Initial Appointment

Xy and I had our initial appointment with the Road Home program this morning. Yes, that’s right, initial. We’re only just now getting started. For once this tardiness cannot be blamed on governmental ineptitude or bureaucratic bungling. It’s our fault. We’ve dragged out feet and postponed this because we don’t really expect to get any benefit from it. But the governor herself said that everyone who sustained any damage from the big storms of ’05 should apply. So we are.

The process we experienced was almost comical. There were all kinds of beeps and sirens going off. We had to sign in and check in multiple times through multiple checkpoints. They took our thumbprints and mugshots.

We had insurance, which actually paid out a decent amount in a timely fashion. But are we whole yet? It’s hard to say. Our renovation is ongoing, and we haven’t run out of money yet.

As I understand it, since we have an appraisal of our home’s value from when we purchased it in 2002, and since the amount of our insurance payouts is a known quantity, and since our home was less than 50% damaged, there’s only one variable remaining to be computed. Then the award formula can be calculated in a straightforward fashion. The remaining variable is the Road Home’s estimate of the cost of our damage. They will calculate that based on an inspection which should happen soon. If their estimate is higher than our insurance company’s, we should get some funds to make up the difference. If not, we won’t.

So essentially this will function as a check on our insurance adjuster, and it all comes down to the inspection. I’ve heard tales (which may be specious) of people bribing their inspectors with lavish meals to get a favorable evaluation. We won’t be engaging in any such foolishness. I’ve also heard about people getting an unfair evaluation because they couldn’t meet the inspector, but I certainly won’t allow that to happen.