Arson in a new building is a real possibility. How was the project funded?
Often times, especially in private ventures (small LCCs with investors), commercial loans and funding is contracted well before construciton starts. The goal is to lease space and book the revenue before construction is complete. In this way, there is often an early indicator of the money that is going to be lost if leasing is not going well or if costs are out of control. The best time to recover the total value of the investment (or the last time) is before the fire sprinkler system is functional. A Builder’s Risk insurance policy usually covers the up to the value of the contract. (Not necessarily the land).
If you want out of a deal that is a forecasted loser, this is your best hope to cut losses. Otherwise, per the contract language of the mortgage, investors have to maintain a debt/equity ratio in an account that is autditable by the lender. This means, you, as an investor could be shoveling money into an account to keep up with losses for some time.
I’m not saying or accusing of arson here. But I would not be surprised. It has happened before. And it can be hard to investigate, especially depending on what stage of construction they are in.
Fire Departments have arson investigators and so do insurance companies.
Arson is not covered under contractor policies. An accident would be.
the fire department doent think it was “accidental”
The huge L.A. fire that engulfed an apartment tower over an area the size of a city block is being treated as a criminal fire.
Although blazes “of this magnitude” are always treated as criminal fires, “it’s very rare for the entire building to be engulfed at once,” Capt. Jaime Moore told the Los Angeles Times.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-los-angeles-fire-20141208-story.html
I Pray it wasnt the arson contingent of the occupy shmucks!