Holy Bunch of Swears and Cries of Joy

For the past three days, I've been dealing with the pain in the ass that is flood insurance. FLOOD insurance in COLORADO, you say?! Wasn't Colorado just on FIRE, you say (with feeling)?!

This is what I imagine flooding in Colorado to be like, though hopefully I will never have to find out. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

As we found out a few days ago, flood insurance is a necessary evil in Creede if you live close to the "flume" in town, which most people in town do. The flume was created to prevent water from the mountains from overtaking the town, though Creede has not majorly flooded in 100 years. But, because appraisers are only allowed to use old city plans, which don't include the flume, all of us have been deemed to live in a "floodplain".  And federal law states that if you are trying to get a loan, you MUST have flood insurance if you live in such an area. And flood insurance...is bloody expensive. And the premium usually must be paid up front. Bull shit!!! But, I digress.

HOWEVER! As of this current writing, we were approved today for our flood insurance (at the lower rate, thank the heavens) as well as for our refinance/construction loan.

MAJOR FORWARD MOOOOOOOVEMENT!

This allows us to pay off the current mortgage, which was only for five years with the understanding that we would refinance ASAP, and gives us the means to complete the house so we can...wait for it...LIVE in it! Closing will be on or around July 31st.

As for our construction process, the next step is demolishing the old addition to make way for the new one, and then framing and closing in the new structure. Then, RJ will move back around to the front of the house and concentrate on that until we can move in--details to come.  Paid work continues to be fairly steady for him so he'll be pulling double duty for a while. But the best part is, we don't have to pull from out of our shallow pockets to pay for most of this stuff.

So after a three month process, start to finish, Step Two is just beginning. And dang it feels good.

Daaaaang.

The Money Shot

So here we are. The moment of truth. We've done everything we are able to do up to this point. RJ's dad, Roger Sr., has been here the past few days to help RJ rough in electric, which was amazingly helpful. (Photos of the house's present state below.)

The appraiser visited our house today and will give two appraisals to the bank. The first will project what the property will be worth when we are finished, and would enable us to get a construction loan. The second establishes what the property is worth now, and would enable us to get an equity line of credit. Both have pros and cons and both would allow us to take the next step to finishing the house.

So, as of 8:30pm this evening, we've been appraised. They'll give the information to the bank. The bank will let us know how much we can borrow and at what interest rate. And now...we wait. And that's just about all I have to say about that. (And thanks, everyone, for the good thoughts. I can feel them working...it's like eating a piece of really good chocolate.)

In other news, as we dive into Taming of the Shrew rehearsals and the July 4th holiday week, it may be rather quiet. Quiet in a way I haven't experienced before in Creede. Though we've had a couple of clear days, the fires still burn on the other side of the mountain to the south. Hopefully there will be an onslaught of walk up ticket sales in the next few days, but the week that is usually the busiest of the season, probably won't be. T'is strange...Okay bye.

Looking at what will be the living room, and downstairs bathroom. Dorky not included.

View of the eventual kitchen. Damn dog...get out of the...

My contribution today was wiping off window sills and putting a couple of coats of paint on RJ's magic.

This is what we've got. Dear Bank, please send cash now. Love, The Manns.