Repair or Rebuild?

When a fire severely damaged Dan’s property, he initially thought he would just repair the building and try to get the tenant to come back.

THE CHALLENGE

When a fire severely damaged Dan’s property, he initially thought he would just repair the building and try to get the tenant to come back. Dan’s family had owned the commercial property for many years. It was a simple iron on steel structure with a small brick office at the front and was in an area which had recently become urbanised. When a fire severely damaged the property, he initially thought he would just repair the building and try to get the tenant to come back. A large number of objections were lodged and it was clear there would be considerable costs and delays in obtaining approval to build.

THE FIX

Following discussions between Dan, the assessor and ourselves, Dan decided to sell the block of land for a residential development and to rebuild the commercial building on a more suitable site in a design which was more appropriate to modern requirements. The Policy even paid for the extra costs to comply with new building regulations which would have been required to rebuild on the original site. Not only did Dan receive payment for the loss of rentals and outgoings, but he now had a property which generated a much higher rental income.