Big House; Big Problems

Years ago, my dear friend Paul complained to Wifey that he had "big problems." Wifey smiled and said to him "Well, you're a big man -- of course you have big problems."

And so it is.  We have a big house, and have decided to stay in it awhile. But it was built in 1997, and it turns out that even with a clay barrel tile roof, in South Florida -- about ALL roofs have a few decade lifespan.

After Wilma, some tiles blew off, and I had a company replace them. The estimator showed me that many of the tiles had pried loose, and he sent a very skilled worker who worked from dusk to dawn reattaching them. We were fine, roof-wise, all the way until Irma, two years ago.

Irma knocked over trees, and one took out about 10 tiles. I asked my friend Norman for a roofer referral, and his brother, who manages properties, suggested Infinity, out of Pompano. They were terrific -- fixed the tiles, and replaced some rotting wood for less than their estimate -- they needed to use less wood than they had thought. I became a fan, and gave them glowing Yelp reviews.

Well, we're still leak free, but I have a few areas of rotting tongue and groove decking, over outside porch areas. I called Infinity on Tuesday evening, and Wednesday there was a man there -- so quick, I hadn't told Wifey, and she called to confirm the guest was legitimate. The man walked around and found seven separate areas of rotted wood.

Yesterday I got a call from the company owner -- was I sitting down? I laughed, and said I was driving, but matters of home repair wouldn't cause me to crash. Well, he said -- it was a major job to do the 7 repairs -- the cost would be about $15K.

Then he asked the age of the roof. I told him 23 years. Then, he said, I might want to consider whether I was putting good money into repairs for nothing -- the membrane of South Florida roofs lasted, at most, 20-25 years. But no, I protested, like a patient whose doctor gives a terminal diagnosis -- I have clay barrel tile -- those roofs last 50 years! The maven calmly told me the tile lasts indeed forever if not cracked, but the membrane is the real roof, and storms, pouring rain, and searing heat cause cracks and leaks in, at most, 1/4 century. He would get me an estimate for a whole new roof.

I FaceBook messaged the architect and builder of the house -- now a realtor in West Palm, to ask if what I was told was true. It was, he said -- even though he and his late wife had used the best materials, the most you hoped to get from a roof was about 25 years. Also -- how had 20 years, or nearly, passed since we met?

Richard also said he had a friend who was an estimator with a national roof company -- I ought to get an opinion from him. I called Fred, after Richard had briefed him,and he said he could be here the next day.

I was appreciative, but my spider senses were heightened. What contractor drives from West Palm to Pinecrest to bid a job at the drop of a call? Well, it turns out, one who senses a huge commission from a big job.

Fred was here, and said we could get my insurance company to pay -- at least some of the damage was storm related, and though only some tiles were so damaged, code required all replacements be the same, so the insurer was required to pay everything.

One problem for me: my deductible was well over $100K. Not really a problem, Fred happily said. Replacing a roof like mine would be WELL over $100K!

I explained to Fred I really wasn't interested in an insurance claim. I need to keep coverage, if only to have primary liability coverage for our umbrella liability coverage. I know if I make a claim, my carrier will drop me, and replacing even my high deductible  policy would cost probably $35K per year.

Fred politely tried to explain alternatives, and finally I told him I was able t BUY this house because of extracting money from insurance companies for over 30 years, but these days, in the property market in Miami Dade East of US 1, they had me more than I had them...

Fred understood, but said he would still provide an estimate. It will come in well over $100K.

So now I'm waiting on Infinity's estimate. I have a sense that it will be right around $100k, too. I know this because a friend in Boca, who shops very carefully for prices, just paid $65K for a new roof for HIS house, and it's one story, and a good deal smaller than mine.

I have a feeling I'm just going to do the rotting wood repair, and hope to get some more years out of the roof. When we sell Villa Wifey, we'll end up giving a healthy credit to the new buyers, so that they can deal with the new roof, unless they're wealthy South Americans or Europeans who just want to knock the place down and build their own custom palace...full acre lots in Pinecrest have nice value, apparently.

One of my mentors, Max, famously said that a problem that can be solved with money isn't a real problem. My friend Mirta laughed when she heard that, and remarked "Spoken by a man who has plenty of money."

Both are true, of course.  Wifey is silently thinking, I know, "See -- if you listened to me and we moved to a condo, we wouldn't be dealing with this."  Yeah, we would. There are things called special assessments, which you have to pay to do major repairs -- not to mention the huge 30 year inspections, which always turn up huge needed renovations.

Wifey's friend, living in a 70s era building on Venetian Causeway, recently got a bill for well over $20K for one of those. Nothing sours the mood of condo unit owners like a $20K bill in their mailbox.

So I'll deal with the roof. I got an estimate to repair the waterfall by our pond -- we need a new water pump and repairs. That's a much smaller job. When it's done, in time for cooler weather, I can sit by the falling water with a large martini and bemoan spending big bucks on house repairs.

It should BE our biggest concern in life...no matter how big the house is.