Just talked to Roland Graybill, our flood adjuster. He assured me that he completed our claims last week. It’s just a matter of waiting for Fidelity, our insurer, to cut us a check. Then things will get really complicated, because our mortgage company wants to put the money in escrow and dole it out piecemeal as repairs are completed.
Mr. Graybill said I should allow a couple weeks yet for the checks to arrive, because “that’s just how long it’s taking.”
Ask the mortgage company if they’ll give you a debit card to use at Lowe’s etc.
If you don’t have one already, you should try to hustle on getting an Amex card (a real one, not a Blue one) or some kind of credit card that’s going to let you float thousands of dollars at a time. If this works anything like home construction loans, you might end up in the situation where you need to buy a bunch of stuff, show up with receipts, and then get reimbursed.
Depending on the home improvement store scenario down there, you might also be able to score a line of credit or a store card, too. I imagine if this is happening to everyone, local stores are being more “creative” about this sort of thing to get your business.