09-09-2020, 02:13 PM
(Dennis -- this is a personal rant and rather despondent, so don't read if you're looking for a happy solution to your situation)
Speaking as someone who went through a lot of shit thanks to Katrina (2005), there's hardly anything to be done. I'm not going to rehash details but I distinctly remember getting 1/3 of my insurance settlement from the mortgage company (long story) and being told I needed to finish 2/3 of the job before they'd dole out the next 1/3. When we pointed out the math wasn't right on that, they told us to either ask the contractor for credit or borrow from family.
Several thousand phone calls, at least 50 affidavits, notarized estimates, two lawyers, and five years later, nothing had improved. The State was overwhelmed with complaints, calls, and cases.
My Dad's business had gotten back up and running and he got a friend at the bank to help me get a loan to finish the work on my house. Six years after Katrina, we were able to sell it, and pay back the bank. We basically signed a waiver to not sue them so they're release the remainder of our insurance money so we could pay back the bank, our contractor, and my Dad.
Insurance did okay by us; our local insurance agent (here in AR not back in LA) got the insurance company to help directly. That was State Farm.
The mortgage company that fucked us over so badly was Chase Mortgage. We had just switched to them earlier in 2005 to take advantage of something, a lower rate maybe. I don't know. Couldn't have known but it was a big mistake.
Speaking as someone who went through a lot of shit thanks to Katrina (2005), there's hardly anything to be done. I'm not going to rehash details but I distinctly remember getting 1/3 of my insurance settlement from the mortgage company (long story) and being told I needed to finish 2/3 of the job before they'd dole out the next 1/3. When we pointed out the math wasn't right on that, they told us to either ask the contractor for credit or borrow from family.
Several thousand phone calls, at least 50 affidavits, notarized estimates, two lawyers, and five years later, nothing had improved. The State was overwhelmed with complaints, calls, and cases.
My Dad's business had gotten back up and running and he got a friend at the bank to help me get a loan to finish the work on my house. Six years after Katrina, we were able to sell it, and pay back the bank. We basically signed a waiver to not sue them so they're release the remainder of our insurance money so we could pay back the bank, our contractor, and my Dad.
Insurance did okay by us; our local insurance agent (here in AR not back in LA) got the insurance company to help directly. That was State Farm.
The mortgage company that fucked us over so badly was Chase Mortgage. We had just switched to them earlier in 2005 to take advantage of something, a lower rate maybe. I don't know. Couldn't have known but it was a big mistake.