You don’t, but your first step should always be to consult one.

As many other homeowners and investors, I have for many years consistently, responsibly, and at times unwillingly paid into multiple Monthly Dues and Insurances that were intended to provide me with one basic “assurance”:

That the people who were receiving my money, would ensure that the value of my property was to always be protected equal to the level of my monthly payments. 

Afterall, even the most basic property dues and insurance coverage can add up to a substantial portion of a homeowner’s or investor’s income… So, in an equal system, someone who has responsibly paid their dues and premiums, can fairly expect to receive what these agreed fees were intended to pay for. 

And as many homeowners and investors, I personally came to realize that in most cases that “assurance” is subjective to three things:

• How knowledgeable are you about the subject matter?

• Do you have the time and available resources to educate yourself on the matter?

• Does the cost of hiring an expert give you a better potential-outcome than going it alone within the time and  resources you have available to properly educate yourself on the matter and execute a solution?

One thing that became clear to me in any situation where I thought I had rights and entitlements in exchange for my money… was that unless I happened to know a professional who was willing to do this work for me for free…I was going to have to address these 3 questions, or the investment I thought was protected under these “assurances” would be subject to my own level of ignorance. 

Now unlike most people, whether readily available or not, I have always opted to find the resources to educate myself, much like you are doing now. And in some cases, even turned my forced acquisition of knowledge into a profession I was passionate about, because the knowledge empowered me to not only help myself, but my relatives, my friends, and now my customers who I advocate for in the same way. 

My experiences negotiating tax liabilities against Revenue Officers for $0 when the IRS was garnishing thousands more in compounded interest from working-class people made me realize the disadvantages of not consulting experts. In most cases, individuals had simply had a bad year or made a mistake filing self-employment forms and could often eliminate up to 75% of the debt by simply asking or filing out additional forms. It was their right, they were entitled, they had made regular tax payments, yet without representation the IRS could garnish the wages of these individuals for years because they simply didn’t know what avenues they had to use and in what time. 

I got into this field after my father’s identity was stolen and the burden was on us to prove that a false return filed in his name was not him, despite never having received the refund they claimed we received and coming close to facing the same consequences through no fault of our own. 

After the building I moved into in North Miami in 2016 turned out to be mismanaged and falling into disarray with multiple open violations and repair needed before our 50 year recertification only 3 years away… it inadvertently opened the doors for me to become a condominium expert who in the following years would oversee the successful management and completion of Capital Repairs in excess of $1.5 million dollars and manage an annual budget of half a million dollars in regular maintenance obligations.

Yet when it came time to file an insurance claim for my own unit after a shower-pan leak and for the Condominium I managed after a hurricane event I was yet again, lost in the water. And as you can see, I followed my usual pattern and got Licensed as Public Adjuster in the State of Florida to help myself and others in gaining the knowledge they need to quickly redeem what they were initially entitled to all along. 

While I commend everyone’s efforts in educating themselves, what I have learned in all these experiences is that consulting an expert will always make a difference when it comes to answering the 3 previous questions you should be asking yourself right now. 

• How knowledgeable are you about the subject matter?

Often, we assume a lot of things, mostly because we assume that our dues and premiums automatically entitle us to what is on paper or what we’ve been told. But when consulting an expert, you will often find that the burden of proof is on you, the homeowner or investor to get the full benefits you’re entitled to. And meeting that burden will often require either much of your time and or money if you do not know how to navigate a system. Asking an expert will let you identify what you need to know you may not have considered.

• Do you have the time and available resources to educate yourself on the matter?

Regardless of the issue, the second a problem is identified, the clock starts ticking. While you should always do your homework up-front. I’ve also learned the hard way that I didn’t always have the time to catch up to that learning curve. In some cases, doing it myself regrettably cost me more money than I needed to spend as the added time it took me over an expert to handle the same issue would result in other unintended costs. Or in some cases I would promptly take care of the matter myself but was left feeling like I had walked away leaving money on the table. Overtime, I’ve learned to always consult an expert upfront and identify what I was not already aware of through my own research but also how much time I had to address my particular issues.

• Does the cost of hiring an expert give you a better potential-outcome than going it alone within the time and  resources you have available to properly educate yourself on the matter and execute a solution?

Whether you end up choosing to go with a professional or simply take advantage of the knowledge they can share, there are situations in which the value of their knowledge and time outweighs your personal cost. You will find that with some experts, such as Public Adjuster some or all of your costs can be fully covered or deferred without you having to come out of pocket up front.

Everyone will feel differently about this answer depending on their individual situation, but consulting an expert will always help you properly identify the full scope of your challenge, the time and resources required to resolve it, and allow you to set your own road-map to success from a position of knowledge before the clock runs out.  

Written by: Dayinel Nevarez / All Lines Public Adjuster – FL