…except there is no good to report right now. Most of the stuff is bad, ugly and disheartening. But here goes.
Readers know from the recent updates that we had an underground storage tank for our oil and that our realtor recommended having that removed. We had a new one installed in the basement and were getting the old tank removed when the problems started. Well yesterday, the problems took a decided turn toward the really bad and have left Mrsfabp and I shaken and depressed. Yesterday the crew returned to drill a well to determine if the oil had reached the groundwater. This is needed information for both the DEP and our insurance carrier. Well they hit what they think is groundwater but might have been rainwater from Hurricane Irene and so they took samples and began the process of trying to site a second drilling place to do another water sample. In doing the preliminary work, they found oil in the soil, a distance from where the tank was. This indicates to them that the oil leak was significantly greater than once thought. They have now informed us they need to drill in our basement to determine if the oil has seeped under the foundation. If so, they will have to cut a hole to remove soil in an attempt to determine the physical size of the area that is contaminated. They told us that with the testing involved and the necessity of drilling lots of holes in out front yard, it will take weeks or months to get a handle on the scope of the spill and then determine a course of treatment. This too can take weeks. All the while, the heavy machinery has made our front yard look like a war zone and all the planned holes will make it look like a golf course. Just the type of scene that we would love to show prospective buyers of our toxic landfill, er…home. This is the point that things went from bad to worse.
We were just told on Sunday that there was significant interest in our house from a buyer who had returned to look at the house a second time. They had to get there finances in order and would be making an offer on our house. And they wanted to move quickly. Mrsfabp and I had visions of being in Las Cruces by Columbus Day, and we had made some tentative plans to detail what we would need to accomplish in the next eight weeks. Needless to say, this hope was dashed by the oil spill news as there will be no moving quickly, no quick sale. As a matter of fact, our realtor has determined that our best course of action would be to take the house off the market until this whole issue is resolved. For how long? There is no way to tell but even a conservative estimate starts at the word MONTHS. To say we are devastated does not begin to get to our core feelings. What started as a nice easy way to help improve our house has turned into a nightmare of epic proportions. How epic? Well I talked over the situation with the independent insurance investigator and when the discussion moved to costs, he replied “well you have $300,000 in liability insurance. I am hoping that will be enough to cover it” ENOUGH TO COVER IT?! $300K!? At this point for the first time since we started to pursue the dream of retiring to New Mexico, I have had doubts that this dream can be realized. I cannot describe the emotions, the feelings (or lack of them) and the devastation we are feeling. We still are in a bit of shock and scrambling to make sense of the whole thing.
I called a good friend, who is a lawyer on the west coast, after getting the news, in order to figure out what our next steps would be. He was great on the phone, letting me emotionally decompress and offering his help and advice. He is right now reviewing our insurance policy and recommended we hire a lawyer who specializes in environmental and property law, to best protect our interests. We are going to make some calls. I did not ask him then but will, the next time we talk about the thought of what to do if we are responsible for the costs of this endeavor after thre insurance pays their part. It could be tens of thousands, or even 6 figures. What could we do then? Either declaring bankruptcy or defaulting on our mortgage to get out from under this mountain of problem. Is this a solution? Destroyed credit, feelings of failure, slipping away in the middle of the night, is not the way I envisioned this going back in April when we put the house on the market or a couple of years ago when we hatched this crazy idea of retiring to New Mexico. Will it happen? YES if I have anything to say about it but what was once a simple dream has taken on life altering status. No prediction of a timeline, no bravado about just doing it, just tears and depression and a feeling of being overwhelmed. I am sure that in time, we will get back to battling every day to keep this dream alive but right now, this seems to be a future we cannot see anymore.
What a mess…..
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