It's Official
They say you aren't really a homeowner until things begin to go terribly wrong. Buying a house built in 1760 we were prepared for a myriad of unexpected problems.
The day after the closing twelve trees went down in the yard from a big winter storm with gusts up to 80 mph. Then the contractor decided the roof needs to be replaced, something we thought we had a few years to worry about. The clapboards are rotted. And all the windows need upgrading. This on top of what we knew: Update electrical, insulate in places (the house is completely free of insulation), delead*, install new heating system (a great opportunity to save on energy!), two new bathrooms, one new kitchen, & all the plumbing this entails.
I'm proud to say we were taking it all in stride.
Until today when I learned our home owners insurance dropped us. And then the deleading estimate came in at $75,000*.
Our local insurance agent didn't seem optimistic about writing us a policy, he's getting back to me. As for the lead, Mass Housing offers low interest loans to Get The Lead Out if you qualify. So I phoned them, who sent me to Action Energy, who sent me to Action Inc., who said I needed to speak with Stella who is only available on Thursdays. The thing is, if your child tests high for lead and you have a court order to delead your house the loan is 0% and "eligible borrowers may not have to repay the loan until they sell or refinance their home". But if you delead for preventive reasons the loan is 3-5%. Legally the house must be deleaded. What?
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