After their first storm damage claim turned into a comedy of leaks - combatted only by our heroes’ bravery and their pots-and-pan ballet - Kenny and Shari finally receive their insurance settlement check for just over $4,000. Relief is short-lived, though, as they realize the payout is meaningless if they don’t have a contractor to actually do the work…and that the cheque might not be enough.

Enter Doug Quinn, an insurance-industry-insider turned consumer advocate, who joins the show to explain what really happens when a claim gets adjusted, why so many homeowners end up underpaid, and how to fight back. Doug’s story of losing his own home in Superstorm Sandy reveals the darker side of an industry built on trust - and the critical role of public adjusters, self-advocacy, and persistence. His advice gives homeowners a playbook for pushing back when the numbers don’t add up.

Meanwhile, back in California, Kenny and Shari’s “minor” kitchen window leak turns into a multi-month odyssey through contractors with reality-show egos, vanishing estimates, and escalating quotes. As they chase down “Screwdriver Slim” and “Hammer Dan,” personal storms brew, too: Shari’s father receives a devastating cancer diagnosis, forcing them to ask where they really belong.

Along the way, Kenny and Shari share (with Doug’s help):

• How insurance claims really get handled behind the scenes
• The difference between private and public adjusters
• Practical steps for homeowners to self-advocate after a denied or low claim
• The emotional toll of home repair limbo…and the moment grief changes everything
• The beginnings of what would become the Brady Windows saga

Even the smallest leak can expose how fragile the promise of protection really is - and how important it is to understand your rights before disaster strikes.

Find the links discussed in this episode here:

American Policyholder Association website

APA How to Self Advocate in an Insurance Dispute resource

United Survivors Disaster Relief

Bonus content: See photos of the real pots and pans ballet and other images from the fiasco at abandonedhousepod.com

This podcast is the official companion to the book series of the same name Abandon House: How to Survive a Home Repair Fiasco. Book 1 is available wherever you buy books, and at this link: https://www.amazon.com/Abandon-House-Survive-Repair-Fiasco/dp/B0FJYRFYKT

Next time: The search for someone - anyone - to fix the dreaded “what-are-those-called?” skywall windows begins. Two bids in, the insurance estimate is STILL a joke…so the Rudolphs fight back, appeal the decision, and actually win.

It all started with a drip.

In this very first episode of Abandon House: How to Survive a Home Repair Fiasco, Kenny and Shari Rudolph take us back to February 17, 2017 when a rare Southern California storm turns their dream “castle” on a hill into a battleground: against the elements, and a slew of pirate foes in the forms of contractors, crews, and insurance agents. Their leaking kitchen window (or is it a sky light? maybe a sky wall, or an atrium?) was combatted with the first of many renditions of what would come to be known as the “pots and pans ballet”...which they didn’t yet know would mark the beginning of what would become a five-year adventure into the half-a-trillion-dollar industry of home repair and restoration.

Along the way, Kenny and Shari share:

• The shock of discovering that their “invading raindrops” weren’t a one-time problem
• The hilariously desperate (and very wet) improvisation of catching leaks with cookware
• How their “castle” became the stage for unexpected chaos and comedy
• Their origin story as a couple - from elevator roulette and “non-dates” to long-distance love and finally moving into their fixer-upper together
• The first frustrating encounters with their insurance company and a surfer-dude adjuster

This episode sets the stage for the saga to come: a mix of comedy, cautionary tales, and hard-earned lessons about the pitfalls of homeownership.

Bonus content: See photos of the real pots and pans ballet and other images from the fiasco at abandonedhousepod.com

This podcast is the official companion to the book series of the same name Abandon House: How to Survive a Home Repair Fiasco. Book 1 is available wherever you buy books, and at this link: https://www.amazon.com/Abandon-House-Survive-Repair-Fiasco/dp/B0FJYRFYKT

Next time: Kenny and Shari’s spray-and-pray search for a contractor takes them from skylights to shantytowns, while their insurance “solution” falls apart.

Welcome to Abandon House! How to Survive a Home Repair Fiasco, where Kenny and Sherry Rudolph share their harrowing five-year journey through the half a trillion dollar home repair industry. A companion to Kenny's 3-part memoir of the same name, this 10-part limited series will bring you practical advice (from more seasoned experts than us, even), laugh-out-loud moments amid the chaos (our first insurance adjuster really did ask us for our fish taco recommendation), and a story that at the end of the day reminds you to hold those you love close (hey, if we can get through this - we can truly get through anything.) Subscribe now for essential do's and don'ts every other week to help you avoid the fate that we met…which left us crying, laughing, and screaming: “ABANDON HOUSE!”

Join Kenny and Shari Rudolph as they recount their five-year home repair fiasco, battling insurance bandits, unreliable contractors, and a whole slew of home repair pirates who did their level best to capsize their house - and bring their relationship down with it. Each episode of this 10-part limited series will include essential do's and don'ts from their experiences, expert insights, and exclusive behind-the-scenes glimpses into Kenny's 3-part Abandoned House: How to Survive a Home Repair Fiasco book series. Subscribe now to share the tears, laughter, and knowledge dropping onto the feed in fall 2025.