The Retire and Relocate Thread™

dtrides said:
We were paying over 20K on the calif. fair plan....our new home, in the city limits and with a fire hydrant right out front, is also now on the calif fair plan, but at a fraction of what we were paying.
That said, not much to burn here anymore.
One problem is the way most homes are built as I understand it.
Most homes have a vented attic. In a wild fire situation, all it takes is hot embers in the air to be sucked into those vents to start a home fire.
If we built homes with fire rated roofs and siding with sealed attics, ie: conditioned space, we would all stand a better chance of not going up in smoke.
DT
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Over 20k :wow & :wtf

And companies make vents - https://www.vulcanvents.com/
 
Grissom said:
Over 20k :wow & :wtf

And companies make vents - https://www.vulcanvents.com/
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Those vents totally kill airflow, which is the whole reason the vents are there in the first place! I've read the best balance is 1/8-1/16 mesh, that gives some airflow but also is protective against larger embers..

WoodsChick said:
Edit: As far as everyone else helping to pay for my "subsidized" insurance, I'd like to give a big "thank you" to whoever you are. No, really. `Prish! :rolleyes
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I know it's a bit of a tough pill to swallow when your rates are already so high, but it doesn't make it untrue. The fair plan is subsidized by the private insurers; they are forced to contribute to the plan's cost, as a condition for government permission to insure lower-risk urban areas.

If you live in a "frontier" environment, isn't it appropriate that you shoulder the full cost of the risks that come with that kind of lifestyle?
 
Frontier environment?
Ha!
Fire can get you anywhere.
Santa Rosa all around the 101.
Where I currently live, in a neighborhood in the city limits.
Sure some folks are out in fringe areas but I bet the bulk of the payouts due to fire are in urban areas.
DT
 
panthera said:
Yeah we are trying to get something without fire but we are told they will not insure for everything else and leave fire out. We have to have fire in there. All I can say is they are criminals and trying to extort us. We have never had any claims on our property or cars. What you described is exactly the situation that troubles me. If someone gets hurt they can go after us.
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Personal liability coverage at your home is kinda overrated. As long as you aren't constructing booby traps, you have no liability to anyone who enters without your permission. For anyone you do invite, you just have to provide a reasonable level of safety. If they trip and fall on their face because they are clumsy and there is no evidence that your facilities presented an unusual hazard, that is their fault and they won't have a good claim.

Cars are insured by car insurance, even if they are parked in the garage when damage happens.

Water damage can be a nasty one. That can be mitigated by upgrading your plumbing and installing smart leak detection systems. They make some really neat automatic shutoff valves and moisture sensors now, that will detect an unusual flow and shut off your water automatically.
 
dtrides said:
Frontier environment?
Ha!
Fire can get you anywhere.
Santa Rosa all around the 101.
Where I currently live, in a neighborhood in the city limits.
Sure some folks are out in fringe areas but I bet the bulk of the payouts due to fire are in urban areas.
DT
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Bulk of the payouts are definitely in urban areas, because that's where most people live. There will be freak occurrences where areas within city limits will burn, and that's why we get fire insurance. But the trick is in how you pool that risk - I want to share the risk with other urban users, I don't want to share risk with someone whose backyard is a national forest and has a 1000x greater chance of burning than me.
 
That's kinda how insurance works though. We all have to pay for the driving teenagers out there.
 
Not sure what you mean but of course risk is a factor for companies and their pricing of policies. We have almost zero risk of our home burning in a wildfire. To me it seems they really don't care what the risks are. And to be honest I'm glad they dropped us. We'll spend that money on the property and heavy equipment that I'll own. Paying the insurance was throwing money down the drain.
 
That sounds like a great plan, hell you could pool resources with neighbors and now everyone is protecting themselves.

I would think twice about the car insurance bond thingie, though. Cars are a huge liability risk, just a single honest mistake at the wrong place/time could lead to a valid million dollar claim against you. Ditch the collision if you need to, but keep the liability at max (and ideally an umbrella policy too to bring it up to a million minimum.)
 
One of the things that bugs me the most about this situation is that we are a recognized Fire Wise community and should get a discount on our insurance. Lol.
We as a community put in thousands of dollars in time, equipment, gas etc. cutting down dead trees near power lines and fuels reductions. Cal fire is doubling what we did last year and is commiting $100k for clearing 100' from both sides of the main roads for egress. Clearing underbrush and spacing trees 10' to 20' apart.
We pretty much take care of everything and don't rely on the state or institutions to help us. During snow season there are 4 of us that have plows on the mountain. We clear every road and cut downed trees out of the way. When PGE comes out to check the lines with their badass snow cat they don't use the front plow. They track over the top. When I encountered them on the road they refused to plow the last 30 feet for me when I asked.
 
Man.... while I could consider ditching home insurance I know this woman that would have none of that. We got stuck with a bump in the ass this year and it sucks.

More power to you panthera. Wish you the best for your world.
 
N4teTheGreat said:
Insurance gangsters, shaking everyone down for protection money.
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I was gonna pay cash for the wonderful house but… I can’t really deal with trying to take care of two homes. I already live in a vacation home at the bottom of Mount Hamilton. Another one in mineral California would be wonderful but too much to take care. I’m going to pass.

If anyone else wants to buy a wonderful home at 5000 feet in mineral California… Let me know I’ll hook you up.

I am just gonna come pester you guys who already bought bitchin homes in the hills
 
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panthera said:
One of the things that bugs me the most about this situation is that we are a recognized Fire Wise community and should get a discount on our insurance. Lol.
We as a community put in thousands of dollars in time, equipment, gas etc. cutting down dead trees near power lines and fuels reductions. Cal fire is doubling what we did last year and is commiting $100k for clearing 100' from both sides of the main roads for egress. Clearing underbrush and spacing trees 10' to 20' apart.
We pretty much take care of everything and don't rely on the state or institutions to help us. During snow season there are 4 of us that have plows on the mountain. We clear every road and cut downed trees out of the way. When PGE comes out to check the lines with their badass snow cat they don't use the front plow. They track over the top. When I encountered them on the road they refused to plow the last 30 feet for me when I asked.
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WRT PGE, you're barking up the wrong tree. they have zero responsibility to plow on anyone else's behalf. and probably consider potential liability before any other consideration. corps gonna corp.

WRT to firewise, not sure if you've heard, but there has been a recent change in CA fire insurance regs related to wildfire risk areas. it used to be that rates were based on the region risk (either recent wildfire activity, or no wildfire activity for a long period - both dropped you into the high risk category). the change requires the risk assessment to be on a property specific basis - similar to how urban risk is calculated. that means that any any risk reduction for your specific property qualifies for a rate reduction. this went into effect last fall, and is gradually being implemented (property owners in our area are variously in the stages of completing the forms and inspections).

with regard to improving risk management, recommend you contact your local fire safe council, and local resource conservation district (both very involved in local and regional wildfire risk management). not sure about your county, but in mine (placer), the office of emergency services also has an on-line map that shows the risk, and risk management efforts (e.g. fuel reduction projects).

Butch said:
I was gonna pay cash for the wonderful house but… I can’t really deal with trying to take care of two homes. I already live in a vacation home at the bottom of Mount Hamilton. Another one in mineral California would be wonderful but too much to take care. I’m going to pass.

If anyone else wants to buy a wonderful home at 5000 feet in mineral California… Let me know I’ll hook you up.

I am just gonna come pester you guys who already bought bitchin homes in the hills
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come pester me. we have a couple of nice guest rooms, and awesome roads. would love to see you again babe.
 
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Been thinking more about Paradise/Magalia area after visiting. In the areas that burned, at least nine of ten trees are gone, and most of those areas aren't going to burn again. And it's been blowing up with tons of construction going on. I think it's well past that tipping point of not being shitty from the fire and there's a lot less apprehension.

If you're more on the Paradise end, it's only 20 minutes to Chico and they have Costco, Home Depot, TJ's, hospital w/emergency, tons of restaurants, etc. I hadn't realized there were 100k people in Chico. There's even a speeday. Elevation is anywhere from 1600ft on Paradise and 2400ft in Magalia, so you'll get a little snow here and there, little enough that it's more fun than it is a burden.

You can get a new/newer manufactured home on a quarter acre lot for as little as 250k, but it looks like the county is taking a smarter approach and keeping the building fees low, plus all the infrastructure is in place, save for maybe a melted septic tank, so building could actually be affordable. Lots are so cheap, you may as well buy a couple and get some nice buffer from neighbors. This might be our next spot for a few years before the big move.
 
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