North Bay Village renter concerned about ceiling damage caused by rain
MIAMI - Rafael Faria, whose ceiling of his North Bay Village apartment partially collapsed Saturday after days of intermittent rain and gusty winds, feels he's lucky to be alive, but can't afford to move right now.
"I don't have renters insurance. I never thought I needed it," he said.
South Florida had strong winds and rain all day Saturday. Faria said he noticed bubbles in the wall but did not pay much attention to them. He said he's lived in the two-bedroom apartment on East Drive with a roommate for a year.
"We had a Christmas tree right here, and everything was beautiful, I went to take a shower," said Faria describing the path from where he was standing to the bathroom. "I'm in the shower and two minutes later I hear 'boom', I had no idea what happened. And, something told him (the roommate) to move from there prior to the collapse.
"Everything under the area where the ceiling collapsed was covered with plaster, that heavy cement is not regular sheetrock which is light. The question now is if this building is safe," he added.
Faria said he notified his landlord, who he described as "great and receptive" about what happened to him.
"She was here the following day," he said.
However, her hands are seemingly tied. The condo association for the apartment building told them to wait because they had to do an inspection. Right now, Faria does not know how long will it take for the unit to be fixed.
"I wish I could move tomorrow," said Faria.
Nevertheless, he will have to wait because he does not have the money to move somewhere else.
CBS News Miami asked insurance agent Humberto Peña from Write Way Insurance about Faria and what renters insurance would do for him.
"They will cover your hotel stay and or the move to another unit while that unit is being repaired," said Peña. "The other thing is that it would cover Rafael if he and his roommate would have been injured from the roof collapse."
Peña says the average price for a renters insurance policy for a tenant is about $250 a year.
When Faria found out he said, "a lesson to be learned, next time I'll get renters insurance."