$$$$$$ (house, taxes, tires)

The roofer, who installed a new roof shortly before we moved in, came out on Wednesday and said that when they put the roof on, they told Open Door there were issues with seams that needed to be fixed. However, Open Door wasn't interested, they told the roofers to just put on the roof. So, they did. He said there were lots of issues and that Open Door is terrible. (Open Door is a company that buys houses directly from people who don't want to deal with the hassle of selling and then Open Door resells.) The roofer also said the shutters on the house were attached improperly and were trapping water. And, when we had the mitigation done because of the squirrel infiltration, in some areas where they sealed things, they didn't give the water any place to go. He couldn't pinpoint the exact place where the water entered, because there were so many possibilities. We had a night where the rain and the wind were just right and that is what caused the flood.

The roof itself (shingles) is good. But, it is buttressed by wood rot and bad seams.

Trying to get people to come out and work is still an issue. We had someone lined up to give us a quote on Thursday--he never showed. I think we have someone to come and fix it next week, but we'll see. I am annoyed at so many people, but mostly the house inspector and the leak finder. We paid extra to have the roof inspected and he didn't see any of these issues? It sure seems like he missed a lot. This house has been a money pit! As for the leak finder, we paid $375 for him to come out and find the leak with his special infrared equipment, so we wouldn't have to cut unnecessary walls or waste a plumber's time. He insisted it was behind the shower. So, we wasted time (3 days) and money (another $500) on plumbers to figure out what was going on because the leak finder was so insistent. Ultimately, it wasn't even a leak! But at the end of the day, we can't blame any one specific person, so we will just fix it and move on.

While insurance covers almost everything with a plumbing leak, they don't cover as much when the water comes from the outside due to "wear and tear" issues. So, I was super stressed that they weren't going to cover anything! And, I think the mitigation alone is going to cost several thousand. Then, there is the new floors, new vanity in the bathroom, the drywall they removed, etc. Fortunately, we got the word on Friday that they will cover a lot. We have a $2000 deductible and will have to pay for the roof repairs and the personal property that was ruined, but the floors, walls and mitigation are covered. Thank goodness! 

Some of the mitigation

Since this is a post to complain about money, which I know is kind of taboo, but I'm not really sure why, so I am going to write about it anyway--I did our taxes this week and we owe $4800!!!! I am not sure how that happened, as our income didn't change very much, but there you have it. I am not going to officially file until late March or early April in the hopes that something magical happens, but I am kind of resigned. We adjusted for this year, so hopefully we won't have this problem again. I don't think we have ever owed taxes, at least not more than a few hundred.

And, we picked up a nail in one of the tires. It was too close to the sidewall to repair. Even though it wasn't close to time, we ended up getting 4 new tires. Tires have also become super expensive. Because of all the construction around here, we also added the insurance (which we've never done and never needed). So, that came out to $1200.

There you have it, approximately $10K out the door in less than a week on unexpected expenses (counting the taxes, even though I am waiting to pay those). I am trying to find positives, and there are plenty. First, we get to do some remodeling! We were going to do the tile floors anyway, so that is nice. And, we can replace the wood in the front rooms with wood that matches what we remodeled with when we did the kitchen. I also feel very fortunate that this is not going to break us. We have emergency savings for precisely this reason. We will put it out and then build it back up. I also know these are problems that can be fixed. It is expensive and inconvenient, but it is not earth-shattering. We are healthy and happy and the rest is just noise. So, I will vent in my blog and we will move on.

But wait! Since this is a post to complain, there are two other things I want to get off my chest. First, one of the reasons we spent so long on plumbing is because there actually is a plumbing issue. The first plumber didn't look at our meter, but when we got the second (and third) opinion, those plumbers did. And, the meter is climbing even when no one is using water. They suspect one of the toilets is bad, but we don't know. The third plumber did a pressurized check and determined there is no leak, but the meter is still moving. So, we have that issue to combat once we deal with the other stuff. The final complaint--there is something wrong with our smoke detectors. Before the flood even happened, we woke up one night to the fire alarms going off. Not just the "check the batteries chirp"--legit fire alarm, but in a weird pattern. Two quick (extremely loud) beeps, slight pause, repeat. There is nothing like being woken up from a sound sleep to your fire alarm. We searched the house and there was no fire (thankfully). Thomas reset the breaker and then we cleaned them all out. But it happened again two weeks later (flood week). And, one of them started chirping one night too. We changed that battery, but it chirped again the next night. We replaced all the alarms when we moved in, but maybe one or more has gone bad? Another issue to deal with. The kids think the house is haunted. I am starting to wonder if they are right!