EDEN, N.Y. (WKBW) — Nearly six months after a tornado touched down in the Town of Eden, neighbors are still picking up the pieces of the devastating damage.
Longtime Eden resident, Gary Nobbs, is one of them. Nobbs initially shared his story with us in July after a massive tree collapsed onto his home, destroying every bedroom.
Despite the destruction, he was not ready to give up the place he had called home for 50 years but the past few months have been challenging for his family.
Their home insurance has not fully covered the repair costs, leaving their house in limbo.
I reconnected with the family, speaking with Gary Nobbs Jr., who walked through the repair process and the funding headaches they are facing.
"We want our home back," Gary Nobbs Jr. said.
He said the family has been living in an apartment while their home is unlivable.
"We were hoping, assuming that there weren't any major problems, that here at the six-month mark, we would be either moved in already or just getting ready to move in," he said.
On Tuesday, the home had a blue tarp that covered the hole left by the fallen oak tree.
This is phase one of the rebuild.
"You can see they removed the subfloor, they are going to jack up the house so they can release the center beam here, going right down the middle of the section here," he said.
The lumber scattered around the property will eventually be used to rebuild the walls and roof.
A new roof cannot be installed until the weather is well above freezing.
He said funding has been a major issue.
So far, the family's insurance company, New York City Mutual Insurance, has approved about $150,000 for the repairs.
However, their independent contractor, Disaster Relief, quoted the project at $280,000.
The insurance company initially estimated $200,000 for the rebuild but later hired its own independent contractor, who quoted $220,000.
He said their contractor is disputing these quotes.
"Our contractor disputes that and is being low-balled and potentially not covering everything that we expect to have covered for this rebuild," he said.
Adding to the frustration, he said a recent call with the insurance company left them with more even confusion.
"After that phone call, I feel more confused than satisfied," he shared. "We understand this is a process. What's frustrating is how slow the insurance company is taking to rebuild and fund this."
He hopes no one else has to go through this nightmare.
"Be prepared to fight for your home," he said. "Be prepared to push back against your insurance company to get what you need. We're lucky in some ways because only part of our house is destroyed, while others lost everything."
The family said they are considering legal action if the insurance company does not meet their expectations.
He said it is not a step they want to take, but they may have no other choice.
I reached out to New York City Mutual Insurance for comment but have not yet heard back.
