Category Archives: Financial

So our NC house is vacant and has been vacant since late December. Since we are now moving back, we don’t have time for even 6-month tenants, so, it will be vacant until we get there…but the vacancy means our normal insurance is being canceled.

My current insurance agent is great, but she can really do no more for me. She did tell me that our mortgage company would write a vacant policy to protect their investment. So I called.

Ugh.

I told the operator that I needed an insurance policy for a vacant property. She transferred me to the insurance department, whereupon the guy basically laughed at me when I told him what I needed, saying they don’t write policies for vacant houses. Oooo-kay. He said she just gave me to the wrong department and tells me I need a “Lender Provided Policy” (or something like that).

So I call again, get the same operator who doesn’t seem to remember me calling five minute before (even with my somewhat memorable name), and tell her what I need. She transfers me to Chris, who I tell what I need, and he apparently can’t help me (so why did I get transferred to him?) so transfers me to Janine, a manager in the Hazard Insurance Department…who after hearing what I need, says she can’t write me a policy and I need to talk to the insurance select department. :??:

I asked her if that was the same as the general insurance division and yes, it was (the phone numbers matched). She seemed surprised that I’d already talked to them and they couldn’t help me. Then she told me I really should be contacting the Fair Plan [something or other] in my state because they were the ones that should be able to help me. She then told me about her personal experience with vacant policies…because she couldn’t write one herself….and that it would likely be about $400/mo with the annual payment due up front.

WHAT? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?

“So, let me get this clear? I called to get a vacant insurance policy from Wells Fargo, they transferred me to the insurance department who laughed at me, I called back and was transferred twice to you, someone who cannot write a policy for me?”

Bingo.

So I called my agent back just to see if she had any other advice, and to ask about the Fair Plan thing. She said THAT is who is canceling me. Lovely. She said that Wells Fargo would surely get off their ass when they got the insurance cancellation notice.

Great.

So now we’re in a mad rush to find a friend or someone who will go move in to the house rent-free for three months, just to avoid this crap.

Regardless, I am ready to pull my >:XX hair out over this stupid house.

Long story short, they “suddenly remembered” they had a third dog—ANOTHER GREAT DANE—the day before they were supposed to move in! Riiiiight. Why don’t I believe that? No wonder they easily agreed to another $50 in rent.

We told the property manager we wanted another $25 per month OR a $200 flat non-refundable fee for each pet (instead of the $150 we typically have) but, gee, she didn’t go to bat for us on that one. Instead, she just said “Well, the poodle is 12 so they don’t think it will last that long. And we will do an inspection in three months instead of six.”

>:XX

I really REALLY think the property manager should have OUR best interests at heart, and not the renters.

Of course we don’t want to piss them off and want them to move out (or stay and destroy the house)…but we really do think they tried to be sneaky about this and then they’re all moved in and probably thinking “Well what can they [the owners] do about it now?”

>:XX