FACING AN UNEXPECTED NATURAL DISASTER

We’ve hit a FULL STOP from working on our bathroom remodel and had to attend to an emergency that happened last Saturday due to flooding. We saw the text messages from our tenant around 7am and I immediately began making phone calls for assistance removing water from the home. Keep in mind, Danny and I just recently finished renovating both units and getting them rented out in February and March. See a couple of our previous post on that here https://ourunbelievablejourney.org/2021/02/07/5-easy-ways-to-renovate-when-youre-on-a-tight-budget-and-up-against-time/ OR here https://ourunbelievablejourney.org/2021/03/14/5-week-turnaround-to-freshen-up-a-tired-and-worn-out-property/

For anyone who has not been through a natural disaster such as flooding or a tornado, it is a surreal experience to be in. You have this overwhelming feeling of not sure where to start or what to do. When I was able to meet Danny out at the property, I was holding a small box of Swiffer dry pads. Like somehow this will “solve” the problem. I told Danny, “Here I brought these with me,” as if that was going to do something. I had made 80 calls the first day trying to seek help and response to our situation (one carpet cleaning service said they couldn’t get to us until Monday). There’s a strong sense of being alone in this process.

We knew we didn’t have flood insurance and our claim would be denied. We knew we would be out of pocket for all repairs and expenses. We knew we would have to return deposits and a portion of June’s rent. We knew we would have to end our tenant’s leases and that more than likely they wouldn’t have protection either. We knew 99% of everyone who experienced the flash flooding would not have coverage.

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Danny and I knew we would have to work hard and fast to mitigate damage and further loss. We spent all day Saturday pumping water out of the crawl space, running to get dehumidifiers and fans and sucking up whatever water we could. On Sunday we pulled up the flooring, took out baseboards, quarter round, cut out drywall, and pulled insulation. We were blessed enough to have our parents, my brother-in-law, our lawn care guy, and a couple others come out to help and support in anyway they could! We have greatly appreciated any and all help we have gotten, including the Red Cross bringing us cleaning supplies, shovels, and trash bags.

Monday was spent trying to find a storage unit and a U-haul in order to remove the tenant’s personal belongings inside one of the units. We were getting really concerned that there would be some mold growth, but on top of that the house was really beginning to smell. We really didn’t want our tenants to incur more loss than they already had experienced.

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There was approximately 3-4 feet of water that ran through our neighborhood, which carried away our trash cans, railroad ties, and washed out our gravel. The water also got into the tenant’s vehicles, totaling them. Logs were stuck underneath their vehicles and floating through the water. Emergency vehicles had to rescue multiple residents from the neighborhood. We feel like we are one of the lucky ones in this. No one in the neighborhood was injured, and our house only had about 3 inches inside the house (some had almost 5 feet!)

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A message from Danny: We have to mention how demoralizing this can be. We push hard on a daily basis to make sure our properties are nice, clean and a step above other rentals. We have had to make sure that we maintain a positive outlook through this. It is hard to work a full time job during the week, make time for renovations after work and hit it as hard as we can on the weekends. Let me tell you, we both felt exhausted all week long! It’s tough when you feel like you are constantly taking one step forward and two steps back. I guess these are the times they say “you are building character.” It’s tough to swallow, but it’s life. We aren’t going to be handed anything. We keep pushing, fighting and scratching to keep what we have and to get ahead. We know that we are taking some risks and that most people wouldn’t want to work as hard as we do, but we like doing this (in most instances). We enjoy each other’s company even when we’re working on a property in a highly stressful environment. We like to have fun with it when we can. We chose this and we aren’t going to let anything like this break us!

We are definitely not the only ones affected by this. There were 16 duplexes in our neighborhood, downtown Bloomington (B-Square), which affected at least a dozen businesses, one fire house, multiple apartment buildings, a nursing home, rehabilitation center, and many other locations suffered from loss. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all that are dealing with this. Our only message is to keep your head up, keep pushing, rebuild and refocus!

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