Blindsided again.

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I’m not going to run down a list, but I feel I suffer more than my share of the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. Certainly I’ve been very lucky in my life, but whenever I try to improve my situation – take two steps forward – I get knocked back a step. Here’s the latest:

When I got the loan for my house (itself a 2F-1B thing, since I lost my job just before closing) I opted to pay my homeowner’s insurance premium with my mortgage payment. Totally transparent to me. Well, I got a letter from the bank saying that my insurance has expired. I’d better get covered toute de suite or they will get insurance for me. I called the bank and told them that I thought they were the ones who were supposed to pay the premium. Yes, they said; but they need to get a bill before they pay it, and they never got a bill.

So I called the insurance company. Although I specifically told them over the phone (remember, I was in California at the time) that I was getting coverage through them, they never got “official” word. The bank said the title company should have sent it to them. Well, I haven’t contacted the title company yet. I tried calling my realtor, but it was the end of the day. Somebody dropped the ball, and I don’t think it was me. The insurance company never followed up on getting a payment to start the coverage (which they wouldn’t have gotten unless they sent an invoice to the bank) because they assumed I got insurance from another carrier. Fine. Just start it now.

But the house has not been insured for the past year (even though monies were being collected). That means it’s a new policy. That means that instead of the $365 collected for the premium, my first year’s policy will be over $900 – which they said they negotiated down from $1,200. So that means that I’ve got to come up with $600 out of my own pocket.

Now, I’ve ranted about losing half of my income when the Indian company came to my last job and I got laid off. My savings haven’t lasted as long as I thought. But I’ve almost got the bike (that I bought a couple of months before I was laid off) paid off. I’ve stopped going to lunch, dinner, movies, etc. I’ve stopped buying stuff. I have been making an effort to create a positive cash flow.

And then I get blindsided. Again. I try to save money and what do I get? Another bill. What am I? A schlmazel? Would it really throw the grand plan of the universe out of alignment if I get ahead a little? Or at least gain equailibrium?

Please, Goddess, I need a break! :frowning:

2

Sucks. That really sucks JLA. Wish I had some clever response that would make you feel better. Just wanted you to know someone read your post and commiserated.

I like your sig line. If I still had my Cherokee (another tale of “suck” that I won’t bore you with – it involves a tornado and a change in disposable-income) I would help you with your “only for an hour” wish.

Good luck,

Pullin

3

So I guess you’re pullin for me, eh? :slight_smile:

Oh, how I wish dad would have kept his Skyhawk and Skylane! The Skyhawk is derelict in Fullerton, CA now. :frowning:

4

Nasty story, hombre.

As an insider I’m surprised the loan closed without a binder from the insurance company.
And if the binder was issued, I’m surprised you never received word from the insurance company that they needed the dough to kick the policy off–they don’t make money by not collecting premiums!

But all in all it sounds like we are governed by the same universal forces which always try & make us curse our condition–even though we know that, as bad as things are, they could always get just a little worse.

Laugh it off, boy, and stay away from The Dark Side.

5

heh, heh (“pullin” for ya. I swear I never even thought about that :wink: But yeah, I am.
Funny… my dad’s old Cessna is owned by the State of Oklahoma now. (looked up the N number on the AOPA website a few years ago. Never lived in Oklahoma; don’t know how it ended up there). Weird.

6

Its time for you to get a break! :frowning:

7

Oh, man I’m sorry to hear about this. F*******, oh well it’s not the pit. I just closed on my first place Wednesday. I can SO see something like this happening to me. Virtually everyone involved from every institution has proved to be incompetent, untrustorthy, lazy, or some combination of the three.

There was some strange clause in the commitment letter from the owner, requiring something about my homeowners insurance coverage. I went to my agent’s office, got shifted to some novice, and asked her to explain the phrase. She said, “I don’t understand it either but I don’t think it’s relevant to you.” I said, “It’s spelled out as a condition of underwriting my mortgage. How is it NOT relevant to me?”

It turned out to be related to how my condo insurance complemented the insurance provided for the building as a whole and the common grounds by the condo association. It was definitely relevant to me, but I had to call the loan guy (lazy and possibly untrustworthy) to talk to the insurance gal (lazy and incompetent) and have him explain it to her.

I fear there is worse to come for me. I hope your problems have bottomed out and you are back on the upswing – cause I want a chopper ride someday. And you need to start pulling down some serious bucks to indulge that hobby.

8

Johnny, do you still have your kayak? If so, perhaps it’s time for some liquid stress relief.

9

RE Agent here. I swear to shit I’ve seen it all. The dropping of the ball, that is. Sorry to hear of your misfortune.

And I rent. At the end of the month I have the same nothing that I started the month with. I’d own in a heartbeat but just ain’ts got the positive income. Something to do with some lawyer, some bank, some insurance company, some schmo that didn’t dot an eye or cross a tee. How many deals have I had fall apart like that? Ugh.

Get in your kayak, paddle for two gazillion miles, get your upper body all torquey and buff… then go to the pit and kick some poor bastard’s ass. As long as they have no name and no face you can punch really hard (I’ve heard…).

Eff that! I’m not going in there!

p

10

Also meant to say GOOD LUCK Johnny!-- P

11

Yes, the binder was issued. Couldn’t have closed without it.

I told the insurance company I wanted coverage immediately. They said they’d fax the bank with some verbiage on the cover letter that says the insurance is to prevent forced assignment. It was (I hope) faxed to my loan officer and also the person in California that needs to get it. My loan officer said that he would call the insurance company (before they faxed) to give them the exact verbiage.

I’ve also called USAA, my long-time vehicle insurer and previous renter’s insurance company, for another quote.

Muffin: I’ve been wanting to get in the kayak. I was thinking about it when I woke up this morning – listening to the rain. Why does it rain when I want to paddle?

pullin: I lamented about the lack of flying here.

With my recent luck, I fear it may be a bone! :rolleyes:

It seems that in the past there has always been a net gain in my situation, even if it’s only a miniscule gain. But it’s taking a long time this time.

Thanks, all, for the thoughts.

12

Wow. That really sucks, man. Hope things start looking up for you!
The insurance thing drives me nuts about once a year, when we always seem to get one of those notices. Our house has been insured by the same company since we bought it 3-1/2 years ago, and I know it gets paid because it comes directly out of checking right along with our car insurance. In our case, I think it has had something to do with mortgage companies selling our loan to other mortgage companies, and them screwing up the paperwork in the process.

13

I know how you feel. This morning I stuck my head outside to see if it was raining. It wasn’t. It was snowing. I’ve come to considering the rain and snow as deposits toward wild water paddling and tele skiing, and spend the rainy days taking care of chores that I skip when I’m off playing in the sun.

I spent much of the last week over Thanksgiving paddling with a dear friend on Superior, where we visited a raised cobble beach with pukaskwa pits, saw a snowy owl and a caribou, and sheltered for the nights on islands with incredible autumn views. One day we came across a delightful couple who had built from found materials a one room cabin at the base of a waterfall in a bay where there had once been a small fishing village. They put us up for the night and regaled us with stories from their lives (he was 78 and she was 68), including one in which the fellow had been rained on for 93 days of a 108 day canoe trip in northern Labrador.

Needless to say, these folks had experienced difficult times – flash floods, sudden unemployment, extreme gut-wrenching poverty, family deaths. But they had also shared many good times with family and friends in many small communities across the north. What impressed me was their joy in life. These two had the spark of a couple of newlyweds balanced by perspective developed through decades of experience.

A shelter over their heads, food and firewood, and each other. Sometimes its not what life throws at us, but how we handle what it throws at us.

14

Title agent here…
Required disclaimer: this is not legal advice, YMMV, plastic bag is not a toy,do not remove tag, etc. etc.

Short version: Unless you have a condo like Boyo Jim and you’re covered by a master insurance policy (for the structure, not your personal stuff), you should be able to tell pretty quickly if you already paid for your 1st year’s premium.

Do you have your settlement statement (your HUD?) ? Go get it…s’ok, I’ll wait :wink:

I’m not licensed for CA, but that one is a federal document so this should be in the same place: look at line 903 (“Hazard Insurance Premium for ___ yrs”). Is there a charge anywhere to the right of that? If there is a charge in the column, the premium was collected for at closing. If so, have your title company track what happened to the check (where it was sent, if it was cashed, etc.). Then you will know who to chew out. :wink:

I mention this because from how I read the OP, it sounds like you may be paying for the same thing twice. You will still need to address what need to be done to keep it from happening in the future, but it’s a good start.

Hope that helps!

15

Cherry2000: Not a HUD home, so I don’t think I’d have that document. I was in L.A. at the time, and the house (where I am now) is in Washington. I have a folder full of stuff, but it’s in one of about a hundred boxes that have yet to be unpacked (after a year :smack: ).

I’m not paying for the same thing twice. The monies have been collected, but they haven’t been given to anyone yet. As I said, I got the binder in order to close the loan. Someone should have paid the insurance company. I have a call in to my realtor to see if he has any documents that show I signed up for the insurance with this carrier. Last October was a hectic time, what with losing my job and all; and I wrote a lot of cheques – to the bank, to the title company, to the inspector, etc. I think that one of the cheques that went to the title company should have paid the premium, amongh other things.

I’m very disappointed that I have not had insurance for the past year. That’s one of the things I was confident about. What really burns me though, is that I’m going to have to pay about three times the premium to get the coverage I thought I already had. :mad:

16

I just wanted to say I am really sorry to hear about your misfortune.

::sending positive energy your way::

Really hope things turn around for you.

17

Could be worse. Could be raining.

[looks up at post # 11 ]

Oh, it already is raining…

Stay warm and dry, unless you want to be cold and wet. Things tend to work out for those that work at them. Bummer about the extra bucks, tho.

18

I guess I’m a bit confused as to why the insurance would be more for the first year, except that I know they usually want the whole sum paid in advance. But if the money had been going into escrow for the whole year without being spent, then you should have enough to pay it. And it sounds like the original check for the insurance may be floating out there in limbo somewhere, so you may find that you’re owed money by someone.

Not being in Washington State, I can't say for sure, but $900.00 seems high for homeowner's insurance.    I pay somewhat less than that, and I'm in an expensive area for real estate.    From what I recall, your new place is relatively modest.

Incidentally, I had much the same problem as this when I refinanced. Apparently, I was expected to pay the insurance company for the first year’s insurance and I was expecting the mortgage company to do it. So I ignored the bill and they ignored the bill and I ended up having to hand deliver a check an hour’s drive away. Bleah.

19

Doesn’t have to be a HUD home…HUD simply refers to the document that shows what the closing figures are (if there was a lender involved, you definitely have one).

If the charge was shown on there, it was collected for and you have proof (FYI, unless there is a “POC” (paid outside of closing) next to it, the title company should have written that check to the insurance company. That’s why I suggested you have then track it). It is unlikely that they had the money and didn’t send the check. Title companies are required to balance all of their files to zero, and resolve any uncashed checks. But you need to start somewhere, to find out what happened to your money.

The lender would require the year’s premium to be paid up front on a new purchase. That can be done by you prior to close (and would show as a POC), or by the title company on your behalf at closing. Your HUD will give you an idea which it was, and an idea whose checks need to be examined to see if the payment was received and by whom. Your title company should be able to pull a copy of your HUD (I understand about the unpacking thing…totally! :wink: )

The above information should help you find out just who made the mistake and from there, you can take action.

I know someone personally who right now is going through something similar: only her house burned down :eek: She is pursuing a claim with her insurer’s Errors and Omissions insurer, because her insurance received payment, but the policy was not in effect when it was supposed to be.

Sorry for the windy reply, but this stuff isn’t easy to explain short-form style. :wink:

20

Wholesale mortgage banker here. You’re thinking of the HUD1, Cherry. When he says HUD home, I think he means a house that was foreclosed on and ended up in the hands of the Department of Housings and Urban Development (HUD). Correct me if I’m wrong.

That would totally depend on the lender and the type of loan.

I would start by talking to your Loan Officer about this and pushing up the chain of command to find out what exactly went wrong and how you can fix it.

Other than that I really don’t have any advice on the situation. It sounds like you’ve taken some bad lumps lately, Johnny. Trust me when I say I know how you feel; it sucks. Right now I’m about to spend every penny of my inheritence from my grandmother to get my car fixed, which got hit while it was parked and I was sound asleep in bed (details here.) All I can say is keep on truckin’ and maybe the first one of us to come out of this funk can buy the other one a beer :cool:.