City of Newburgh Grants and Loans

A quick update on the Facade Grant and Renovation Grant/Loans: there's a stipulation to the programs that the building cannot have any code violations, meaning it must be habitable and up to code in order to qualify for the grants. Unfortunately, Eddie's house doesn't have windows or plumbing/heating, therefore it is not up to code and not habitable.

Eddie's trying to make the argument that the combination of his own money, his own efforts and the city grants would allow him to fix the building and make it habitable. It's an uphill battle, though, and although the city officials seemed to be helpful at first, they have not returned his subsequent phone calls or emails. Sigh.

Anyway, it's a shame because the house is on a crucial corner and its occupancy could change the whole outlook of the neighborhood it's in. We attended the Newburgh Heights Association meeting last week, even though we don't live in the Heights, and they echoed the same sentiment that Eddie voiced to the City of Newburgh in an appeal letter - that every house makes a difference. Each abandoned or boarded-up property devalues the surrounding area and only perpetuates the cycle of crime, lowered neighborhood pride, and lower rates of owner-occupied housing.

It would be great to start up a Montgomery-Grand-Liberty Association, where there are lots of beautiful historic homes that need to be remembered and advocated for. And there are a lot of people already in the neighborhood who take care of their own properties, who I imagine wouldn't be opposed to expending energy on making sure other properties are taken care of.

Since we haven't done anything with the house in a while, we were shamed into taking some action...so, maybe this weekend we'll do some landscaping in the front yard.

Inconceivable

So, Zaborski's Emporium was massive and crazy and much more pricey than I had anticipated. Kingston is lovely, though, and I hope someday Newburgh can have that level of community pride.

Anyway, we received some pretty awful news on Friday. The City of Newburgh informed Eddie that he doesn't actually OWN the house we bought. The explanation from our lawyer-in-law:

“The title co, your insurer, is working on fixing the problem. The problem took place during a gap between the closing and the last search that was done by the title company before the closing. During that gap, the city foreclosed the tax lien for all those back unpaid taxes. Because it took place during the gap, the title co wasn't aware of it. Notwithstanding, you are insured for not only what you paid, but for the fair market value of the property. I had spoken with Eddie about this months ago, when we discovered the problem when the title co tried to file the deed taking you out of title AND you brought to our attention that you were unable to pay the taxes. The title company is "on it". In the meantime, do not spend any more money on this house until this is worked out.”

Crazy, right?? So everything is on hold - the grant application, the ARC approval for facade work, the historic preservation tax credit application....

Anyway, it wouldn't be an adventure without a few Fire Swamps and Pits of Despair.

Lesson #1: Don't trust anyone

SO, after some high-heaven praising of our general contractors to everyone we know, I am officially entering a retraction.

Wells Fargo looked into their history as part of the bank's due diligence for our 203K loan, and then promptly called us to let us know that they will not give us the loan unless we dump these guys. The bank couldn't disclose what they found out, but it must have been some serious sh*t.

It took us weeks and weeks to even find contractors willing to work on our house, and these guys were professional, courteous and enthusiastic. They were also willing to work at almost no profit. Of course they wouldn't pass the background check.