I have watched the TSP quarterly. I'm not totally sure of the % of the total goes to which fund, but I believe we are fairly diversified and have some funds in 4 or 5 of the different funds (not sure that's the right word). Our pay goes into each according to the % that we alloted the last time we did it. =0) You're doing yourself a disservice to your future retirement if you don't know in what funds your money is allocated, how the bi-weekly pay is allocated and especially how much growth you've had. I only say this because you have recently put your retirement planning to the forefront of your brain and that should include monitoring and learning about the TSP since it will be the vast majority of your husband's retirement. BTW is he under CRS or FERS? Since I started watching the TSP several months ago, I learned that this is not the best time to be in the "F" fund because the USD is constantly down. The domestic US economy is 39th in the world with many of the countries in the "I" fund way higher and close to the top. I originally had everything 20% into each fund, but have since moved things over to the more profitable funds since I"ve learned alot about how the TSP works. 1. Is there a max on the TSP? Hubby says it "used to be 10%", but he thinks that changed. Max amount for 2007 is $15,500 or 20,500 if you're over 50. The max contribution does not include the matching, so that is over and above the limit. We allocate a specific number, not a percentage. We put $425 per pay period into the TSP and that is nowhere near the max, but is over 20% of dh's pay. The more you put in, the more matching you get. If your husband has received any pay increases, then it might be a wise option to increase the TSP contributions. That's what we do whenever dh gets a raise. It allows for a greater tax benefit and more matching dollars. No, I don't mind differing opinions, it helps my brain entertain new ideas and learn something. =0) I know that I am focused on the rental properties and mortgages on them, because at the moment, those are closer to paying off, than the IRA or TSP. I believe in diversification, so the rental properties are currently part of my "retirement plan". They are a part that will begin to pay off long before we retire, and continue once we do retire (or at least that's the plan). I am learning the IRA and TSP world and language (and remember we're looking at 27 years before taking anything out of them, and we are already putting funds into both), but I already understand the houses. =0) It's good that you're looking to diversification and that you're open to look at all avenues. I think what you're missing is the tax benefit to the TSP, especially if you can afford higher deductions because it reduces your taxes that could be offset by the additional tax you pay with your rental properties and paying them off early. Having said that, I prefer to have a home paid for, which goes against many other people's belief here that the funds should go to investment vehicles. I try to diversify that as well by having money in a high yield account plus pay a bit more to principal. Sorry, I thought you were closer to retirement than 27 years to take out of the TSP. That gives you a long time to make the most of your investment opportunity there and is even more reason to learn everything you can about it. If your funds are diversified btwn the 4 or 5, that means you're losing a strong growth opportunity because you would have some money allocated to the G and/or F fund, which aren't producing very well these days. I was extremely overwhelmed when I first started paying attention to the TSP. It's definitely a long learning curve, but I am learning. It is imperitive that you know in what funds you are invested, how much is going into each fund and how they are doing - an not just quarterly. At minimum, you would be best served by checking weekly.

gweekie - Sparksal, welcome to Minnesota! (another "neighbor") I agree with you 100% with all the issues you raised. Here's to getting everything fixed, a speedy closing, immediate occupancy, and last, but not least, enjoy your new home! Thank you so much and thanks for your personal email! rose - I hear that! Selling the house has killed my back; I was glad it hasn't sold yet as moving twice would not do me any favors. They do a lot of good things with hips these days, unlike back surgeries where everyone I've spoken to that's gone in is as bad or worst. I haven't met one person that's felt better after back surgery. Hopefully once you are settled you can take care of it. I'm hoping the hip replacement fixes the problem with my back. The orthopod in Tucson, as well as my physiotherapist think that b/c my hip is so stubborn and doesn't want to rotate, that my lower spine is picking up the slack and that's why it hurts so much. I have also heard from others who had the exact same problem that their back issues completely disappeared after having the hip replacement. Glad to hear things worked out. Any clue as to why it tripped in the 1st place? I'd imagine there is too much stuff on one breaker. I imagine it was too much on the breaker. From the photos in the garage attic, the tonnes of extension cords and no junction box probably overloaded it. It's all almost over. It's been a really long few months for you, I'm sure you miss your hubby and are looking forward to spending some quality time with him in your new house. Yeah it has been a long haul and I've missed him alot. My BP has remained normal since I went on those meds. My doc in Tucson wants me to stay in them for a few months til things settle down and then get monitored to hopefully go off them once I find a doc here. kjmn - sparksals, another welcome to MN to you! I usually only lurk on these boards but I just wanted to let you know that I've never heard of a seller staying in a home after closing. It's not customary to do that here at all. Of course you would never wish the seller any ill will, you merely want to purchase what the seller has represented to you in the first place. Good luck to you and happy gardening - spring will be here before you know it!! Thanks KJ. I certainly don't wish the seller any ill will. She has just been extremely difficult and dramatic. All I wanted was to ensure that the seller has properly represented the home when the inspection determined things were not disclosed. pattycakes - I guess we can't expect everything to be all ice cream and roses, eh? Honestly, I did expect dissenting opinions, because as was stated upthread, that is the joy of a free country with freedom of expression and opinions. kgwlisa - I think you're right and the reason people may have reacted negatively to your post was because you called this seller a "dickhead" even while painting a picture of her that was sympathetic to some posters here. Fair enough. I dealt with a true dickhead seller. He used all kinds of manipulative tactics to squeeze every dime out of us that he could (in a hot market). He played mind games at every turn, "lost" the certified check earnest money (10% of the house price, certified check is not customary because it is held in escrow and will clear before anything can happen but his ambulance chaser brother lawyer insisted) that then took a month to replace while entertaining other offers even after he accepted ours and in general was a complete horror to deal with up until the final moments of closing. That sounds horrible! I hope there were no unfortunate surprises after you closed on the home. This seller isn't a dickhead. She's in a really bad spot, my guess that she didn't have the money to do the repairs is spot on and the repairs turned out to not be nearly as big a deal as you initially thought they were. As I said before, you had every right to stick to your guns, but there was no reason to be unkind toward this woman and I do believe that attitude is what some people reacted to. JMHO. I totally understand she is in a bad spot. I've been in bad spots before, even with my most recent house sale in Tucson. Prices were dropping FAST. No lookers, lots of stress anticipating showings and nothing happening. Fear of losing a boatload of money that would put us in aposition of not being able to afford another home. Fear that we'd get a difficult buyer (we were very lucky, she is very nice and loves the house). Fear that something would be discovered at inspection that we didn't know about that could kill the deal. Fear that her financing would fall through. But, with all that, I cooperated. I didn't have my realtor tell hers that I was in a tizzy and to not ask any questions. I disclosed everything honestly. I cooperated with the process and did not draw things out. I wanted my house sold in a difficult market. I do understand she's going through a difficult time, but the least she could have done was been at least a little bit cooperative. I was patient yet frustrated and came here to vent. I was worried about the HI and that the home was not honestly represented. I honestly believe my feelings have been completely justified. Luckily, it seems everything is going to work out. I have never had such a drawn out negotiation process before in my life. marieta - it certainly is stressful. I can totally relate! Good luck in your closing and your new condo! mfbenson - Okay, but that's an insult to the term "DIY". I do my own wiring when necessary and it is always at or above code. Then again, the only terms I can think of for the kind of wiring job you describe aren't politically correct. Sorry, didn't mean to insult DIY for people who are absolutely capable of doing those projects. When it comes to DIY'ers who are in over their head, like I think this previous owner was, that is what I meant. cearbhaill - What flummoxes me is than no one thought to flip the breaker on the garage electrical before everyone got all in a tizzy! That would have been almost anyone's first thought. Rose is right. I think I used the wrong terminology. It was because of the overloaded circuits/plugs in the garage attic. gweekie - Sparksals, there is really good health care in the twin cities and I encourage you to get this checked out once you move. I am having a partial joint replacement in my left hand this coming Friday - had the same procedure on my right hand in June, and it has really made a huge difference in my life! My only regret was that I didn't have it sooner. Also consider checking out the Mayo Clinic in Rochester - which is where I had my surgery. good luck with your surgery gweekie! That's next on the list once we are settled - to find a GP and then an orthopod. This is one of the pains of moving to a new city. It took me over a year to find my GP in Tucson. Hope it doesn't take that long because I don't think I can tolerate waiting another year for this surgery. kec - I've heard great things about the Mayo. I will definitely check it out. It was in the 40's last week and dipping down to -2F midweek. My poor pups are going to be freezing again. Poor things. Right now, I'm occupying myself tryign to figure out paint colours for the masterbedroom and kitchen. I was going to put new carpet in, but decided to hold off. I hoped to put it in prior to the move to make things easier, but as always with buying a house, that makes money a bit tight and with the weather, I don't want it ruined by the movers walking in and out, even if they can put down runners.

We make our initial offer based on what we feel we'd need to put into the property to make it function for us. We consider comps but don't really put much stock in them. It's not relevant for us but we do consider site value seriously & will spend quite a bit of time with due diligence. We visit the local court house & do title searches. We speak with the tax assessor's office. We speak with the zoning & building departments. We used to physically visit schools if they were new to us; but don't any longer because our kids are grown. The only dollar amount that matters, to us, is what's the total cost going to be for us to live in this house contentedly? If that number turns out to be too far off what the seller believes his property is "worth" then we move on & look for another. We're not emotional buyers. As to the home inspection. We're not too fussy. We've already taken most everything into account when we made our offer. However, with the home we currently own...we'd anticipated the south-facing sunroom would require reroofing & had included that in our offer calculations. The HI revealed that the gutters had failed (due to lack of maintenance, probably) & ice had gotten up underneath the sheathing resulting in rot we'd not anticipated. So, we went back to the seller & negotiated a price reduction from our original offer for the price to completely reroof. We then contracted for the roof replacement ourselves because we wanted to upgrade the overall quality beyond what we'd requested from the seller. Other than the roof, we didn't request the seller do anything except complete a fence he'd already started & had the materials ordered for. We didn't want to take over the project mid-stream. This wasn't part of the HI...we made our offer contingent on the fence being finished. We wouldn't request radon, asbestos, or lead paint issues to be resolved by a seller. They don't scare us & we have a number of people we could tap to remediate anything serious. Tricia

Open up the installation manual that the contractor should have left with the units and it will state the opener should not be plugged into an extension cord. That's the bottom line. My building dept (in NJ) tells me a permit is not needed to install an opener, but the code says that all manufacturer's instructions must be followed. I know of a few towns that will flag the extension cord during a certificate of occcupancy inspection for the transfer of real estate. I'm sure the contractor is professional at installing doors and openers, but he will tell you he is no electrician... What if an installer (or owner) used the cheapest, smallest gauge two prong extension cord available and stapled through the cord to fasten to the drywall... It is surprising that the builder didn't install an outlet in the ceiling during construction. Did the inspection report state a specific reason for a safety issue? Probably not, it just fits into that category in his reporting software.