I need to Rant... so that I'll feel better & a whole lot less frustrated... so for those of you who just want to enjoy pretty pictures I've gathered from my Photo Archives for this Post, ignore the Story... because I'm about to "go off"!!! *Winks*
This is the 1st Home without wheels that I ever owned & lived in during my Adult Life because I've always moved around Gypsy Style without roots to a particular Property or Place, and so Nomadic Living suited me better the majority of my Life. Yet, I always Dreamed of owning a Historic Home, a Project in need of Rescuing from being razed & to Lovingly Restore, to make a Dream Home out of. And when we had the opportunity to purchase the Old Bohemian Valhalla Homestead, well, it was both a Dream come True... but with it's share of Nightmares as well.
Yes, I knew it would be a Labor Of Love that would probably last a Lifetime and mean sacrifices, creativity, resourcefulness and certain hardships in the process. I am totally Okay & down with that... I've Lived with and through much less in the way of comforts & conveniences... and much more in the way of sacrifices & hardships. The Old House in & of itself has always been worth it and I Love our Home! But, I never in my wildest Dreams imagined how much resistance I'd run up against and how many battles I'd have to fight with other people, the City & Agencies in particular. *Whew*
I've been Victorious in some battles... and defeated in others... and in the most necessary of battles I just can't make running up the White Flag an option. This most recent battle is certainly one of THOSE instances. *Le Sigh* So, a good Bohemian Rant to make me feel better seems just the therapy I need right now. *Winks*
A Home always needs Hazard Insurance and I knew, from my years of running several Departments for major Banks, that getting underwriting for an Old Home in various stages of being Restored would not be easy when we purchased it. But, the Lender we purchased it from agreed to underwrite it in the "condemned" state it was in over 12 years ago... they had NO problem with Insuring it THEN... but after the small Claim was filed... suddenly every nitpicking thing they can use as an excuse is listed as criteria to now cease coverage! Even though since the purchase date we've been restoring, upgrading and doing what we can as time, resources & Health permits. It's come a LONG, LONG way from the days when it wasn't even habitable, though its still a Jewel in the rough because it's still almost 100 years old.
All the major things such as new Roof, new Plumbing, new Wiring were paramount on our list and we try to keep up on deferred maintenance issues... and issues caused by other causes. Such as when the City cut down our Ancient Tree without permission and compromised the integrity of the beautiful 100 year old rock & adobe wall that was built on either side of the massive Trunk and so now we've been attempting to save with bracing and retaining sub-walls built to strengthen it in damaged areas.
Needless to say lots of time & energy have been wasted & spent litigating certain issues over the years as well, which is always exhausting & financially draining. Resources, time & energy that could have been better spent in other more productive directions. And so, when we had that Burglary back in the early Summer I was hesitant to even file a Claim for the losses... knowing how hinky Insurance Companies can become once they have to pay out anything at all on a Claim regardless of how many years of Premiums & no Claims have been enjoyed in their favor.
Knowing that with an Old House not everyone will Insure you & not wanting to give the original Insurance now a reason to drop us after all these years. But The Son and The Man were adamant that why have Insurance at all if you can't file a legitimate Claim when you incur a Loss!!! *Indignant stamping of feet & puffing out of chests!* Yes, they're absolutely right... in Theory... and though the Claim was less than $2,000 and it shouldn't even be an issue to fear being dropped, I had a gut feeling that any sized Claim, unless catastrophic total loss, would be risky! In these tough economic times and with being violated & victimized by a Burglar, well, you want recompense to replace what was stolen. After all, we don't have a couple Grand just sitting around for such times... and then shelling it out of pocket means a double loss really. And since most of the stolen items belonged to the kids they were crestfallen and we knew we'd be replacing what they all lost whether we got paid out or not!
And so yes, against my better judgment I went ahead and agreed we should file a Claim and replace what had been stolen. And they paid out... and then promptly dropped us... no big surprise really since that's exactly what I expected an Insurance Company to do. But now, obtaining replacement coverage has become a huge Nightmare because our Home is so Old and a Claim was filed within the past 2 years so most other Companies won't qualify you! Since our Home is not quite paid off yet, close, but it's going to take just a few more years to own free & clear... we are required to have Coverage to satisfy the Lender & cover their investment. Even if it was paid off, well, we'd still need Insurance for our own protection, so it's a Catch 22... and frankly I'm pissed off so I needed a good ole' Bohemian Rant.
Because of the 2-year no Claim Qualifier its difficult to even find a new Company to Insure us. Or the laundry list of things a prospective Insurance Company wants done with an Old Property, which is doable, if you have sufficient time and money to shell out to get it done right now... which we don't... and then, I'm not confident they wouldn't then just come up with more excuses anyway if they don't really want to Insure you? And the other tactic of simply making the Premium & Deductibles somewhere in the Stratosphere realm so that it's no longer affordable or feasible to do business with them.
But, we shall have to still rally the troops and get everyone on board with doing everything and anything we can to appease whoever... which the Bohemian Valhalla Clan isn't thrilled about. The Son is still working two jobs & has precious little time or energy to devote to my To-Do List... The Man isn't well & so he doesn't really want to... and the G-Kid Force is not exactly capable of a great deal of Slave Labor. *Winks* So... unless I can woo some Volunteers to assist me, I'm doing most of this Solo and though there are things I can do... there are much more that I can't & that sucks since Time is of the essence to avoid expensive Forced Place Coverage.
So, slow and steady as a Desert Tortoise I'm carrying on... and "going off" just helps release the steam & frustrations building up inside about the injustice of it all so I don't implode!
And keeps me Centered, reacting and standing in Faith and in the Fruits of the Spirit rather than morphing into a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle! *LOL* Well... maybe not a Teenage... perhaps a Gramma Mutant Ninja Turtle!!! *Winks*
Dawn... The Battling Bohemian