New York Renovator

She’s such a sweet baby.

I didn’t want to have those flood photos up as the first post, anymore. :-p I’m sick of the mud and rain and cold. I have this terrible longing to hop in the car and drive far, far away… to some warm, sunny beach where I will sit on the sands and watch the ocean waves crash on the rocks. ***sighhh***

We’ve got good news: our insurance will cover the basement cleanup and damages. We have water back-up coverage, THANK GOD. Unfortunately, some of our neighbors do not, nor do they have flood insurance. Please keep them in your prayers. It’s bad enough slogging through mud and more water… it’s horrible to have to pay out of pocket for the damages.

Oh my gosh, it’s April already. APRIL! We haven’t got our taxes done yet. Usually the husband gets them done in the first few weeks if February. But this year, we might actually owe money. So, haha, we’re putting it off until the bitter end.

Because I am self-employed, the sheer amount of paperwork is overwhelming. Then there are the deductions, the interest calculations, the child credit, the charitable giving, the blahblahblah and blahblahblah. WHY does it have to be so stinkin’ complicated?! I am all in favor of a flat tax, across the board. It would simplify everything and would enable each citizen to be an active part in the government. Plus, it would lower taxes. And federal salaries. It’s just a good thing all around! lol!

Here in New York State, we are taxed to the hilt, several times over. We’re taxed on our income. Then if we buy something with the income we have left over, we have to pay sales tax. And if we buy a service with the product we purchased, we have to pay tax on that. So when all is said and done, we’ve paid taxes multiple times on the same chain of products or services. There’s something evil about that….

My area of Upstate New York is a popular “senior citizen” hub. I’m not sure why– winters are bad here and you figure they’d all move to warmer climates. It sure isn’t for the weather or the political climate…. I don’t know much about the quality of life for the older folks here. Eons ago, when my husband was working in insurance, there was a new kind of insurance marketed to folks– extended care insurance (I think that’s what it was called). It was insurance for when you had to go into a nursing home. It was REALLY popular at the time.

But senior citizenry for me is a long way off. If I make it that long. Because I have to get through the income taxes first…. *sigh*

It’s a good thing The Hubs is familiar with all the technical lingo for insurance policies. As I’ve stated before, part of the reason that we are renovating is because our home insurance policy, at over a decade old, is set to review and revise. At the time, our kitchen was falling down over our heads, half the house had no electricity, and the plumbing drains were iffy. I decided I would MUCH rather spend money renovating the house than spend money on paying a higher insurance premium. It was difficult enough to get the house insurance 10 years ago. We are in a mixed residential/business area, and therefore most insurance companies were hesitant to insure the house (we are very close to a parking lot and are surrounded by businesses). Of course, we could always get business insurance quotes, right? We’re not a business, exactly…. well, I do work at home, on my business.
Anyway, insurance costs are *kinda* hard to control these days. I think it’s very unfair that I have to pay for knuckleheads who live in flood-prone, hurricane-prone, earthquake-prone areas… why do I have to pay for those decisions?!

Anyway, it sure pays to shop around for insurance. All insurance is expensive, especially in New York, but many mortgage lenders and banks will not fund your home loan or home renovation loan without it. And in my opinion, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Thanks to the dudes at NetQuote.com for giving me the opportunity to briefly discuss the importance of insurance!

News is out today that Chinese-made drywall is causing severe headaches for homeowners– physically and financially.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) – James and Maria Ivory’s dreams of a relaxing retirement on Florida’s Gulf Coast were put on hold when they discovered their new home had been built with Chinese drywall that emits sulfuric fumes and corrodes pipes. It got worse when they asked their insurer for help – and not only was their claim denied, but they’ve been told their entire policy won’t be renewed.

Thousands of homeowners nationwide who bought new houses constructed from the defective building materials are finding their hopes dashed, their lives in limbo. And experts warn that cases like the Ivorys’, in which insurers drop policies or send notices of non-renewal based on the presence of the Chinese drywall, will become rampant as insurance companies process the hundreds of claims currently in the pipeline.

At least three insurers have already canceled or refused to renew policies after homeowners sought their help replacing the bad wallboard. Because mortgage companies require homeowners to insure their properties, they are then at risk of foreclosure, yet no law prevents the cancellations.

What a disaster! The law requires homeowners insurance, but what do you do if no insurer will step up to the plate? You lose your home, that’s what. Moreover, the sulfuric-emissions coming from the drywall is affecting homeowners’ health and ruining the rest of the house.

During the height of the U.S. housing boom, with building materials in short supply, American construction companies imported millions of pounds of Chinese-made drywall because it was abundant and cheap. An Associated Press analysis of shipping records found that more than 500 million pounds of Chinese gypsum board was imported between 2004 and 2008 – enough to have built tens of thousands of homes. They are heavily concentrated in the Southeast, especially Florida.

The defective materials have since been found by state and federal agencies to emit “volatile sulfur compounds,” and contain traces of strontium sulfide, which can produce a rotten-egg odor, along with organic compounds not found in American-made drywall. Homeowners complain the fumes are corroding copper pipes, destroying TVs and air conditioners, and blackening jewelry and silverware. Some believe the wallboard is also making them ill.

I have to wonder– how the heck does a homeowner know if one’s drywall is from China? Is there a “Made in China” stamped on each sheet? If not, do homeowners now have to call drywall manufacturers, researching exactly where the drywall originates? It’s crazy! The best bet would be to STOP all this importation of CHEAPO Chinese crap! Between the toothpaste, the pet food, the milk products… haven’t we had enough toxicity in our products yet? But that would require that our government to cease their special interest with the Chi-Coms. It’s all just another symptom of how Americans are cattle, to be corralled under the guise of “the economy” but we’re only just servants of the Big Government and their Chinese profiteers. It all makes me SICK.

ABC News has a video about the story, if you want to see it.