I got a notice of non-renewal of the homeowners insurance on the “rental property” aka the house my daughter rents from me, the house she lived in since middle school, the only home the Dancer has ever known.
FUUUUUUCK!
Yep. I did not need this.
It’s not canceled immediately, I have until May to fix it, but I’m pretty sure that “fixing it” will require a new roof. Not that there’s anything wrong with the roof; it’s older but in good condition, but policy non-renewals for “aging” roofs are a thing in Florida. An aging roof is anything over 10 years old. Seriously. Have I mentioned lately how much I fucking HATE insurance companies?
Remember how I refinanced my condo to redo the 40+ year old master bathroom and replace the 40+ year old toilets and replace the windows? I’ve been dragging my feet on these projects because I really wasn’t looking forward to the mess and stress of ripping out half of the master bath, the mess of the tile work, etc. And mostly I was waiting until the omicron variant stopped running quite so wild. It didn’t seem like a great time to have workers tromping around while I’m working at home to avoid catching it.
And once again, procrastination saved my ass. After reviewing the “poor people options” for rebuilding my small master bath shower, I was not impressed. Both Home Depot and Lowe’s directed me to a company that does a solid surface remodel, not traditional tile. I just did not like it. I had a vision of clean white subway tile, not faux stone. It was just too over the top and would make that tiny shower space feel claustrophobic.
I thought about project managing my own bath remodel, and then I thought about the joys of a bathroom project and the tile dust and all the mess that goes with it, and I started talking myself out of redoing the tile. I lived through a major bathroom remodeling many years ago, and if I don’t have to go that far, I really don’t want to. It truly sucks, especially if you’re also working from home in online meetings, etc. The noise, the mess, the inconvenience, the situation is not that desperate.
The bathroom project is now scaled back to two nice new 21st century toilets (one in each bath, what were you picturing?), and in the master bath a nice new shower head with one of those hand held wand thingies, new lighting, and a new shower door. I’ll paint, I don’t need a 16 ft. ladder to do the bathrooms.
That cut my bathroom remodel cost by about 2/3, and that’ll help with what I’m pretty sure will be a new roof on the house. That account I was going to put aside for a new HVAC for here when it’s needed? Yeah, that’s gonna be a roof on the “investment property.” Oh well. I’m actually not complaining, I’m grateful that I can handle this expensive curveball.
The windows have to happen, though. They are atrocious. I can’t open them because they may not ever shut again. We are doing winter this week, and boy do these windows leak cold air, especially in my bedroom. It’s as drafty as a Dickensian garret. I have broken out the shawls. I’m losing A/C most of the year. Replacing the windows and the old toilets will save money every month.
We aren’t talking about a lot of windows but they’re all quite large and probably custom sizes, and the sliding glass doors are not little 6 ft. standard patio sliders. But whatever, it has to happen before storm season. They are the definition of borrowed time. Unlike the roof on the “investment property,” which is perfectly fine.
Now that I have a date to return to the office it’s lit a fire under me to get this shit done. I’m grateful for the flexibility of this crazy return to the office plan, and my new manager is a super nice guy so I don’t think rearranging a bit to be here for plumbers and window guys will be a big deal. This week I will get this show on the road.
February is going to be wildly productive, and I’m motivated. More on that soon.
We bought a new home here in December 2019. THEN, despite our doing due diligence, found out that our 40-year warrantied roof will have to be replaced in 10 years, because fuck insurance companies. So, maybe we’ll just sell and move before then. Maybe out of the country. At least we have, now, eight years to consider it.
Honestly, I just don’t know where the best place (for our needs/lifestyle) to live is, anymore. I really don’t.
Apparently roof warranties don’t matter anymore. I put a 30 year roof on the house after the infamous hurricane season of 2004. So yes, it’s 18 years old but has no damage, no leaks, no claims, no issues. BTW, I called the insurance company and got a lovely, soothing, “Oh NO, it’s not because of the age of the roof, we just decided to dump you.” Right. We’re not on the coast, haven’t had storm damage or filed any claim since the hurricanes in 2004, but they are “just cutting back on customers in Florida.” I’ll call around next week to start hunting for new coverage.
This is a new development in insurance companies’ creative ways to screw consumers, I’ve only heard these stories for the last couple of years. It’s utter bullshit.
I’m not very tall, and I don’t need a taller than average toilet! I’d feel like a child with my feet dangling. 🙂
There are SO MANY reason that I would not move to Florida but I had no idea that a 10 year old roof was “aging” that is just not practical! Good luck with all your remodeling work. Do check out the various toilets. I’m tall, 6 feet and I finally found a toilet that didn’t make me feel like I was sitting on the ground. You probably are that tall but higher toilets can be more comfortable. Just a thought.