What did your home inspector say when you bought this house in 2005?

Have you looked at other insurance companies to have these demands confirmed?

Back in 2005 we were given the "ok" by the inspector, but we bought the home from friends of the family who happened to own their own contracting business. The flaws were hidden well and deep. We have confirmed with other companies and they also say it needs new siding. I can't get any other photos right now since our road and sidewalks are being removed and replaced at the moment.

See if your city or county has any kind of funds to help home owners. I know the city I live in had some kind if funds available if you stayed in your home for 10 years you wouldn't have to pay it back. They would cover roofing, furnace, essential things. Don't know if even still available. You were liable if home sold before 10 years though. Habitat for humanity too. Doesnt hurt to ask. They may or may not have help, don't know. May have some ideas for you.

Habit for humanity also sells stuff thats donated that they can't use. See if there is a Habitat for Humanity Reuse store for supplies.

Needs done in the next 6 weeks. Going through assistance channels will almost certainly take a lot longer than 45 days.

In a situation like this where it needs to be done yesterday, I would pull the old siding off and install rough saw exterior plywood or fiber cement panels.

How bad is the trim & fascia, really? That could probably wait.

Vinyl siding isn’t hard to do or expensive. If you’re handy, you could certainly DIY this before the deadline. This 75 year old just did a side of a shed in it the other day. Plain white should be on the shelf at any supply house in your location. All the trim pieces too. The materials for that size house probably run 2K-3K or so. I’d add another 1K and put rigid foam insulation under it.

But if you can’t DIY, houzz isn’t going to help to find a local contractor to do the job though. You have to make he phone calls yourself. And ASAP. Contractors are very busy right now. Expect that price to more than double with the demo, disposal, and installation.

Why do you want home owner’s insurance on a place with little value?

As far as the strange front porch goes, I could be wrong because the photo isn't the best, but I think it might actually be a very cute front porch that just needs wider steps.

Obviously you don't want to mess with that until you get the insurance thing sorted out, though.

Thought: is it legal for the insurance company to give you such short notice to fix? Check with your state agency that regulates insurance agencies. It might buy you some time.

I’m in insurance so I’ll make note of a couple of things.

2005 was 13 years ago. A lot of things can happen to the exterior. Curled shingles can broken siding can cause water leaks from the outside. Many major carriers are doing inspections and making these demands or cancel mainly because the probability of having to pay out a claim from this damage is high. Require to notice will vary by state, but your company already knows the laws because they aren’t going to jeopardize their licensing.

You can check with other carriers, but chances are, this will be a recurring issue, and they will downgrade your coverage

If you have a mortgage on the home, it is required by law that you have homeowners coverage.

You can file an appeal with the company to see if they can grant you more time. Work with you agent to help you. They will generally grant more time

Many contractors are set up with financing options too. So you can go that route if you aren’t handy.

I reread the OP. I’m guessing they made the request for the siding and the roof at the same time in 2017. 10 months is not unreasonable.

If you have a mortgage, you will be required to have insurance.

Re: No heat upstairs: If you have a heat pump, ask your electric company to review your home for efficiency. If you have duct loose between downstairs and upstairs, you're wasting money. If you heat with gas, ask your gas company to do the same. Do ask if there will be any charge for these inspections.

Is the siding a budget issue? Contact your local Department of Family and Children's Services and see if they know of any assistance available to you. (Don't accept that cheap blow in insulation -- my sister's elderly mother in law regretted doing that.)

Not sure if this will work, but try contacting Habitat for Humanity and tell them your story. If they cannot help, they may know someone that can.

Reminds me of a couple I knew about 20 years ago from church. They bought a small house, husband developed cancer and couldn't do much, two kids, wife working. A bunch of friends and church people helped them put vinyl siding on the house. I helped one day myself - it's not hard IF there is someone who knows what they're doing to make sure the first course on the bottom is straight! Anyway perhaps this gives you some ideas for reaching out for help.

My spouse has been in insurance for over 13 years and knows the laws and regulations and is licensed in 45 states. But the exterior was up to code other than a panel along the bottom on the side of the driveway and it was that way when we moved in and so we did not change it. in 2017 the 10 month notice was to difficult to have all the work done as we lost my spouses income completely and the medical treatment bill was $500,000.00 and that was top priority to save my spouse's life. So yes the home got put second. Our state told we do not qualify for any assistance as they would take my spouse's prior income into account.

I was able to find a family member that is willing to help with the siding, but said we will have to buy the materials and his crew can handle the installation for labor the cost is $5500.00 I am hoping that is not too steep.

We will now just have to figure what supplies for the exterior we will want to upgrade the home as if we are going to put money in, we want to make it worth it.

I wish you the best in this project and your other half's health.

A solar power contractor was working up a bid for me yesterday and mentioned the Renovate America program which is some kind of a financing program for home renovation. I think it is federally funded and the idea is to help support neighborhoods by facilitating renovations with low interest loans. You might look up whether this program operates in your area if you need to borrow money. Might be cheaper than the bank.

Please take photos of the damaged areas so we can see what you are talking about, we don’t care that the sidewalk is torn up. Typically with wood siding you can replace a few of the damaged boards and then prime and paint- I can’t imagine you need a complete new siding job. Years ago I had an inspector fail a house I was selling because ‘the paint was failing’ - I literally painted two boards and it passed.

Hallet & Company is right. Could it be just a few boards along the bottom and fascia that needs replacing. Some scraping and paint on the rest. Instead of the generalized statement of replace siding. Can you ask for more detailed description of the specific defects that your insurance company objects to and wants you to correct. I guess unless you know it's all bad.