worried sick

i woke up this morning to my bf angrily stomping around the house after getting off his graveyard shift. poor thing works seventy to eighty hours a week..all physical labor and he is running on fumes. i gently tried to see what was wrong and he informed me we may lose our house if we don't have provisions done within three weeks that we cannot afford at this time to hire services for and that i can't physically do and that he can phsyically do but with his hours he's rarely home and usually limping already and even if he did spend his small amount of time off a week doing it, he'd probably have to skimp on more sleep and still may not be able to finish in time by the deadline. he used to be a wanderer and lived on the road and says he is so frustrated he's tempted to leave it all...but i don't want to live on the road. i just finally got settled and things finally got peaceful. he has finally fallen asleep and now i am up wide eyed and worried sick and feeling defeated.

Sorry to be dense, but what does it mean that you need provisions done in three weeks?

Before having no home at all, maybe you can move to a simpler or different place. I hope you get it all worked out.

we need to have the house painted and the yard which is quite large landscaped or we will not be able to have homeowners insurance which means no more house...

The only thing I can think of for you to do right now is go to sleep and get a good rest, then try to sort this out. Thinking on a worried, frazzled and tired brain is never very helpful. Calming vibes your way!

Is it possible that you are blowing this up bigger than it is? For instance - landscaping... Do you mean that trees need to be trimmed, plants need to be planted, and bushes need to be cut down - or do you need your lawn mowed?

Can you get by with a single coat of paint on your home (for now)?

Can you throw a work party? Maybe invite a BUNCH of friends and ask them to paint & mow? Have a cookout for them after the work's all done.

It is very stressful to be in that situation. I've been there.

I'm sorry to hear that. I know what it's like to be trying to be tight with money and things come up that you don't expect. But I'm alittle confused...you can't get insurance if the house needs to be painted and you need landscaping? That doesn't make sense to me. What does that have to do with you being insured?

Originally Posted by ReesesPBC

I'm sorry to hear that. I know what it's like to be trying to be tight with money and things come up that you don't expect. But I'm alittle confused...you can't get insurance if the house needs to be painted and you need landscaping? That doesn't make sense to me. What does that have to do with you being insured?

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I was thinking the exact same thing. We have been in our home for 4yrs and the people that lived here before knew NOTHING about landscaping. We had the biggest mess to clean up and we're just now getting around to doing that part. We've repainted the inside and put new flooring down. In the past week, we just got the front porch and the shutters repainted. We were never one time told that if we didn't do it, we couldn't keep our insurance. I would want to find out for sure what they're talking about. I know that things are different in different areas, but that doesn't make any sense to me either. Good luck to you, though!!

Originally Posted by TNKittyMom

I was thinking the exact same thing. We have been in our home for 4yrs and the people that lived here before knew NOTHING about landscaping. We had the biggest mess to clean up and we're just now getting around to doing that part. We've repainted the inside and put new flooring down. In the past week, we just got the front porch and the shutters repainted. We were never one time told that if we didn't do it, we couldn't keep our insurance. I would want to find out for sure what they're talking about. I know that things are different in different areas, but that doesn't make any sense to me either. Good luck to you, though!!

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I mean maybe it's different depending on what state you're in, but when I got insurance the only requirement was that they wanted to know how old the roof was. They need to know that your house is structurely sound so it's not a liability. If needing the house painted and landscaping is something that can cause you to lose insurance, then my next door neighbor must not be insured

The insurance thing is definately weird. We would never ask a client to paint or landscape in order to insure their home

Just like Rob said, as long as the roof is good and the wiring is up to date, we are okay with it.

Are you able to call the company and ask for specifics on why they need you to do that? What does it have to do with the insurability of the home?

This sounds pretty strange to me as well. If that were the case here, there would be a lot of people unable to get insurance and that in turn would stop a lot of people from getting a mortgage. I'd definitely investigate that further - sounds pretty fishy to me. Maybe you could start calling around to different places to check things out.

Yes, I'm very confused as well. My boyfriend bought this house eight years ago and had the same insurance up till last year when he found a cheaper rate. We switched to this other company and now they keep making all these demands and say our house has been "red flagged" meaning if we go to another insurance company they will send out an inspector and find the same things wrong. We have already fixed our roof for them and cleaned out the gutters. The wiring is fine. They made us clean some items out of our yard (we were keeping an oven and a bench on the side of the house because we hadn't decided what to do with it yet). We are a bit eccentric but I don't see what all this fuss is about. They say we are on "probation" which means we're covered and still paying them but they can terminate our coverage if we don't keep making these deadlines. I'm extremely stressed out. Our mortgage company keeps calling us asking what the update is on the insurance status. Any insurance gurus out there???? Are they just screwing us over???

I am an insurance "guru" Actually, the fire insurance specialist in our office.

Although I have never heard of "red flagging" a property, it is normal for them to ask you to remove debris or unused appliances..etc..from the yard as it can cause a liability issue. (kids playing in it..etc..)

EVERY insurance company has different rules, and different expectations of how you should maintain your property.

Please call your company and have them explain in detail why painting your house has anything to do with insurance.

I would call around for other quotes in the meantime. You don't want to be in a position of getting quotes once you have already been cancelled because noone will insure you then.

Originally Posted by Trouts mom

Please call your company and have them explain in detail why painting your house has anything to do with insurance.

I would call around for other quotes in the meantime. You don't want to be in a position of getting quotes once you have already been cancelled because noone will insure you then.

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And do NOT allow them to use scare tactics to prevent you from doing what you have every right to do: find a new insurer.

I guess you get what you pay for, and by choosing a "cheaper" insurance company, the trouble you're getting in return is eating up any "savings" you may have seen otherwise.

Paint is COSMETIC and not structural - insurers should not give a darn about peeling paint, as long as there are no lead paint concerns - that would be a serious liability issue.

I would also highly recommend not going with one insurance company over another just because of price. Money isn't the only factor in an insurance policy. Sometimes it's worth paying a bit more to deal with a reputable company.

Also, try getting your insurance through an insurance broker. That way, they search insurance companies on your behalf and do most of the work.

Good luck to you both.

I would find another company and not worry about being "red flagged" by your current one. To me, it sounds like they are bullying you into staying with them. If you went to another company, they will want have the hosue inspected, but I can almost guarantee you that NO home inspector is going to fail the house because the landscape needs work or the house needs to be painted. Likewise, most insurance companies are not going to deny you insurance for these reasons. There might be the rare few like the company you're with now who have rediculous rules that like, but most don't, because the esthetics of a house has nothing to do with insurance liability. If your house is structurally sound, and the wiring is good, you have nothing to worry about.

I would say no more to your insurance company, and look for another. Explain to the mortgage holder what is going on. Chances are, they will think the demands the company is putting on you is rediculous as well.

Originally Posted by GingersMom

Paint is COSMETIC and not structural - insurers should not give a darn about peeling paint, as long as there are no lead paint concerns - that would be a serious liability issue.

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Well, I have seen some houses that look like the only thing holding it up is the paint

I believe lead paint is only an issue for the inside of the house, not the outside.

Originally Posted by ReesesPBC

Well, I have seen some houses that look like the only thing holding it up is the paint

I believe lead paint is only an issue for the inside of the house, not the outside.

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Actually, lead paint is an outside issue as well: peeling paint chips from outside a house cause lead to leach into the ground which can contaminate ground water, well water, etc. It can also poison gardens - the veggies LOOK fine, but contain escalated lead levels which, as we know, are quite harmful when ingested.

We just went through a big thing with our local housing authority due to lead paint in vestibule areas in a low income housing complex. The housing authority was fined thousands of dollars by the state as a result of their failing to remove the lead paint and failing to even disclose that it was there to begin with - and they KNEW it was there, they just buried the records.

Sorry for the hijack...

Originally Posted by Trouts mom

I am an insurance "guru"

Actually, the fire insurance specialist in our office.

Although I have never heard of "red flagging" a property, it is normal for them to ask you to remove debris or unused appliances..etc..from the yard as it can cause a liability issue. (kids playing in it..etc..)

EVERY insurance company has different rules, and different expectations of how you should maintain your property.

Please call your company and have them explain in detail why painting your house has anything to do with insurance.

I would call around for other quotes in the meantime. You don't want to be in a position of getting quotes once you have already been cancelled because noone will insure you then.

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Wow, incredibly helpful and feel very relieved...thank you...

I've never heard of being turned down for home owner insurance because your house isn't painted or your lawn landscaped!

Look around for another insurance company.

I agree that just sounds quite odd.
I do landscaping for a living and the only thing I could think of insurance wise if you had dead trees close to your house that could potentially fall on the house.
There are many properties that wouldn't pass a landscaping test around here!!
Or this there lots of brush within 100 feet of house just in case of a wildfire that could cause a concern??

I would check with getting a better homeowners insurance policy too.