Setting the scene
As you know (if you’ve read any of my other blogs), I am often asked “what is lifestyle management?” and “how can it help me?” Well, having a good look round this website will help answer both those questions, but so will reading this post. It’s the story of Val and Bruce, and I think it encapsulates very well, one aspect of how I can help people sort things out and I hope, really add value to your projects.
Background
Val is British and Bruce is American. They travel frequently between their home in SW London and their home in Texas. Their home in SW London is a spacious 3 bedroom ground floor apartment in a converted old nursing home. They have enjoyed the apartment and its location….well, that was, until disaster struck.
The disaster
In October 2014 the apartment suffered a major flood after some “flexipipes” carrying water to the whole building burst. Their apartment took the brunt of the flooding as the burst pipes were directly above them. Their flat is on the ground floor and because they, and the neighbours were out at the time it took a few hours for the problem to be noticed. When Val and Bruce realised the extent of the repairs that would be needed, and in light of their travel commitments, they knew they would need immediate support. They made contact with me , explained the situation and arranged to meet me at their flat.
So what happened?
Our first meeting was interesting. Not least because Val and Bruce appeared to have enormous capacity to take all that was happening in their stride…. There were obvious damp areas and mould rising up the walls in several places. Their insurance company had been informed. And at that time it seemed like it would be relatively straight forward to sort out. How wrong can you be?
As time passed, it became clear that the extent of the water damage was very significant. Every part of the flat was affected. Their insurance company required investigative work to be undertaken to assess how bad things were and no doubt get a handle on the value of the claim. It soon became clear that the floor in every room of the flat would have to be stripped back to the bare bones and several weeks devoted to getting the flat dry before putting everything back together. It also meant there was now going to be a team of professionals involved in this situation including:
- The loss adjustor from their insurance company
- An insurance claim negotiator – essential for ensuring Val and Bruce had help dealing with their loss adjustor
- A surveyor to oversee the works, ensure they were done to a high standard and help with appointing a contractor to undertake the remedial works
- Disaster Care who provided all the equipment to speed up getting their flat dried out
- The contractors appointed to put the flat back together again.
So far, so interesting – but where does Partners in Time fit into all this? Check back in the next couple of weeks and I’ll tell you!
