A county auditor sent the following info to my sister about foreclosure 'help'. First, the old adage, "If it's too good to be true, it probably is," is very wise. When that warning bell rings in your head, stop whatever you are doing and listen to it. Don't do anything until you have thoroughly researched the company or individual you are working with. Second, if it costs you money to proceed, walk away. Programs like ESOP that my office is working with, have been researched and have a proven track that includes the endorsement of the State Treasurer. ESOP does not charge; they work from grants. Please don't spend any of your precious capital on what may very well be a scam! We have several families who have paid to have work done that they could have done for free, or where the scam artist walked away with the money once they had it in hand. Third, know what they are suggesting and what you are signing. Do NOT sign blank forms or let someone else fill out your paperwork. Many a homeowner has signed away their home to a scam artist. Fourth, beware of agents who say they will sell your house quickly. Some of these people work with investors who are going to give you the lowest price they can get away with to get your house. Make sure you work with reputable real estate agents! Fifth, avoid low-interest mortgage loans on the phone or Internet. The caller gains your confidence and then gets vital information such as your Social Security number and bank accounts. The loan is quickly transacted (on the phone or on-line) and you start faxing the documents they need and sending wire transfers to close the deal. Never give out your Social Security number or bank account numbers to anyone on line or over the phone! NEVER a good idea, always a sign of trouble. There is tons of information on line about scams. Please take the time to research this important subject to protect you, your home and your assets.

I wrote a lengthy reply to this thread the other day, and it got lost! I'll try again. Small homes are fascinating to me, not only because we are on a desperately tight budget, but because I think they are actually better in many ways. I read somewhere that 500 sq ft per person works well, and that does seem to be about right. Our first house in FL was 800 sq ft, and it was fine for two of us. It had an over-size garage and a big back porch. Coupled with FL's year-round nice weather, it was very livable. The same thing in the Great White North might bring on a bit of cabin fever! I think people living together need to have a way to get away from each other from time to time. Some kind of space that is your own. That would be very hard to do in a tiny house, although a loft would help. One snag with tiny houses is zoning and building codes. Many of the things you see in tiny houses (and old houses) simply aren't legal in much of the country these days. Many communities have 'anti-shack' laws which flat-out eliminate the tiny houses. Many of the properties we looked at in SC had minimum square footage requirements; one lot required 2400 sq ft minimum! Stairs, my nemesis, are very tricky in small houses. That cute little winding staircase in that old house is way out of code. In my mother's old house, the rise was greater than the run! It was almost ladder-like. Even a loft ladder is taboo unless the loft is designated 'storage'. A really easy way around all this is to build your tiny on a trailer, in which case it is no longer a dwelling. Of course many places won't let you park a trailer on your lot, either. Aaaarrrggghhh! I'm SO tired of being told what is good for me! In designing our future house, I've added two luxuries- a second bathroom, and stairs. We will have a walk-out basement, so stairs are a necessity. Yes, you could enter the basement from outside, but that doesn't make much sense. I also will not put the laundry in the basement- too many stairs to run up and down in our old age. If we take the 500 sq ft per person rule, and add the 2nd bath, the stairs, and a main floor laundry, it keeps coming up 1200 sq ft- exactly what I keep hitting in my house designs. I've shrunk plans down to 800 sq ft or so, but always wind up giving up things. In the final analysis, every house needs the expensive stuff- land, water, septic, kitchen, bath, heat and A/C, windows. Once those things are paid for, a few hundred extra sq ft is pretty cheap. Living in a tiny house permanently would require a huge paradigm shift for most people. You would have to get rid of all of your stuff. Buying, building, or renting storage space kind of negates the whole tiny house ideal. If we are forced by finances to build a much smaller house, I'm going to build several small outbuildings for various activities, and only heat them when in use. My wife would love a tiny 'Sewing House', and I could practice trumpet til my heart's content in the 'Music Cabin'. These would be small enough to be classed 'sheds' to the zoning folk, and luckily I have plenty of room for this scenario. Regardless of what we build, the barn will be first, and 1/3 of it will be closed off and set up as a summer living room, with A/C, paneling, and windows. That will give us a great room for a crowd, and we don't have to heat it when not in use. As you can see, I could go on and on about this stuff!

The sulfur will take several months to change that soils pH and it is difficult to guess how much might be necessary to lower that 6.5 pH to the 4.5 to 5.5 pH range Blueberries prefer to grow in. Since it can take 3 to 5 years after planting for those bushes to start production you have plenty of time and planting them now will not be very harmful. Your best course of action right now is to contact your states Ag School (university Cooperative Extension Service) and have a good reliable soil test done specifying that Blueberries will be grown in that soil and they will provide you with the information you need. While I have seen much about using Vinegar for lowering soil pH I have not yet found which, salad dressing (about 5 percent Acetic Acid) or horticultural (about 20 percent Acetic Acid) to use. Most everything I have seen says to add 1 cup of vinegar to 1 gallon of water, but nothing about the strength of the vinegar or how much which one will lower the soils pH. Blueberries are bog plants and need a lot of water, although they do not like the roots in really wet soil. Evenly moist, yes, but not real wet. Since bog soils are naturally acid that is one explanation why Blueberries like acidic soils. kimmq is kimmsr

First, the defrost pan on my 6 year old freezer failed. I couldn't get anyone to give me service on it so I called to ask what the resistance should be on the 2 different heaters. That was when I was told they do not offer diagnostic help via the phone. I explained I wanted the specification not help diagnosing but I was told no help over the phone and then disconnected. I finally tested and realized which one was not working. Got on the Thermador parts site and ordered the parts which they had in stock (I was pleasantly surprised). I ordered the parts and they offered two day shipping so I paid the $17.00 for the two day shipping. After receiving the tracking information, I checked the shipment status on Wednesday. It shipped on Monday and was scheduled to arrive the following Monday but it was now going to arrive early on Friday.... I should have received the parts on Wednesday. I called customer service and explained my disappointment and asked for reimbursement of the $17.00 charge for two day shipping. First I was told they could not reimburse me and I asked why they couldn't since I didn't receive it? Then I was told I had to file a claim with the shipping company. When asked how they would reimburse me for something I paid to Thermador, I was transferred to another department that deals with builders(?). She explained she could not do anything but submitted it to management for review and follow-up. I received a call Friday stating they could not reimburse me for shipping charges with no explanation other than when they shipped it on Monday it was after the cut off time for the two day shipping (Is this my fault?). I paid for this with a credit card so I submitted a dispute with them and within 15 minutes of filing the dispute I received a credit of $17.00. I don't think I will utilize Thermador directly for anything else should the need arise. It leaves me to wonder what would have happened if I didn't receive all of the parts? Would I have been refunded for the parts not actually shipped?