Latest News…June 29, 2020

Healthy Homes Funds Received

On Friday, $10,601,209.35 in Healthy Homes funds were posted to CFSIC’s account.

This is $2.1 million more than we had budgeted to receive. This is going to be of enormous help to homeowners in line for Participation Agreements.

On Monday, the Superintendent will start signing Participation Agreements to get more construction moving, for as many as 68 families who have been in line since September 17, 2019.

The Board of Directors, the Superintendent, and all CFSIC service providers extend their heartfelt thanks to all the citizens of Connecticut for their valuable contribution to this effort. The annual $12 per homeowner policy surcharge, which amounts to less than 4 cents per day in contribution from each policyholder, will make a difference in the lives of people who have been devastated by the crumbling foundations crisis.

We also recognize the tremendous efforts of Governor Lamont and his staff, who have been steadfast in their support. They have been accessible to us at all times and actively engaged in the process of getting these funds to us.

In particular, we want to thank DOH Commissioner Mosquera-Bruno and her staff, Secretary Melissa McCaw of OPM and her staff, and Insurance Commissioner Andrew Mais and the great CID staff…these commissioners worked as a team in conjunction with the Governor’s office to get us these funds promptly.

Lastly, we thank our elected officials who made this happen legislatively. We have nine more years to go with this source of funding, and CFSIC will be restoring people’s lives in real and tangible ways for the next decade as a result.

We look forward to receiving our next $20 million of bond allotment, which will mean, if we get it promptly, that by this time next year we may have 250 or more foundations restored, including our first series of condominium units.

“Pending” Claims…Managing Expectations

CFSIC will temporarily stop accepting applications on Tuesday, June 30 at 5:00 PM. Since CFSIC has currently only been accepting applications for the Pending status category since January 13, 2020, this means that the entire application process will cease for an indeterminate period on June 30. We’re confident that it will start up again. We just don’t know when.

It’s important to remember that, if you applied to CFSIC on or after January 13, 2020, your status as a CFSIC claimant is “Pending” and that claimants holding “Pending” status may never have their claims paid…or we may only be able to get to a handful of Pending claimants before designated funds, in the amount we understand those funds to be, run out.

We understand that some contractors have been providing remediation proposals to Pending claimants. While we cannot stop this process from happening, we want to make it clear that a Pending claimant is nether an active nor inactive claimant. If you’re a Pending claimant asking a contractor for a construction proposal, or if you’re a contractor trying to reach Pending claimants with proposals, everyone should be aware that, because of the nature of Pending status, a homeowner may get a construction proposal that we might never be able to fund, or that, similarly, a contractor may be providing a proposal that he or she may not get paid for for several years…or maybe ever.

Again, we do not want to discourage contractors and Pending claimants, but CFSIC does have an official position on this issue: we never tell claimants to secure a minimum of two construction proposals until their claim achieves “active” status. With Pending claimants, given the constraints of funding, that day may never arrive without additional sources of funding beyond the two already known.

A Further Update: Transferring Your Claim

All CFSIC claimants (not just active claimants) will shortly be able to transfer their existing inactive or Pending claims to a buyer of their home, with this process taking official effect on July 13, 2020, retroactive to June 1, 2020. On July 6 in this section, we will publish the following:

– red-marked changes to CFSIC’s Underwriting and Claims Management Guidelines;

– a new subsection, subsection 20, in the “For Homeowners” section of this site, which will detail how the process will work, inclusive of Q&A;

– a template Claim Transfer Agreement governing the transfer of a claim;

– a new subsection, subsection 11, in the “For Contractors” section of this site, providing claim transfer information for contractors.

What follows is an expanded (expanded from last week) Q&A about this important change.

Question: I’m a Type 1, severity Class 2, inactive claimant. If I sell my home and transfer my claim to the buyer, does that change the status of my claim?

Answer: No. The buyer gets the exact status you had at the moment of transfer.

Question: I’m in line for a Participation Agreement and have been in line for a while. I’ve been told that I may be in the next round of funding at some point after July 1, 2020, but I still plan to sell my house. Does my exact place in line for a Participation Agreement get transferred to the buyer?

Answer: Yes, if the buyer agrees to all terms and conditions of the Claim Transfer Agreement.

Question: Where can I find the Claim Transfer Agreement on this site?

Answer: It has not been posted yet. It will be on June 29. We will alert everyone in “Latest News” when that’s happened.

Question: I’m a Pending claimant, and I’m aware that, given current anticipated projected funding, I may never get my claim paid. If I transfer my claim because I sell my home, will the buyer be taking the same risk I am?

Answer: Absolutely. We may never have enough money to address any Pending claimants.

Question: Can I transfer my claim without selling my home?

Answer: No.

Question: Does this apply to condos? Does it apply to PUDs?

Answer: No for condos. (Remember that condo unit owners are technically not our claimants… associations are our claimants, because it is the association that owns the foundation.) It applies to PUDs.

Question: I’m a Type 2 claimant. Does it apply to my claim?

Answer: No.

Question: Once I transfer my Type 1 claim to the buyer, can he or she re-sell the home and keep transferring the claim?

Answer: No. The transfer of a claim can occur only once…from one Original Claimant to one Transfer Claimant. It can never be transferred again by the Transfer Claimant.

Question: Will I be able to sell my home first and then transfer the claim at some point after that?

Answer: No. The Claim Transfer Agreement date can only be the same date as the date of the sale of the home or a date prior to the sale. It it’s prior to the date of sale, and for some reason the sale does not go through…then the transfer is voided as if it had never occurred.

Question: OK, but I sold my house in the middle of June…how will the retroactive June 1 date affect me?

Answer: As stated above, on and after July 13, 2020, the date of the Claim Transfer Agreement must be the date of the sale of the home or a date prior to the sale. It cannot, however, be a date prior to June 1, 2020. In your example, you would still qualify.

Question: So are you saying that if I sold my home on May 15, 2020, I’m disqualified?

Answer: Yes, that’s what we’re saying…besides, at the date of sale you ceased to be a CFSIC claimant anyway, and the correct thing to do would have been to notify ESIS of your status. We are grandfathering this process back to June 1 as an accommodation only.

Question: Are you still going to stop the Pending application process on June 30 as previously announced?

Answer: Yes.

Question: I’m a Type 1, severity Class 3 active claimant. So if I transfer my claim to the buyer of my home, what am I really doing?

Answer: What you’re doing is transferring almost every right, obligation, and duty you had for your claim to the buyer of your home, who then agrees to take over those rights, duties, and obligations. If you’re in line for a Participation Agreement, that puts the buyer in line exactly at the same place you were in. If you have already signed a Participation Agreement, you are transferring that Participation Agreement to the buyer. If your Participation Agreement is transferred to the buyer, the buyer will have to enter into a Termination Agreement with CFSIC terminating that Participation Agreement and entering into a new one with CFSIC.

Question: But what happens to the contractor’s proposal that I signed?

Answer: It is important to bear in mind that if the Original Claimant (seller) is an active CFSIC claimant (with or without a Participation Agreement) and has already signed a contract with a contractor, the contractor will have to terminate the signed contract, and the buyer and the contractor will have to enter into a new contract between them, with the understanding that this may work out fine for the buyer and the existing contractor…OR either party may decide that they don’t want to continue.

Question: What happens if the buyer and the contractor can’t agree on the terms of the original contract or, alternatively, the contractor simply backs out of the arrangement?

Answer: The buyer can seek the required two proposals for construction services from CRCOG-approved contractors to substitute for the original contractor. CFSIC will keep an active claim “active” for a period of 180 days from the date of the Claim Transfer Agreement in order to allow time for this to happen. If it isn’t accomplished by then, the claim is removed from our system, it is no longer active, and the buyer is no longer in line…and must therefore start the process all over again. If we are not accepting applications at the time that happens, then the buyer may have to wait for years to reapply, or may never get an opportunity.

Question: Who is responsible for contacting ESIS ProClaim to tell them about the sale of a home?

Answer: Only the original homeowner (Original Claimant). ESIS will not accept communications of any kind from real estate agents or from Transfer Claimants (home buyers) regarding a claim transfer.

Question: Okay…what happens then?

Answer: When you provide ESIS ProClaim with your claim number by phone or email and indicate that you want to transfer your claim to the buyer of your home, they will provide you with a Claim Transfer Data Form to complete. You will send it back to them completed. The Superintendent’s office will then contact you and send you a Claim Transfer Agreement, which will require your signature and that of the buyer, as well as separate witnesses. You will return the fully-executed Claim Transfer Agreement back to the Superintendent’s office. Once this agreement is fully executed and received in the Superintendent’s office, the transfer of the claim can occur, and the permanent records of the claim are changed with regard to who the claimant is.

Question: I’ve already signed a proposal with a contractor. Who is responsible for telling the contractor that I’m selling my home?

Answer: You are. It is not ESIS ProClaim’s responsibility or CFSIC’s responsibility to do this. It also cannot be the real estate agent or the homebuyer. If you want to transfer your claim, you have to do this yourself.

Question: What happens then?

Answer: ESIS ProClaim will contact your contractor and terminate the Contractor Acknowledgement in force covering the original claim. This is a critical point: at that point, the contractor must immediately refund to CFSIC any deposit CFSIC has paid to the contractor for the original claim. The contractor can then provide a new contract to the buyer for precisely the same terms and conditions as the original contract, complete a new Contractor Acknowledgment in the buyer’s name…or may refuse to do all of this. It is the contractor’s option. It could be that at this critical point, the buyer does not want to accept the contract originally proposed. Just be careful: the buyer has 180 days to stay in line.

Question: But I’ve signed a contract, my claim is active, and I’m in line for a Participation Agreement. If the contractor refuses, does that make the buyer start all the way from the beginning?

Answer: No. If the contractor refuses to provide the buyer with a new contract, we will permit the buyer to seek alternative proposals from CRCOG-approved contractors. If a contract with a new contractor is not approved by ESIS and signed within 180 days from the date of the Claim Transfer Agreement, the claim is voided and the buyer has lost his or her place in line.

Question: But I have a CHFA loan agreement that I’ve just entered into. What happens to that?

Answer: You have to address that with CHFA.

The CHFA Credit Enhancements Program

You should go here to learn more about the CHFA credit enhancements program as it is now constituted. Please note that it currently does not apply to condominiums. CFSIC did not create and is not administering the loan program, and the ESIS claim team cannot advise you in any way about the terms and conditions of any aspect of the program. The link noted in this section will take you to an outline of the program, as well as to a section marked “Frequently Asked Questions.” We also recommend contacting the Homeowner Advocate using the contact information on the Department of Housing website for more assistance.

CFSIC’s Annual Report

CFSIC’s Annual Report can be viewed here. 

CFSIC’s 2019 Audited Financial

View CFSIC’s audited financial report for the period ended June 30, 2019.

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If you have any questions about the operation of the program, ESIS is your best source of information on your claim, and their phone number and email are shown below.

Phone: 844-763-1207

Email: cfsic@esis.com

As you work through the information and application process (understanding that we are in suspension for the taking of new applications), here’s how you can get help:

– Call ESIS (the claim adjuster) at: 844-763-1207

– Email ESIS at: cfsic@esis.com

– Email CFSIC at: info@crumblingfoundations.org

To view a video of how to complete an electronic application, go here.

To apply for a Type 1 claim, go here.

To apply for a Type 2 claim, go here.

To learn more about the program, if you are a homeowner, including application help, go here.

To learn more about the program, if you are a contractor, go here.