More details after the jump, but in short: Mortgage lender holds the deeds to the house after missing payments for years.
I am trying to figure out what the imminent risks to the house are and if I could find a debt negotiator.
Many thanks to you all.
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posted by seatofmypants
on May 21, 2013 -
6 answers
We have a very awesome landlord whose house we're moving out of. We'd like to get her something to show our appreciation.
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posted by pised
on May 19, 2013 -
9 answers
I am thinking of purchasing a bee house for orchard mason bees. What recommendations do you have? What do I need to know?
posted by Bunny Ultramod
on May 17, 2013 -
4 answers
I'm interested in writing something about CIA safe houses and need to do some research. Are there any good books/docs/etc that detail how these safe houses worked and specifically about what it meant to be a CIA agent overseas? Thanks!
posted by You Guys Like 2 Party?
on May 15, 2013 -
7 answers
Where do you go when you've graduated from IKEA and are ready for decent, but not necessarily heirloom quality furniture? We're just hoping to find some stuff to carry us through the next 8-10 years, or is that unrealistic? How much should we honestly expect to spend?
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posted by Diagonalize
on May 13, 2013 -
27 answers
The home my wife and I are possibly about to purchase was built in 1900 and we have a few questions about aged systems and family safety. Lead water pipes and asbestos tape, oh my!
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posted by Wrongshanks
on May 9, 2013 -
14 answers
Crap. My landlord just told me she's considering selling my house. Now what?
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posted by latkes
on May 6, 2013 -
25 answers
Our Dad passed away last year, leaving his house to my siblings and me. Dad's defacto partner is interested in buying the house (she has no financial stake in it currently), so we need to get it valued. The house is in a town approximately 7 hours drive from where the nearest siblings (myself and my sister) live. There are are a couple of registered valuers in the area, so that's not a problem, but my question is: is there any particular need for us to be there when they come through?
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posted by Broseph
on May 3, 2013 -
8 answers
Should I buy an "all in one" DJ controller or should I buy component-by-component (i.e., two turntables, a mixer and a serato box)? Details follow...
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posted by Jason Solo
on May 1, 2013 -
9 answers
What's a good bush to plant next to the front door? This is in coastal Massachusetts.
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posted by Miko
on Apr 28, 2013 -
17 answers
We plan to buy a house in England in a village up north. Our budgets will stretch to either a tiny little 2 bedroom detached house or a nice big four bedroom semi-detached. Which should we choose? Or should we buy in a cheaper village so we can get a bigger detached house?
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posted by hazyjane
on Apr 23, 2013 -
13 answers
My housemate makes loud dissonant synthesizer music. I need to wake up very early in the morning, an would love an afternoon nap. What should I do?
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posted by ladypants
on Apr 22, 2013 -
19 answers
I bought a bat house and I am planning to put it up in my Manhattan garden. But now I'm hearing that there aren't any bats in NYC because of a disease? and that it's a stupid idea anyway because where would the bats be coming from?
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posted by DMelanogaster
on Apr 22, 2013 -
16 answers
Single retiree is selling a big paid-off house and asked me and huzzeh for help deciding whether or not it makes sense to rent an apartment or buy a condo. What questions should we consider to help make this decision?
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posted by elizeh
on Apr 18, 2013 -
17 answers
I had someone through Costco come out to our house to give a quote on painting the house with Coolwall paint. It wasn't a quote just for the paint, but for all the prep work, repairs in our stucco, and the trim. We don't live in a large house--it's less than 1,400 square feet.
He extolled the benefits of this paint. It's highly reflective and thus reduces damage to the paint, and also keeps the house cooler in the summer. The way the guy went on about it, it's a miracle product. He quoted $18,600 to prep and paint our house with this stuff. Again, it's through Costco and has a lifetime warranty. And they don't strip off the existing paint or stucco--they repair it, bond it, and paint right over it.
Are there similar alternatives that would cost much less?
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posted by rybreadmed
on Apr 14, 2013 -
13 answers
I have an ongoing issue with a area of my house that involved moisture, mold and heartache as outlined
here
I have found a small piece of 2x4 in the wall that is moisture damaged, it is sponge-like.
It is a small area and I am wondering if there is anything I can do,, like inject it with some super stuff, that would avoid me having to dismantle the area and replace this section of 2x4.
It is at the bottom of a wall, the sill beneath it is fine, it is just about 18 inches of 2x4 that appear to be damaged.
Thanks oh thanks for the continued support.
Henry
posted by silsurf
on Apr 8, 2013 -
9 answers
We've just moved into a cute rental house in Hillcrest, San Diego and our front patio is absolutely begging for a cute little bistro table and chairs. I'm looking for suggestions with a budget of no more than $150 and we're perfectly willing to use Craigslist or eBay.
My question is, what colors would go best with the current paint scheme? My instinct is that black would probably work, but it seems like we could do better.
Here is the house. The planters can be moved or removed entirely.
posted by Awakened
on Apr 4, 2013 -
12 answers
My neighbor has expressed a desire to rebuild the wooden fence between our houses. We share one side of the fence with her, and it's definitely in need of repair--warped boards, aging, etc. Should she be fully responsible for paying for the fence, since it was her idea to fix it? Or should we contribute some money since we share one side of the fence?
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posted by starkraven
on Apr 2, 2013 -
36 answers
Is it worth thousands of dollars to fix an inground pool? I've own my home in northern Delaware for less than a year. One of the reasons I bought this house was it had a pool. I bought the house when it was in foreclosure, so I knew there would be many repairs to do to the house, pool included. The inground pool is about 30ft by 10ft by about 7ft deep. Estimates to repair the pool liner and large filter are in the neighborhood of 5-6k.
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posted by meshoppe
on Mar 21, 2013 -
21 answers
House Buyer/Seller Etiquette: is it legitimate for me to be tweaked that the seller wants to charge me for replacement HVAC filters and things that can only be used in the house but that aren't nailed down?
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posted by Leezie
on Mar 13, 2013 -
16 answers
I let the plumber in to replace the hot water tank this morning, and just got home to find that he'd flooded the floor of the 3rd floor bathroom badly enough that there's water leaking through the *extractor fan opening* of the bathroom immediately below. There's also a small run of water out of a light switch in the 2nd floor wall. The house is full of little pools of water that I don't know if they have been tracked there or have leaked through. How compromised are my electrics and what is the plumber's liability?
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posted by Pallas Athena
on Mar 13, 2013 -
6 answers
I live in a 12th floor flat with a large balcony, 3m x 9m, which is enclosed, glazed, heated, pretty much counts as an extra room in the flat. It is tiled, and was once exposed, so has drains and is designed to withstand the elements.
Could I house train a young spaniel pup in such an environment? Could I allow the pup to wee down the balcony drain in the short term, and would this make it difficult to train it to only poo outside? I don't mind accidents in the short term.
Is it cruel to keep a dog in such a flat? The pup could have the run of this balcony until it is housetrained. I work at home, often from a desk on the balcony. So they pup would get lots of contact.
I can happily provide 3 good long walks a day no problem, but I'm worried about the initial period. I live across the road from a dog friendly beach and park. Though it takes a few minutes to get from the flat to the road, which is ample time for accidents to happen.
posted by molloy
on Mar 10, 2013 -
9 answers
I am trying to purchase a foreclosed house with a homepath loan, but I do not qualify for a homepath loan despite excellent credit. Apparently a conventional loan will not work for the current condition of the home. Can you help me sort out my options in Virginia?
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posted by shortyJBot
on Mar 3, 2013 -
7 answers
We like a range of music: house, soul, funk, techno, some of the recent top40, nuwaveglitchhopstep, daytime disco(?). Emphasis on the beat and getting down. The other patrons, similarly, should have a pro-dancing agenda and friendly vibe.
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posted by mai
on Feb 26, 2013 -
3 answers
My partner and I are looking into buying a house Do we need to get married in order to have protections relating to said house (including inheritance of the house if one of us dies + the ability to sell the house and divide the money if we break up)?
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posted by NoraReed
on Feb 26, 2013 -
12 answers
Mom is a hoarder; house is making her sick. Adult children worried about her and grossed out. What can we do or say to her that might help? Snowflakes inside...
Tl;dr: What, if anything, can be done or said to reign this situation in?
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posted by jrobin276
on Feb 25, 2013 -
19 answers
I have a three bathroom house (one on the first floor, two on the second). Recently in the past two weeks I've noticed a very loud rushing of water sound in the bathroom on the first floor after flushing any toilet in the house. The sound is centered in the ceiling above the bathroom and I'm assuming our pipes filling up.
Why the change from minimal noise I didn't notice to loud, rushing sounds of water now? What could be the problem and the fix?
posted by rainygrl716
on Feb 15, 2013 -
2 answers
Everything I do, all day, every day, hurts. The more I do things that are painful, the more the pain snowballs. We're going to build a house that we hope will help reduce the accumulation of pain, and maybe even let me recover a little. Help me make sure I'm covering all the bases in house design accommodations.
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posted by galadriel
on Feb 13, 2013 -
35 answers
I am seeking the name of a film, set in post-apocalyptic Sydney (Australia). I could have sworn it had Cassandra Harris in it, but IMDB disagrees. It was filmed and was set in in the early- to mid-80s, and had a bunch of people running around trying to escape the nuclear fallout that hit the Opera House and ended up in the northern beaches. The film wasn't necessarily good, but it resonated. Can you name the film? Thanks!
posted by goo
on Feb 9, 2013 -
7 answers
Hi I am house sitting and Nemo is bearing down on us. I have a oil furnace in the basement. If the power goes out, then comes back, or I use the generator, are there any specific steps I need to take with the furnace?
What about water valves, etc?
Thanks much!
posted by spacefire
on Feb 8, 2013 -
6 answers
I've noticed something kind of unusual in many of the residential houses in San Francisco. Often times there's a primary residence facing the street (for example a three-story Victorian) and then a second, more modern building in the back yard (like a one- or two-story cottage). There's a second street number and usually a little gate to access the back building. It seems like a different family occupies the back unit than the front unit (and the front unit is sometimes further subdivided into what I assume are condos). A bunch of naive questions:
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posted by 2bucksplus
on Feb 7, 2013 -
19 answers
Is there some kind of class, part-time apprenticeship, or in-home tutor I can use to get hands-on handyman training near Livonia, MI?
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posted by Vorteks
on Jan 31, 2013 -
3 answers
A couple recently purchased a beautiful Hacienda-style home on my street. They want to tear it down and replace it with a soulless, bland, aggressively imposing mini-McMansion. Luckily, I live in a really special city with an incredibly strict design review committee. What can I do to fight them?
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posted by acidic
on Jan 29, 2013 -
30 answers
I've been offered first dibs on renting a super nice house. Unfortunately I need to find at least 1 and ideally 2 people to rent it with me. Just asking around my network if they know anyone hasn't worked out. I'm pretty sure Craigslist is the next best option...what should put in my post, and ask potential people in person, to weed out the crazies?
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posted by genmonster
on Jan 27, 2013 -
21 answers
What architectural style is
this house? Or what style was it originally? It's located in the Midwest and was built in 1941. I've tried
this neat tool, but nothing seems to fit. Maybe the place is just a mutt.
posted by scottatdrake
on Jan 25, 2013 -
19 answers
Getting a draft despite having weather stripping and a door sweep. How can I fix this?
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posted by asnider
on Jan 1, 2013 -
12 answers
People keep stopping and taking pictures of my house. The previous owner was in a lot of debt and I'm wondering if we should be worried.
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posted by julie_of_the_jungle
on Dec 27, 2012 -
23 answers
Has anyone ever written to your senator or district representative? How long did it take them to respond?
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posted by instantfail
on Dec 24, 2012 -
17 answers
Buying a house while married but physically separated -- what are the possible issues?
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posted by anonymous
on Dec 14, 2012 -
5 answers
YANMREA - You are not my real estate agent (nor my tax attorney) - but maybe you have some experience and insight on implications of one person buying someone else a house to live in.
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posted by juniperesque
on Dec 10, 2012 -
6 answers
Have you seen (within the last decade) these pictures from a home design magazine? Traditional Asian (Japanese?) style - high ceilings with dark beams, large open spaces, tatami mats and paper screens, and very little else.
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posted by attercoppe
on Nov 25, 2012 -
4 answers
I'd like to know of some other books similar to Francis D. K. Ching's "BUILDING CONSTRUCTION ILLUSTRATED"
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posted by shipbreaker
on Nov 14, 2012 -
2 answers
Please help me identify this song; it's a funky house track that samples both Ice Cube's "It Was A Good Day" and Three 6 Mafia's "It's Hard Out Here For A Pimp."
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posted by Amplify
on Nov 11, 2012 -
0 answers
