Quote (SKCRaynor @ Thu, Aug 6 2009, 11:31pm)
I am back...I'm staying at my uncle's house which is about 50 miles north of my house.
First of all, thank you to everyone who was concerned with my problems and wished me well - I can not tell you how much I appreciate the support....it's good to know people are genuinely appreciative.
Anyway here is what happened.
During the night, I heard a huge crash. I jumped out of bed to see what happened....the entire roof of my house over top of my living room, dining room, kitchen, and den was collapsed, my entire house wrecked. The bedrooms were fine, and the garage was fine...but everything else was completely destroyed and covered in water (i figured this was from rain as it was storming all night). At first I thought a tree fell on the house...but when I went outside through the garage to inspect everything...I found that there was absolutely no tree to be found. Totally confused, I called 911 and explained the situation. Fire dept, and police arrived shortly and documented the situation and checked for the cause of the problem. Within the hour, the fire dept had discovered that a water line that runs through my attic had burst earlier that day (which explains the shitty water pressure I had that morning and figured it was just the city doing maintenance). Anyway, the water line had flooded the insulation, drywall, and support beams in the attic. The weight from the water caused the ceiling to buckle and collapse. The damage has made the house totally unlivable.
Now the severe problem....no one wants to accept responsibility for this. The city says the water line is on my property so its my problem. The homeowners insurance says that the water line is the city's problem because there was no reason for the pipe to burst except for a sudden extreme rush of pressure or a faulty pipe (which they said would be the fault of the pipe manufacturer or the building contractor), and lastly the company that built my house claims that they are not responsible because everything was installed fine and insurance should cover this as a fluke incident. So now begins the long and tiresome battle with the insurance company to pay out. Until then (i live in a gated community) - I am responsible for all repairs to my house and have to have them completed within 90 days or else start getting hit up with fines of $250 for every day that the house is the way it is.
The total cost to repair everything...not counting all the stuff that was destroyed....is approximately $42,000. I am up to my eyeballs in debt from medical school as it is...and have absolutely NO WAY to pay this. In addition, all the stuff that was destroyed in my house has been totaled out to nearly $20,000. Thats a total of $62,000 in the hole for me now....with the insurance company not willing to pay.
Even with monthly payments, I can not even come CLOSE to affording the repairs. I am probably going to lose the house and forfeit it to the bank and hope that I can fight the insurance company in the duration...which of course, I don't have the time or money to do given that I go to school full time, work, and probably can't afford the type of lawyer I'll need to fight a gigantic company.
Either way, the point is simple. I am going to be forced to live with my uncle for the next few weeks, then I'll have to get out of here and find a new place to stay....and I have no idea where I can go.
I am seriously in the worst possible situation of my life. I need money which I don't have. I need a place to live in the area...which I don't have. I need a lawyer...which I don't have. I need a normal day to last 48 hours rather than 24. I need a lot of things...and I don't see any of them happening for me.
I'm at a huge crossroads...and here are my choices...
1. quit medical school, work additional jobs, pay for a new place + a lawyer + repairs to my house and hope to fight the insurance company and get my money.
2. continue with school and work as usual, forfeit my house, pay for a cheap apt, lose 90% of my stuff, bend over and take it from the insurance company.
3. quit life in general (this seems to be much more simple than the rest...I am so sick of all the BS that has to happen to me)
anyway...thats the story. $42,000 needed, house destroyed, most of my stuff gone, more problems than id care to think about to be honest.
I won't be able to offer much advice until I get this cleared up. I'll try to be on for 10-15 mins at night to help out a bit if I can over these next few weeks - sorry for the inconvenience.
wtf isn't that exactly what people buy insurance for?
best of luck man it'll all work out