We Really Didn't Need This

my3boys · #1 06/13/11, 12:50 AM

I am relatively new here so most of you probably don't remember my original post from when I joined a few months ago. The long and the short of it is we moved back to our home state of PA about a year ago. We have a house in TN that is still on the market. A few weeks ago when all of those bad storms were racing across the state our house sustained a lot of hail damage. We're talking golf ball-sized hail. The insurance guy was out there last week and we just got the report. It's a lot worse than we thought. Originally the neighbor told us it was just the roof (which was totally replaced last year) and the paint on one side of the house (house was totally repainted last year as well). Turns out the whole house needs to be repainted, the roof may need to be totally replaced again, the garage door needs replacing and the deck was badly damaged, along with some miscellaneous stuff here and there.

We have contacts as far as the repair work, having just been through getting the house ready to sell and already having dealt with painters and roofers and the like. We have 2 problems. One is we are now 12 hours away and dh will have to take time off of work when everything is done to drive down there and inspect it.

The second problem is the really, really big one. With all the homes that have been damaged, all the roofers, painters, etc. are really backed up. Like months and months backed up. Our neighbor had his roof already scheduled to be done right after the storms and his roofer told him he was backed up until April 2012! Our roofer is checking out our house this coming week.

Summer is the prime time for home sales and we cannot sell the house until it is repaired. It's possible that none of this work will be done until long after summer is over. That means even more waiting to buy/build here, and possibly many more months of paying mortgage and rent. This has the potential to financially devastate us. We also have a son only a little over a year from going off to college.

Sorry to go on for so long. I guess I just needed to vent some frustration and maybe ask those of you who would to please pray for us. My dh works so hard and is already putting in overtime. He is also already super stressed from adjusting to a new job. In his field that can take awhile. He especially needs prayer, along with our ds17 who is picking up on his parent's stress level.

Thanks for listening.

Carol

luvrulz · #2 06/13/11, 01:41 AM

Where in Tn are you? We are in Ky about 30 minutes from Celina, TN. There are contractors here looking for work....

Jokarva · #3 06/13/11, 07:56 AM

Will insurance pay your rent (or at least some of it) till the repairs are done?

Callieslamb · #4 06/13/11, 08:02 AM

Can you all get down there and do the work yourselves and pocket the difference in the insurance claim? We paid for a son's tuition one year that way - he did the work.

my3boys · #5 06/14/11, 02:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jokarva

Will insurance pay your rent (or at least some of it) till the repairs are done?

We moved from TN a year ago and are now living in PA, where we are renting until the house in TN sells. The house is not unlivable, it's just not going to be very marketable until the repairs are made.

Carol

my3boys · #6 06/14/11, 02:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luvrulz

Where in Tn are you? We are in Ky about 30 minutes from Celina, TN. There are contractors here looking for work....

We were in east TN.

my3boys · #7 06/14/11, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Callieslamb

Can you all get down there and do the work yourselves and pocket the difference in the insurance claim? We paid for a son's tuition one year that way - he did the work.

Dh has a full-time job and would not have the time to do anything more than a quick one-day trip to inspect the work once it is done. The whole roof needs replacing and the whole house needs to be repainted, along with probably a whole new deck and a new garage door installed.

Carol

nadja · #8 06/14/11, 02:21 PM

Why don't you let your 17yo son go down there, work on the house for the summer or however long it takes to finish it, and then use the ins. money for him to go to college. At least it would keep the money in the family, allow him to pick up a few work skills, and you with the knowledge that your son is in charge of the house rather then a complete stranger ? After all, he will be on his own next year anyway , right ? I have been on my own since I was 16 and still kicking after all these years.

my3boys · #9 06/14/11, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nadja

Why don't you let your 17yo son go down there, work on the house for the summer or however long it takes to finish it, and then use the ins. money for him to go to college. At least it would keep the money in the family, allow him to pick up a few work skills, and you with the knowledge that your son is in charge of the house rather then a complete stranger ? After all, he will be on his own next year anyway , right ? I have been on my own since I was 16 and still kicking after all these years.

Because he's only 17 and doesn't have a clue how to replace an entire roof or build a new deck. He knows how to paint to some extent, but not enough to do an entire 2 story house by himself. Even though dh is very handy (he redid our kitchen and did most of the work redoing our baths), he's mostly a computer/desk work type of guy and never really taught our youngest how to handle tools. Sad, but that's the reality.

I taught him how to handle himself in the kitchen and do laundry and housekeeping stuff so I did my part. If I knew much of anything about carpentry I would teach him that too.

Carol

Curtis B · #10 06/14/11, 02:47 PM

If you are selling, why not get the house painted and the deck done, and put it on the market before the roof. If you state that the roof will be done by a certain date it will not matter. The paint and deck are apperance, but I doubt that the buyer would ever notice that the roof needs replaced until an inspector looked.

#11 06/14/11, 03:07 PM

Perhaps you could sell the house as is & give the buyers an allowance to do the repairs . They would then have some say on roofing & color choices ect. Some people would find this an attractive deal as long as you allotted an appropriate amount of money to do the repairs which would come from your insurance company .

Loriann1971 · #12 06/14/11, 03:15 PM

I am so sorry you are going through this. We just moved from California to Pennsylvania and we still have our house out there. It is not easy having a house that is far away from where you are. We will keep you in our prayers.

mnn2501 · #13 06/14/11, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by my3boys

and we cannot sell the house until it is repaired.

Why not? give the seller a rebate to cover the costs of the repairs or lower the price.
I bought a house that needed work done, I got 2 estimates and wrote into the contract that the seller rebate me $xx for the repairs.

my3boys · #14 06/14/11, 04:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loriann1971

I am so sorry you are going through this. We just moved from California to Pennsylvania and we still have our house out there. It is not easy having a house that is far away from where you are. We will keep you in our prayers.

Thank you. I will pray for you too.

Carol

my3boys · #15 06/14/11, 05:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WV Hillbilly

Perhaps you could sell the house as is & give the buyers an allowance to do the repairs . They would then have some say on roofing & color choices ect. Some people would find this an attractive deal as long as you allotted an appropriate amount of money to do the repairs which would come from your insurance company .

I'm with you on that. I'm thinking that in this economy, there are people who would be glad to buy in at a lower price and do the repairs as they can. Not sure what the bank will say about it though.

Carol

my3boys · #16 06/14/11, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mnn2501

Why not? give the seller a rebate to cover the costs of the repairs or lower the price.
I bought a house that needed work done, I got 2 estimates and wrote into the contract that the seller rebate me $xx for the repairs.

We would be more than willing to do this. The problem is there are so many things that have to be done that people are overwhelmed when they see it, even when they are told it was storm damaged and will all be taken care of. It's a buyers market and they know it and they are being very,very selective, because they can, I guess.

Carol

ronbre · #17 06/14/11, 07:46 PM

if you can't get the work done get the roof covered to protect it, otherwise your ins won't cover any additional damage

Karen · #18 06/14/11, 09:33 PM

Since you said the house was livable, perhaps you could find someone here on the forum that is dependable but just needs a hand-up and a place to live for few months in exchange for doing the repairs on the house. You supply the materials, they the labor. They get free rent; you get your house fixed. It would be a win-win for both of you.

I'll be praying for you and Loriann. I know what huge financial and emotional burden it must be trying to sell a home so far away in this housing/financing market.

4nTN · #19 06/14/11, 09:44 PM

I`m in east tn.My daughter is looking for a place close by.I`m in Johnson County.Do you mind me asking where your place is,and if there is any land with it?

Sharon

kenworth · #20 06/15/11, 12:23 AM

Quote:

Since you said the house was livable, perhaps you could find someone here on the forum that is dependable but just needs a hand-up and a place to live for few months in exchange for doing the repairs on the house. You supply the materials, they the labor. They get free rent; you get your house fixed. It would be a win-win for both of you.

I'll be praying for you and Loriann. I know what huge financial and emotional burden it must be trying to sell a home so far away in this housing/financing market.

and get it in WRITING if you go this way, believe me, it's a nightmare if you dont put it to paper. It may seem like a hastle, but you could save yourself a lot of grief.