Thank you, Jayk. Sounds like bad news. Now, I have to convince the neighbour to rip them out, or at least, let me come into their yard with some garbage bags and clean them up.I did that a few years ago, while the house was vacant (before they moved in) because it was reseeding so prolifically. Well, they're back, with a vengeance. Hope we can get rid of it before all those blooms pop hundreds of seeds into my garden! Thanks again. Judith

This all sounds very familiar! We bought our first business when DH was 57 years old! We put everything on the line and then some! We had both run businesses before and actually were working in the business we bought, so there were no surprises. We too were appalled at how badly run were so many small businesses. DH has a talent and track record for turning around failing businesses that he immediately applied to our own. We have never looked back though there have been times of extreme stress and anxiety. Owning a business is very different from being employed, and it's like having a family, you can't leave it behind at 5pm every evening! On balance though it has been great for us, and still is. It sounds as though you have considered this move very carefully but here are a few of my own thoughts for what they are worth. I always caution prospective business purchasers to make sure the accountant they use for due diligence is independent in every way from the seller. In your case you and the seller both have a relationship with your accountant. If you have complete trust in him/her then you may not need to get an independent due diligence. Having the seller hold a note is absolutely the way to go and you should make this note a significant value. Your contract should detail under what circumstances payment of the note could be withheld. Right now it will all seem amicable but things can, and frequently do, change very quickly! Because of your ages, take great care not to over extend to develop the business. Your DH will reach the stage, sooner or later, when he wants to quit working. If you have over invested in your business it may be difficult to sell. I can't stress enough how important it is to have a clear exit strategy from day one!! All that said, this is both a scary and exciting time for you. Owning your own business can be fulfilling in ways that employment never can be. It can enrich both your lives. As long as you have always pulled together in difficult times rather than fought, you should be fine. You have to decide what life is about for you, playing it safe but possibly risking DH being frustrated and unfulfilled, or taking the leap with all its attendant upsides and downsides. We took the leap and don't regret it! I wish you both the greatest success.

I am also a worrier, and my sons are older. We never stop worrying, do we. And I haven't always been able to hide it. When DS2 was 22, he decided to pay us a visit here on the CA central coast, driving up from Tucson AZ. On the day after he was supposed to arrive, and didn't, I called the state police and gave them his license number. Some hours later his car was spotted outside a diner in Barstow, and he was inside yucking it up with some friends. The trooper walked over, asked him if he was John Doe, Sable's son, and when he replied yes, the trooper said, "Call your mother." A few years later he bought a pickup truck and, wanting to try a good road trip with it, again decided to visit us. But now he had a girlfriend in Tucson and he was crazy about her. I knew that he'd be okay driving up, but worried that he'd break speed limits going back to her. So I bought her a one-way plane ticket to come up two days later so that they could drive back together. It was a good investment. Now they're married, and have a son! I'm sure that your daughter will be fine. I spent 3 years in the UP and drove in the winter constantly, sometimes alone. The roads are kept pretty clear and pretty well-patrolled, also.

You poor thing. You do need to move. But keep your head about it. I was in a similar situation, only worse. The stress was so bad, I'm surprised I'm still alive. Just to be clear, it was not the last house I sold, but the one before that. You can do a search for "Neighbors from hell"--I'm sure I shared the story. But long story short, it involved me getting assaulted with a hammer, robbery, the poisoning of my dogs, vandalism, harassment, guns, fires... Oh, I could go on and on. Sometimes, no matter how careful you are, you can't tell that you are buying next door to the neighbors from hell. I actually purchased that house FROM the neighbors from hell; they were my only neighbors; and at first I thought we were going to be great friends. I liked them! That lasted about a month before they started in on me because the woman was... can I say "psycho?" Anyway, I loved the house and endured all that for two years until the assault and the poisoning of the dogs and then I wished I would have left when I was first considering it, about a year into it. But how was I going to sell that place when the market crashed and without the neighbors knowing because they would have sabotaged the deal? As it was, they were piling up junk on their land (this was in the country) to annoy me because I'm a clean freak and then setting it on fire to scare me. Cinders would float over to my 100-year-old wooden farmhouse. Every day the pile was getting higher and higher. Not only was it dangerous, but it was a real eyesore--truck tires, tractor parts, animal cages, household trash. I knew I had to get out of there lickity split before it got worse and I couldn't GIVE the house away. I priced it right. Luckily I didn't owe more than it was worth and I priced it to sell. I had to think, was my sanity, or maybe even my life, worth X amount of dollars? That was crucial. I did NOT put a for-sale sign on the lawn. I didn't even put advertisements in any of the local publications (I was a FSBO) because I was afraid the Evils (that's what they were known as) would see it and find out I was selling. I leaned my for-sale sign against the house in the back yard so that when potential buyers came around, I pretended like I was getting ready to put it up. I also scheduled my buyers to look at the house when I knew the Evils would be unlikely to be around because whenever I had company, they'd start yelling things--obscenities, etc. I felt bad for a long time selling that house to the buyers but in my defense, it was priced to sell and they got a deal. (It sold in about two months to maybe the fifth person who looked at it.) Also, they were meant to be there. They were instrumental in getting the Evils arrested and the Evils' house eventually went into foreclosure and my buyers are very happy there. We've become friends and we talk about the Evils often and enjoy sharing the stuff we hear about them through the grapevine. Lots of karma going on. So get out of there. Price it right. Don't put up a for-sale sign. And in the meantime, keep your enemy close. Try to get along with those neighbors. In fact, if I was you, I'd try to befriend them. You don't want them to know you're selling. They will know why and it will get them mad at you and make things worse. Later, if they find out, by that time you will be friends and you can make up some sad excuse about a death in the family or something. You have to do what you have to do to save your sanity and get out of there. Personally, I don't rent. I just go and buy another one because I have a child in school and I can't keep changing her schools, plus I have horses. I always ask for some time after closing before I have to move out. I buy the next one "contingent upon the successful closing" of the one I'm selling. It's hairy but I'd rather do it that way then move another time. The worst part about doing it this way is if you find a house you want to get and then the buyer of the house you're selling can't get a mortgage. It's very hard getting mortgages nowadays and the last house I sold, I think I lost three people I was in contract with because the banks rejected them--one of them two days before closing. I hope this was helpful. Very long. I guess I am making up for lost time because I haven't been on here a while--busy fixing up my new place.