Can we legally leave her home alone? (Long, but we need answers)
christmasbaby
15 years ago
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mikeandbarb
15 years agoRelated Discussions
We visited our lake house today (long)
Comments (3)My mind took a little trip with you when you described it. I know it was a special place for you, and I know you were relieved to find it still beautiful and a special place for somebody else. I always was ambivalent about going back to see an old home with memories, for fear of what I'd find. I have anyway, and in some cases it's heartbreaking, and in others I came away like you did. Relieved. The people who bought my house when I married have kept it well tended and loved, and I go by it several times a year on my way south. I detour off the highway to the little village where it stands and drive by it and I see my children sitting in the tree or riding their horse in my mind's eye. Makes me feel like a time traveler....See MoreMy downstairs neighbors won't leave me alone! Help! (long post)
Comments (4)The situation may be too tense at this point, but could you ask the neighbor to call you with the plan to let them come inside your unit during a "stomping episode" to prove to them that sound travels and it's not coming from your unit? Ideally one of them could come upstairs and another could wait from within the unit. Or perhaps management could send one person to each unit and see how loud it really is (are expectations unreasonable?) and upstairs you will have a witness that normal movements are happening upstairs regardless of what they hear. If you have any travel plans, could you use this to your advantage to establish it as a fact that they are hearing noise from another unit? It's obvious they don't believe this. Anything for them to stop calling the police, because that is clearly not solving anything and is wasting city resources... what an awful wake-up call for you....See MoreCan we talk patios? I need help. Long with pics.
Comments (8)I can tell you what we've done, which looks like it would work for you as well, with the least amount of effort and money in materials. (Yes, we are DIYers too.) Several years ago we decided to do away with our grass because there wasn't enough of it, and 75 percent is under an oak tree where it doesn't grow well anyway. We just mulched the grass heavily to kill it out, and keep adding (pine bark) mulch every year since it tends to break down over the winter with weather. After doing this for several years, we have very few weeds. Because the mulch breaks down after while, it does need a thin surface layer once a year in the spring to keep it looking fresh. I think that would look the best since you wouldn't be adding another hard material like pavers, you wouldn't have to match anything and a natural look is always current. Your path and the landscape around it is what you really want to notice and adding another material would just distract your eye away from what makes your garden so beautiful. We also plant a container garden that goes in the area every year, and I choose brightly colored hummingbird annuals to put in the sun around our pond to feed my hummingbirds. There are things like fuchsias, ferns and gardenias in partial shade, and begonias for deep shade. It's pretty, very natural, and easy to maintain. If you wanted to dig out the grass, that would give you some depth in which to spread the mulch which would keep down the weeds beautifully, without needing any landscape fabric (which just seems to get in the way and is a big hassle to install.) Keeping it simple with just the mulch, gives you more room to ''landscape'' and putting your money into containers and maybe a fabulous fountain, makes the most sense. We've bought yards of mulch that were dumped on the driveway, and bought it in bags. After moving around mulch both ways, we actually think it's easier to put down mulch from bags without the immediacy of having to get a big pile off your driveway. When the season is over, plants go into the compost pile, and I turn my containers upside down under my cedars to live out the winter until next year. After so many years, I pretty much know how much I need now to fill them. I love my garden, and the low maintenance aspect of not having grass to mow makes me happy. You already have a beautiful garden. I don't think it will take much to tweak it to a place where you'll be happy too....See MoreIn IL - rent or short sale, we can't agree, house more than $100k
Comments (25)Hi ML, I think you're getting unfairly beat up. Your guy did the same thing that a lot of people did- they bought at the top of the market, thinking it was a good investment. Right now you have a "paper loss", but there is also the real cost of paying a mortgage for $200k+ vs a mortgage of That said. Truly, this is a "good" problem to have. When you and your DH look back on this years from now, you will think about how you had to deal with a place that is less than perfect and sold some land instead and you'll smile about your youth. You will be thankful that you could afford the mistake and that you weren't bankrupted or foreclosed upon. This is still a problem, but it's a problem that is livable. You aren't facing cancer, injury, etc. In a few years it might make more sense to rent because rents generally are rising now. In fact, this might eventually turn into a cash cow if you ended up renting it. You might end up making much more money on it then you would have if you could short sell it now- plus there will be costs associated with a short sell, even if it were possible (it sounds like it really isn't.) This is just the start of the story for you and your DH. Don't let this come between the two of you. There are all kinds of ways to have fun with it and make it a positive. My FIL is a contractor- when the crash started, he reno'd his kitchen and bathroom and took a lot of before/after pics. He started a website for his business with the pics. His wife was delighted to have a new kitchen and bathroom, and he picked up business. Look for the win-win. You're smart and young, it gets better!...See MoreConnie Kru
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