Tuesday, November 28, 2017

Run, Don't Walk

Maybe I should have titled this, Keeping Them Honest - 4th Edition.  Today I received a letter in the mail from the mortgage company informing us that, according to their records, we have let our Windstorm Insurance expire.  Furthermore, they will be purchasing a policy on our behalf that is  "significantly more expensive than insurance you can buy yourself" - word for word in the letter.  It should come as a surprise to no-one that our Windstorm Insurance did not expire; in fact, I went to the insurance agency in person to pay so that I would have all of my documentation just in case there were any issues.  So, what does the mortgage company have do gain (other than up-charging us on an insurance policy)?  They are still holding a chunk of our insurance money and one of their guidelines states that they will send us disbursements of insurance money as long as our account is in good standing.  Pretty convenient for them that they "don't have" our Windstorm renewal - sounds a lot like them trying to create an issue.
In case you have read every blog post, our mortgage company is Mr. Cooper (formerly NationStar).  I can't wait until the house is finished and we can get away from this mortgage company that owns both the loan for Rocky Creek and the loan for the house we live in.  If you have them too, run to your nearest credit union and re-finance!

Sunday, November 26, 2017

Flip or Flop

While many families are working to get their house in a "livable" condition so they can work on repairing damage while living in the house, some houses are starting to enter the housing market as "investment opportunities".  By investment opportunities the seller means that the house was flooded, gutted, and now on the market. Now that "flipping" is a thing, I think that many of these houses will be picked up by investors.  Seems like a win-win; home owner is able to liquidate a house they can not repair and an investor has an opportunity to flip a house a good price.
My concern post-flood has always been houses that were not gutted / fully gutted because folks felt that some things were salvageable / would dry out / were not damaged.
When we gutted our house, just 6 days after the flood, mold had already begun to grow - under cabinets, on plywood behind walls.  When we cut open the walls the insulation was as wet as the day the house flooded.  Everything has to come out.  Cabinets, showers (drywall and insulation behind them is wet), doors (warped from the water).  Everything.

The picture below is of a house around the corner from ours currently listed for-sale. While the drywall has been cut out, cabinets still in, shower in place, appliances and doors, etc.  It makes for a scary housing market.  As a buyer folks may unknowingly purchase a house like this post-flip that has not be properly gutted.   I worry about the effects of this now and down the road - if houses in the neighborhood develop toxic mold surely that could impact property values and buyer confidence.



Friday, November 17, 2017

Keeping Them Honest - Edition 3

This past Saturday we had the first inspection as required by the mortgage company.  Leading up to the inspection I read up on what to expect:
  • inspector will come with complete insurance adjuster's work sheet
  • inspector will thoroughly examine the work done
  • inspector will check off items completed from the insurance adjuster' work sheet and the completion rate will be determined by the items complete vs. items outstanding
Here is what actually happened:
  • inspector was 30 minutes late arriving, Dave is convinced the inspector had forgotten about the  appointment
  • inspector arrives without any paperwork specific to our house
  • inspector asks me, and I quote, "what all has to be done when a house floods"  ~ that was a sincere question on his behalf
  • inspector walks through the house snaps a handful of photos, asks me for my estimate (percentage) of how much of the work has been complete
  • inspector fills out generic form, lets me take a picture of it and then leaves
I couldn't make up a stranger scenario if I wanted to.  These inspections determine how much money we have access to and when we have access to it.  My assumption, based on the experience, is that the inspector had never seen a flooded house before, ever.  He seemed to have no appreciation for the amount of work that had occurred - every person that has been through (companies providing work and estimates) are always fast to say that we are further along than any other house they have seen post flood.  While the inspector was there I asked him (multiple times) if he wanted to see photos  and/videos documenting the progression of work that has happened.  He was totally uninterested. At the end of the appointment has asks, "So if you had to estimate, how much of the work is complete?"  Well that seems accurate.?.?  Glad that the mortgage company charges us for the inspection - if they wanted my opinion on the percentage of work complete they could have just asked me over the phone.

Sunday, November 12, 2017

77 days post flood

The saying, "it is a marathon not a sprint" is a perfect for the work that is happening at the house.  Although work is continuous, my heart sank a little bit this weekend because I realized that we are not as close to the home stretch as I had hoped / thought / wanted.  Dave and I are both off the week of Thanksgiving, so I saw that as a time we would come in and "finish up".  The reality is there are still big things to be done - for example: we don't have a working bathroom in the house yet.  And then there is the yard.  Insert cry face emoji here.
On a joyful note, really great things happened around us when we were there this weekend.  Next door neighbor was helping across the street neighbor change out a water pump on a truck, other next door neighbor was mowing his yard, and kids could be heard playing outside.  It was the first time things seemed "normal" since the flood. 

Tuesday, November 7, 2017

The Mortgage Company Is Not a Friend

When I first decided to blog about the repair of our house, I thought it would be about design, colors, materials, etc.  But, the blog has become more about the challenges that are out there as we are trying to put our house back together.  Harvey is not always in the news, and it would be easy to feel like the city is back on its feet.  However, there are obstacles at every turn.
I am constantly reminding myself that others have it much worse than we do - without insurance, living in house that needs repair, staying with family / friends / in a hotel.  With all of that said, last week was rough.
The mortgage company is holding our insurance money hostage - for example: two of the documents that we sent in on October 24th (day they arrived in the mortgage company's hands), well they now need to be notarized.  Did it say that in our information packet? No.  Is there a designated spot for the notary? No.  It is just another "reason" why they are holding our money and have yet to issue our first check. And it is not just these forms, they reject about 50% of what I turn in (paperwork and receipts).
You might be thinking, "Your mortgage company is terrible and you should get a new one."  That question led me to do some research.  When we financed this house it was not with NationStar, now known as Mr. Cooper.  Mr. Cooper is a company that purchased the loan after closing.  This is common practice in the lending world of big banks, and if you purchased your home via a big lender this has likely happened to you.  As a borrower you have no say in who (company) can purchase or service your loan.  What!?  While consumers are protected by the original terms of the loan, the company that purchases / services your loan may be terrible in the customer service area (think the house bubble that burst in 2008 and all of the foreclosure mis-happs that followed) and the borrower has little recourse. So I did a little more research - you know who doesn't usually sell the servicing of mortgages?  Credit Unions.  If you have been looking for a call to action, this is something you may want to consider.  After the dust settles, we will be refinancing with our Credit Union!