Washed Away

I have the flu. Yes, despite having gotten the flu shot two months ago I was one of the lucky ones that got a flu that wasn't covered by the vaccination. You know, the fever, chills, lethargy, dizziness, congestion, hacking cough and limited lung capacity. And to top it all off, fluid in both ears so I can hardly hear and an ear infection! I've been cooped up inside all day this week, laying around and trying to get better. Seems like the slightest bit of effort puts me into a coughing fit.

My parents were generous to offer to keep The Boy overnight every day this week as his school is near their house. This has saved me from having to wake up early, pack lunch and drive him over there. The cold air especially seems to knock the wind right out of me so I appreciate not having to leave the house.

I've had the baby with me and he's been pretty good during the day. He's happy to just toddle around the house, bringing me books and offering hugs. At night it's a different story however, he's been having some restless nights wanting to be snuggled for hours on end. He's had a runny nose and cough for a few weeks and we've been running the humidifier in his room. I'm sure that his not feeling well is part of the issue. I'm hoping that phase will end soon and he'll be back to sleeping all night again.

So on Wednesday my mom took me to the doctor for antibiotics for my ears and brought me back to her house so I could nap while they watched the kids. Danny was working and had an appointment with the home inspector at the new house. So I was surprised when the phone rang and it was Danny.

He was talking fast, "I'm at the house the home inspector is here vandals broke in stole the copper wiring and piping the house flooded they have a group here already cleaning up and repairing things I don't think we should go ahead with this process."

What? I asked him if he was joking (he does this with me on the phone frequently). No, he said, he wasn't joking and he needed me to come see.

Feeling horribly and confused about the conversation, I drove over to the house. There was a clean-up van in the driveway and our realtor, inspector and my husband were there as well. I got more clarification on what happened.

At some point in the last 40-something days since we started the Escrow process, the house was vandalized. They went through the attic, ripping out copper wiring, tearing it out of the wall sockets and ripped out a section of copper piping. This caused a flood in the house up about 2'. We have no idea how long the water sat in the house before it was discovered. The investors/current owners of the property were already fixing the situation. The brand new carpet had been ripped out, as well as the wood flooring. They had already removed the wet drywall, replaced it, textured and painted. New molding, door frames, closet doors, flooring, electrical and piping would have to be installed.

Unfortunately the owners had not disclosed any of this to our agent so it was all a surprise to show up on inspection day and have work being done to the property. This is a big no-no. Once we started Escrow no changes were to be made to the property.

The vandalism caused the Escrow process to be null and void from that point. It would be our choice to start the process back up again if we wished, but we opted not to. We don't know why the owners didn't disclose the issue right away to the agents, perhaps hoping we wouldn't find out? I don't know. We also don't know how long the water sat and how much damage it might have done to things that are now covered in new drywall and fresh paint. Did they replace the insulation, any wet boards, might there have been mold? We'll never know. There was also damage done, either during the vandalism or during the clean up, to some of the cabinetry and those items weren't expected to be replaced. We'd bid on a house with new vanities and now they were banged up and scratched. Besides the fact that we'd be living in house that was broken into. There was no "for sale" up so the vandals were someone who knew the house was vacant, could it be a neighbor?

We are all brutally disappointed of course, starting back over when we thought we were nearing the finish line. Danny spent that night moving all of the boxes packed with our possessions into closets so they're out of sight. At least then we aren't having to live with towers of cardboard stacked in the corners of our living room and the constant reminder that moving day is still far off.

Our realtor is looking into some new possibilities for us and we have been trying to keep our head up about the situation. The truth is that we are both really crushed and I'm disappointed for the kids too, who've been so excited about the move and getting their own spaces and a backyard. It's been a hard week.