Yesterday, I wrote and published the first optimistic house-related post that I'd published in a long time.

Generous relatives funded our up-front costs! We were ready to sign the contract with the new builder!

And then five minutes after I posted it, I got an email from Mrs that obliterated everything I had just written.

So, I deleted that post.

Our lawyer found stuff in that contract that he hated. So we have to wrestle over that. Not the end of the world, probably. But still. Delays! More delays! Every second that goes by, a million more mold spores sprout in the crawlspace (current est to fix the mold: $5400).

And then the bank said no, they weren't going to release any more money from the construction loan because of the liens the old builder's subs had put on the property (even though NC law says they aren't going to get any money from us, ever). And we're all like :

 
OK, how do you get rid of liens?

1. You could pay the subs for their work. But we've already paid for that work; we paid the builder for the work that he contracted them to do. Then the builder pocketed that money. The builder stole their money, not us. And we aren't going to pay twice for that work. I feel for the subs - they did work and didn't get paid by the person who hired them and didn't pay them. But that's not our fault.

2. You can wait 180 days. If the subs with the liens don't file suit in 180 days, the liens go away. Another 6 months? The house/3 is open to the elements - there's a front door but no latch. There's no back door, no garage door. The crawlspace is 7' tall, deep, dry and has no door. It's wide open to countless acres of forest. I fully expect to find a family of bears living in there next time I stop by.

3. You can get the people to drop their liens by asking nicely. Yeah right.

4. If they decide to file lawsuits, you fight the lawsuits. Lawyers on both sides make 5 figures. For some, that could be a justifiable expense. For others it won't be.

So, yesterday I thought we were making progress. Then I learned we were actually dead in the water and possibly sinking.

And the people who bought our current house want us out by end of next month. Apartment life ahead.

So, fuck this motherfucking everything.

Advice: do not, ever build a house. Do not, ever, hire a contractor to build anything. If you do not heed that advice, I urge you: do not trust that your bank will be on your side; do not trust that the bank will have a fucking clue about anything; do not trust your builder; inspect everything he does; do not release funds for anything in advance, no matter how much he pleads; only pay for completed work that you have inspected. Better yet, find an apartment, rent it, and never leave the closet.