all up. So go know where we are in the 291 00:14:55.360 --> 00:14:58.200 thick of it with your insurance company right now. They 292 00:14:58.200 --> 00:15:01.440 are quaking in their boots because you are learning all 293 00:15:01.519 --> 00:15:04.679 the things you need to know about what to do 294 00:15:05.200 --> 00:15:08.960 once a claim is filed. So stay with us. 295 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:13.279 You're listening to Home with Dean Sharp on demand from 296 00:15:13.399 --> 00:15:15.159 KFI AM six forty. 297 00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:21.720 KFI AM six forty live streaming and HD everywhere on 298 00:15:21.799 --> 00:15:24.519 the iHeartRadio app. You are Home with Dean Sharp, the 299 00:15:24.559 --> 00:15:28.559 house Whisper. We are talking insurance claims and damage to 300 00:15:28.679 --> 00:15:30.919 your home and what do you do. And I'm doing 301 00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:35.519 it with my very special in studio guests, the founding 302 00:15:35.600 --> 00:15:39.279 partners of Damage Law here in Southern California, here in 303 00:15:39.399 --> 00:15:41.960 LA And we're going to get back to that conversation. 304 00:15:42.039 --> 00:15:44.840 But I also want to get back to the phone 305 00:15:44.960 --> 00:15:47.200 see what we can do with a couple of these 306 00:15:47.279 --> 00:15:51.840 calls if at all possible, Henderson, you have been on 307 00:15:51.960 --> 00:15:55.480 the line for a long time. I want to talk 308 00:15:55.519 --> 00:16:01.399 to Henderson. Is Richie there? Can we activate? Can I Henderson? 309 00:16:01.679 --> 00:16:07.159 Welcome home? Nope, I'm not here in Henderson. 310 00:16:09.080 --> 00:16:09.720 Can you hear me? 311 00:16:10.039 --> 00:16:10.879 There you are, sir? 312 00:16:11.159 --> 00:16:11.679 How are you? 313 00:16:13.039 --> 00:16:16.639 I'm doing well. I have two questions. One is in 314 00:16:16.759 --> 00:16:21.120 remondling or building a home, and you have your doing. 315 00:16:21.320 --> 00:16:25.120 You're reminding with the h fact. Should return vents be 316 00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:28.159 in the upper portions of the wall or the lower 317 00:16:28.240 --> 00:16:29.240 portions of the wall? 318 00:16:30.080 --> 00:16:36.879 Oh? The returns, the return vents? You know what either, 319 00:16:37.679 --> 00:16:41.679 I'm not so concerned about. Here's the thing about return 320 00:16:41.799 --> 00:16:49.159 vents and everybody you know, and an HVAC. HVAC system 321 00:16:49.679 --> 00:16:53.879 is based on the flow of air through the house, 322 00:16:53.919 --> 00:16:56.679 and flow is created and a lot of some people 323 00:16:56.720 --> 00:17:00.720 haven't really conceptualized this. The flow of a house is 324 00:17:00.759 --> 00:17:05.240 a current. It's a circuit. Okay. All of the smaller ducks. 325 00:17:05.279 --> 00:17:07.599 The vents that are going into every room, in every space, 326 00:17:07.640 --> 00:17:09.720 whether they're on the floor or on the ceiling, or 327 00:17:09.839 --> 00:17:13.599 up above a door or wherever, those are output vents. 328 00:17:13.640 --> 00:17:17.079 That's what's blowing in hot air when you're heating your home. 329 00:17:17.119 --> 00:17:20.039 It's blowing in cool air when you're trying to cool 330 00:17:20.079 --> 00:17:23.839 your home. If that's all that an air conditioning and 331 00:17:23.880 --> 00:17:26.799 heating system did, then what would happen to a house 332 00:17:26.839 --> 00:17:28.960 that has all of its doors and windows closed up 333 00:17:29.480 --> 00:17:31.759 is that we would just build up what we call 334 00:17:31.839 --> 00:17:34.640 static air pressure in a room. In other words, we 335 00:17:34.759 --> 00:17:38.119 keep pumping air into a room and it's not going anywhere, 336 00:17:38.400 --> 00:17:41.279 and it builds up, and at some point the whole 337 00:17:41.319 --> 00:17:44.799 efficiency of the system shuts down because the fan isn't 338 00:17:44.839 --> 00:17:47.000 strong enough to pump any more air into the room 339 00:17:47.160 --> 00:17:51.039 and it's just sitting there. Okay, So that's not how 340 00:17:51.119 --> 00:17:55.519 an HVAC system is designed. It's designed to have also 341 00:17:56.200 --> 00:17:58.920 a return air vent. And if you don't know what 342 00:17:58.960 --> 00:18:02.359 that vent is, it's the biggest one. It's that big one, 343 00:18:02.440 --> 00:18:04.680 and it's either in the ceiling in the hallway, or 344 00:18:04.720 --> 00:18:07.759 it's down by the bottom of the of a wall, 345 00:18:08.519 --> 00:18:10.880 or maybe if your unit, if your air handler and 346 00:18:10.920 --> 00:18:14.599 your furnace is inside your house, inside that closet, the 347 00:18:14.640 --> 00:18:16.880 retair and air vent is often right down at the 348 00:18:16.880 --> 00:18:20.519 bottom underneath it. It's where the filter goes to protect 349 00:18:20.559 --> 00:18:23.519 your system that you have easy access to and while 350 00:18:23.519 --> 00:18:26.400 the system is running. I'm shocked that a lot of people. 351 00:18:26.440 --> 00:18:28.319 I'm not saying you, Henderson, I know you know all 352 00:18:28.359 --> 00:18:31.279 of this, but a lot of people are like, really, 353 00:18:31.319 --> 00:18:33.720 that thing sucks, it doesn't blow. And so yeah, take 354 00:18:33.720 --> 00:18:35.799 a piece of paper when your system is running and 355 00:18:35.839 --> 00:18:38.279 just put it over that vent and it'll right up 356 00:18:38.319 --> 00:18:40.759 to the retair and air vent. It is taking the 357 00:18:40.799 --> 00:18:43.960 air out of the house running it back through the system. 358 00:18:44.039 --> 00:18:47.519 So the reason why I went into that whole explanation 359 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:51.160 is because I want everybody to understand the fundamental principle 360 00:18:51.279 --> 00:18:54.400 and that is in new construction, like what you're doing, Henderson. 361 00:18:55.759 --> 00:19:00.440 What we want is we want the relationship. It's not 362 00:19:00.519 --> 00:19:03.119 a magic answer. The return airvent should be low or high, 363 00:19:03.279 --> 00:19:07.400 doesn't matter as much as the relationship of where the 364 00:19:07.480 --> 00:19:12.640 return is to the ducts that it is dealing with. Okay, 365 00:19:13.039 --> 00:19:17.759 So for instance, let's say you've got a let's say 366 00:19:17.799 --> 00:19:20.359 we have this a typical scenario and I hate when 367 00:19:20.400 --> 00:19:23.920 I see it. The return air vent is on a 368 00:19:23.960 --> 00:19:31.079 ceiling in a hallway, okay, right outside a bedroom door. Okay, 369 00:19:31.400 --> 00:19:33.519 So there's a door out of the hallway into a 370 00:19:33.519 --> 00:19:35.920 bedroom and the return air vent is right up there 371 00:19:35.920 --> 00:19:38.799 in the hallway on the ceiling. Okay. Now the question 372 00:19:39.039 --> 00:19:43.079 is where is the duct that the supply duct in 373 00:19:43.160 --> 00:19:47.160 that bedroom. If the supply duct in the bedroom is 374 00:19:47.880 --> 00:19:51.519 coming out on the door wall right above the door, 375 00:19:51.599 --> 00:19:54.599 like so many do and so many tracked homes, then 376 00:19:54.960 --> 00:19:57.160 if I was to like if I could magically make 377 00:19:57.279 --> 00:20:00.240 fog run through your system and colorize it so we 378 00:20:00.240 --> 00:20:02.440 could see what was happening. Here's what's going to happen. 379 00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:07.440 The duct is blowing air out into the bedroom, okay, 380 00:20:08.279 --> 00:20:12.240 and the return air vent is sucking it back out 381 00:20:12.279 --> 00:20:16.119 into the hallway, which means that the venting of the room, 382 00:20:16.359 --> 00:20:18.319 the air is not getting all the way over to 383 00:20:18.400 --> 00:20:20.839 the other side of the bedroom. Okay. The cold air 384 00:20:20.880 --> 00:20:23.079 isn't making it over there, the hot air isn't making 385 00:20:23.119 --> 00:20:27.039 it over there because the vacuum is right behind it, okay, 386 00:20:27.160 --> 00:20:30.279 literally like four feet away, sucking the air back. So 387 00:20:30.359 --> 00:20:33.720 that's a very very inefficient system. It's not about the 388 00:20:33.799 --> 00:20:35.920 fact that it's not about the fact that the return 389 00:20:36.000 --> 00:20:39.160 air is in the hallway in that situation, I want 390 00:20:39.200 --> 00:20:41.519 to put the supply duct in the bedroom on the 391 00:20:41.759 --> 00:20:45.880 far wall as far away as possible so that as 392 00:20:45.960 --> 00:20:48.960 the return air is sucking the air through the room, 393 00:20:49.240 --> 00:20:52.960 all of that cool or warm air travels all the 394 00:20:53.000 --> 00:20:55.839 way across the whole room and heats or cools the 395 00:20:55.920 --> 00:20:58.519 room the way it needs to before it goes back 396 00:20:58.519 --> 00:21:00.319 into the system. Again, does that make it vs? 397 00:21:01.480 --> 00:21:04.960 Yeah? So is it okay to have the output and 398 00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:08.079 the return both on the top. What does one need 399 00:21:08.119 --> 00:21:10.079 to be up high and one need to be down low? 400 00:21:10.240 --> 00:21:13.640 Higher low really isn't the critical thing. It really isn't. 401 00:21:14.200 --> 00:21:14.440