Contractor Nightmare!!

Once upon a time there was a house - my house - and it had the unthinkable happen to it. It was destroyed by water because a roofer didn't take the proper precautions when 7 inches of rain was predicted when they started to re-roof our home. This happened on June 13, 2008 (Friday the 13^th, yeah we do laugh about the date now).

I thought I had seen it all after being a Realtor for 20 years, but I was wrong. I had never seen how destructive water could be. I have seen like everyone else the photos of hurricane victims and their homes with standing water in them and feeling so sad for their situation. Even though my disaster came about differently, I still ended up with the same damage as if I had been flooded.

Our home had to be gutted down to studs and mold remediated, it meant starting all over. It has been several months now and we are getting close to the end. We were hoping to be in my Thanksgiving but it looks more like the middle of December. In the meantime, it has been an adventure, both good and bad rebuilding.

I thought I had done everything right when selecting our original roofer, but after the fact I probably should have done more background checking.

The moral of my story is if you find yourself in need of a contractor please go to http://homerepair.about.com or any other website to gather information about the process. Also talk to family and friends, referrals are the best. Be as informed as possible.

Debra Cain is a Realtor in the Springfield, MO area. To receive further information on the cities of Springfield , Ozark, Nixa, Republic, Rogersville, or surrounding areas in Missouri CALL DEBRA TODAY! 417-379-2202 or e-mail debracain@kw.com