Wordless Wednesday: Fall Smiles!

2nd Appraisal

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We had the house appraised again back on the 23rd of October. When the appraisal came back in, we were really pleased to see that the 2nd appraiser valued the house little higher than the first one. Take that, Mr. Lender!

We were really anxious to get the ball rolling again. So, our finance guy submits the new appraisal to the underwriters and we patiently wait....and wait....and wait. What could possibly be holding us up now? Well, I'll tell you. The 2nd appraiser found it in her heart to put a special little note in the back of her report stating that there was some water in the basement when she was out here (on the 2nd rainiest day ever!) and that the home would need to be re-inspected. She feared that we might have structural damage to our foundation. Oh brother....

Our basement is not finished. It's just cement walls and a cement floor. We have nothing down there other than some plastic storage totes and some shelving. We knew that there was an issue with water in one corner when we bought the house but it just hasn't been a priority since we don't plan on finishing the basement for several more years. She noted that the water (puddle) DID NOT affect the value of the home, it just might be a problem for the lender if the house collapses. Oh for pity's sake! Our house is as solid as a rock and she is not a certified home inspector. And, we have home insurance for that sort of thing!

So, Mike and I stood down there for an hour, talking about what we were going to do and trying not to cry too much. Mike did a bunch of research and found that the single biggest reason that water comes in is clogged gutters and drain/down spout issues. We cleaned out the gutters, which I might add are really high up there, and fixed the drain spouts/added more pipe to each one. We also adjusted the sump pump. Then we patched a portion of the wall in the basement where we could actually see water running down the wall. It was behind the furnace, so we had never seen it before, and it appeared that there used to be a window there at one time that had since been cemented in-obviously not well.

Voila! No more water. Nada. Nothing. Dry as a bone even with all the rain we've been getting on a daily basis. We talk to the finance guy and he says that he will send the appraiser back out to re-inspect and we'll be good to go. So, we patiently wait to hear from her...and wait...and wait. Nothing.

Today, the finance guy calls us (we usually have to call him) and says that he has received the report back from the appraiser saying that there is still water in the basement and the problem is not fixed. No, the REAL problem is that we never heard from her, she never came back to our house and there is NO water in our basement. I mean, seriously?! Is this some sort of a joke? Well, it's not funny.....

We are completely at our wits end with this process and having this appraiser actually lie about our situation is more than depressing. I don't know where we go from here. Please keep your fingers crossed that something positive comes our way soon. I can't take much more....

Honor thy deal...or else!

In January, I think I blogged about a horrible experience that I had with Toys R Us. Well, I buy most of my gifts and such on-line, but the other day I saw an ad (that they e-mailed me) letting me know that until 10/31 all of their Imaginarium products were "Buy 1 Get One 1/2 Off!". On the front of this email was a photo of a train table that Mike and I were planning on getting the girls for Christmas. It was originally $159.99. It was currently on SALE for $129.99.

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3140254

So, I mention to my sister when she is over during the Halloween festivities, that if we go into the store tonight, we could get (1) Train Table for $129.99 and the other would only be $64.99. I thought it might be something that Hailey would enjoy. She loved the idea! And, you can't beat the price! So, on Halloween night, we head out to go Christmas shopping!

The store on 28th St. was dead. There were 2 other cars in the parking lot. They had a bunch of the train tables in stock and the BOGO sign was displayed right on the train display itself. In the ad, which I brought, it also said that the train table was available for layaway. I figured that was even better, since then I would only have to put 20% down and I wouldn't have to worry about bringing the huge boxes home with us right away.

So, to the Customer Service desk we go. Anna and I explain what we need. The manager looks at us like we're nuts. He first informs us that the train is not available for layaway. I show him in writing where it says that it is. He's surprised...he couldn't possibly be wrong, could he? Eventually, he concedes that layaway is possible and begins to ring us up. Whew. I ask him what the train table is ringing up for. "$129.99" he tells me. Good. This is the correct price. Then I ask him to make sure that train #2 is ringing up for half that. He gives me the "crazy" look again. Manager man says, "You can't get another train table for half that sales price. I can only give you (2) at $129.99 each.". Now I'm starting to get a little irritated. I explain that the ad says that "Yes I can!" and he sends a peon to go check the signage. Peon brings back sign on said train table. Lo-and-behold, it says that ALL Imaginarium products are BOGO until 10/31.

That should have been the end of it. But, no...oh no. Now, before I left for the store, I tried putting (2) train tables into my cart online just to see if they would ring up correctly. Yup. Even printed out a copy for myself. Only problem was that the shipping was going to be $30 each, and I couldn't put them on layaway online. So, back at the store, Manager man is having none of it. He thinks I'm trying to pull a fast one on him or something. First he tells me that the $129.99 price is actually for the sale starting Nov.1 and the computers must be wrong. So, he'll be nice and give me (1) for $159.99 and the other for $79.99. Yes, how nice of him! Is he out of his gourd? Why in the world would I pay that when he already confirmed the train price of $129.99 earlier? Then, doing a little more "funny" math, he says that he'll give me (1) for the EARLY sale price of $129.99 and the other for half off the ORIGINAL price of the train, so $79.99. Awww, you shouldn't have! So sweet.... NOT!

Then, another one of the sales associates calls up the Customer Service (...snicker...) desk and informs the manager that the sales price of $129.99 on the table started on 10/30. What? No "computer" error? It's not the EARLY price? Do you think anyone apologizes? Of course not. With great reluctance, and knowing that I have all the evidence on my side, he finally succumbs to $129.99, with #2 at $64.99, on layaway. All the while, he's letting each and every associate know that HE is not answering his phone tomorrow and if corporate calls to yell at him for this TERRIBLE unauthorized markdown, they can deal with it and tell corporate that he had NO choice in order to "quiet" the customer. Ha ha ha ha !!!!! Quiet? Doesn't he know that I blog? HA! :)

Little Witches!

I had a wonderful Halloween this year. No one was sick (except my mother, who missed all the fun!), it wasn't raining Halloween night, the girls got lots of candy and had a wonderful time Trick-or-Treating. Lauren, Tara and their little cousin, Hailey, were dressed up as little witches. They were too cute! My sister, Anna, wore a witch costume, as well, and brought an extra witch hat for me to wear! Yay!


As usual, Mike and Shaun took the little girls out to go door-to-door while Anna and I stayed back to hand out candy. We didn't know what to expect in this neighborhood but we had a fair amount of kids, maybe 100, with most of them being middle school age. I got to talk with some of neighbors who I haven't had the opportunity to meet yet and the little kiddos coming to the door were adorable. Fun!

The school parties were also a big hit with the girls. Thursday they got to play Ring-Around-the-Pumpkin, paint a pumpkin and do a little dancing! Not to mention cupcakes and lots of extra treats! Friday, they thought it was hilarious that they were able to do Gymnastics in their costumes! Little ones dressed up are always a hoot, but put them on a trampoline, and it's a whole new level of cuteness!

Halloween is over and I'm exhausted! But since it's now November, the real work is just beginning, right? Getting the yard completely cleaned up for Winter, all the Holiday parties, Christmas shopping, decorating, putting up the lights outside, etc. Very hectic but all worth it! Let the Holiday Magic begin!