Little homework, big payoff
Awhile back I heard about the possibility of getting a break on your home owner’s insurance if you got a wind inspection. You could either pay someone to do it or if you were patient, you could contact the state and they would provide one for you free of charge. I decided on the latter. The guy came out for the inspection the same day as we had Buttons put down. When he did the inspection he said that the house wasn’t built to the latest codes since it was completed in 2001 (new codes hit 2002) but it still was a CBS house with all openings covered, albeit with plywood. Except for two sections on the front of the house, it is a hip roof which is a good thing when it comes to wind damage. The guy sort of indicated that we should get some discount, just not the maximum. I figured any discount is better than none.
Well yesterday we got an updated policy from Allstate. I didn’t open it, Ali did. She said it said something about the wind inspection but didn’t give details. When I looked at it I couldn’t believe it. We got a 62% deduction in our premium!! Holy shit, that is huge. Instead of paying close to 3 grand we are now being charged about $1300. Ali didn’t seem nearly as impressed by the savings as I was. She said she was unaware of what we paid for homeowners. Well I certainly will be happy to pat my own back on this one.
Well the guy that sold me the pool drain covers that didn’t work has been dicking me around and dicking me around, dragging his feet on issuing me a refund. All along I had a suspicion that he was trying to drag the ordeal out as to get past the ebay/paypal deadline for filing a claim. Well it looks like he succeeded. I tried to file a claim this morning after the jerk still had not refunded my money and was greeted by a message saying that too much time had passed. Son of a bitch, serves me right for trying to be nice and patient. You can bet that won’t happen again. I have not given up though. I will continue to hound the guy. My last correspondence asked for his phone number so I can “address” the dispute with him.
The other claim I have going with the guy that told me to “f off” is apparently going to be decided in my favor. Paypal sent me an email saying all I had to do was provide the tracking information from when I sent the drive back and they will refund the money. F that loser, I win, you lose.
Yesterday after work I stopped at Pinch a Penny with one of my old pool drain covers in hand to see if it matched up with the smoother, dome like cover I saw over the weekend. The cover is the same diameter but the mounting holes are nowhere close to lining up so that option is a dead end.
So I did some more digging on the net last night for possible solutions. I think I may have found one. The cover pictured here will fit my drain plus it offers a smooth surface that the cleaner should be able to scoot across with no problem. They are on the pricey side at 40 some bucks a piece but if it means I no longer have to go out and free the cleaner from the floor drains every half hour it will be well worth it. I’ll probably grab a pair after we get back from the trip.
Speaking of the trip, there seems to be a ton of things swirling around in my head that I want to get done/make sure I don’t forget. Last night I gathered and charged all of my av equipment for the trip. It includes TWO camcorders, my digital camera and all of the related batteries and accessories. Tonight and tomorrow before we leave will be crazy. On top of getting the grass mowed after work I need to go around and collect all of the stuff coming along. I also want to pull out and wash the comforter that we have in the bed in the van. It was never washed after we went out west last summer, yuck.
Yesterday afternoon I watched the end of the US Open playoff. It was another dramatic chapter in Tiger Woods historic golf career. He had a big lead early, squandered it, fell behind, tied it on the last hole of the 18 hole playoff and then surgically disposed of his competitor, who lives in Naples by the way, on the first hole of sudden death. As I was watching it with my buddy from work I said that although my tendency is normally to root for an underdog, especially a local underdog. However when it comes to Tiger I always find myself pulling for him, despite his dominance. He just seems so level headed, so professional and such a nice guy that I just want him to just keep piling on the wins. It’s not often that golf can get your heart rate up however watching those last few holes had about as much drama and suspense as the sport can offer.