Over the course of a couple of days we covered as much mileage as we could. We were full of joy, excitement and anticipation over the prospect of our future here.
Little did we know what pain and loss we would begin to endure at the hands of real estate "unprofessionals." We weren't here but a week and barely unpacked before the impact of their negligence began to impact our lives.
We arrived approximately three days prior to the schedule of closing and stayed in the house during that time with the approval of the sellers. We were able to bring along a box spring and mattress which we tossed on the floor to sleep on; and our clothing and office items. Ginger Brown's was our kitchen away from home until our things arrived a few days later.
Prior to leaving California, Mike and I had spent over a week personally packing up all of our things. We then hired movers to come out and load everything into a large container that was scheduled to be picked up and delivered to our new home. Once the container arrived, a few young men from a local company here in Azle unloaded the container and our new house became home.
It wasn't but a week later when things began to happen.On my birthday, November 16, 2007, and just one week after the close of escrow; Mike and I were scheduled to go out. At some point in the day we noticed a large collection of water developing around the back of the house near the kitchen area and it just kept growing.
We contacted a plumber to come out and dig up the area and locate the source of water. In the mean time Mike and I contacted our Realtor and the Escrow Officer in an effort to obtain information for the company handling our home warranty insurance policy. That was when the real fun started.
The Realtor and Escrow Officer immediately began pointing fingers at one another because someone had clearly forgotten to initiate our home warranty insurance policy. At one point the Escrow Officer began crying on the phone with my husband. Over the years I think it has become quite clear as to why she was so distraught over a water issue on our property just days after closing.
On our closing HUD settlement statement (page 1), Section #1300 "Additional Settlement Charges"; it notes on line item #1303 that we were charged $450.00 for a "Home Protection Plan" through "National Residential Service." And, although we had paid for the policy, it was never processed by those responsible for initiating the policy.
As a result of their negligence; to this day we have never been reimbursed the $668.00 plumbing invoice that was denied by the home warranty insurance company noted on our HUD statement. A claim simply denied because somebody dropped the ball during escrow!
Just a few months later, the flash flood hit and it all came tumbling down.
We are still preparing for our exit; and at the risk of being redundant; we are disoriented and so very, very tired. The estate sale wiped us out and now we find ourselves running back and forth between the trailer and the house trying to establish some small resemblance of our former life, pining a bit over the knowledge that others are now enjoying our belongings. Getting use to the emptiness that accompanies the complete absence of losing virtually every creature comfort is very hard; but watching Mike stare with longing at the place where his prayer chair used to sit is too painful to find words to convey.
