Well there definitely is a female and she has started building a nest so we'll see if they stick around. I never expected they would nest this year in a box just put up. Thing is she won't use what I put out for her nest but is getting everything from next door. I guess I'll put my pile next door, LOL.

An Application to rent is a pre-qualifying measure, a screening tool. That's the phase where references and credit are typically checked and verified, etc. Some places charge an Application fee, others don't. A Lease is an entirely different document. That's the legally binding contract that spells out the terms and conditions for renting a specific location for a specific period of time in exchange for a specified amount of money. If the apartment complex charged an Application fee and you agreed to pay that fee then you could be held responsible for it. (Honestly, tho, sending an App Fee to collections seems like a lot of trouble to go through, because collection agencies charge for their services. But some places are sticklers about things like that.) If it's a nominal amount (e.g. $50) it would cost more to get a lawyer to fight it than to just pay it. If that's the case, talk to the collection agency a.s.a.p. Just because something has gone to a collection agency does not mean it's hit your credit report (yet). If you make arrangements to pay, and take care of it, then you have an opportunity to keep it off your credit report. If you don't pay, odds are good it will land on your credit report. (You can check and see the status of your credit for free by going to annualcreditreport.com. No gimmicks, it's a site endorsed by the federal government. Federal law allows consumers one free credit report per year from each of the 3 credit bureaus.) If, however, they are trying to charge you rent, but you never signed an actual Lease, that's definitely worth seeking legal advice.

We started our remodel in January and it was supposed to be done by the end of May. Here we are halfway through July and have at least several weeks to go. We added a garden garage on the basement level and a family room above. We added a laundry room on the main level and expanded a big closet into another bedroom above the laundry room. We also annexed the old laundry room to add a desk and butler's pantry to the kitchen, swapped the kitchen sink and dishwasher locations, reused old cabinets, and added some new cabinets and new counter tops. My biggest problems have been the contractor's health issues, the framer's health issues, the trim carpenter's mother's health issues, rainy weather, and bad attitudes. Also, money. The general asked for a payment in advance of when it was due (red flag) because he had bills due on other jobs that were done before mine. All of the subs have told me they won't work for him again because he doesn't pay. I'm preparing lien releases this afternoon. Also, I purchased most of the items that were in allowances (like kitchen cabinets, counter tops, appliances, lights and plumbing fixtures, carpeting) myself because I got better prices on everything or at least could get what I wanted when the suppliers for the general didn't have what I wanted. When I said I was going to subtract the money that I was out-of-pocket for the allowances from the second draw, he flipped and said that would be a breach of contract. I did some quick calculations and figured if I went ahead and paid the entire draw, I wouldn't owe anything at the end, so I stupidly did pay it all. Now, with all the mistakes that have been made, I think he will end up owing me money at the end! Here's a short list of the problems. They poured the foundation wall for the laundry room wrong and now the laundry room (and the bedroom above it) are 6" less deep than they should have been. They poured the floor of the garden garage sloped the wrong way so it doesn't drain if we get water in there. Then they cut grooves in the floor so water would drain when we washed off the mower, but they are crooked and jagged and overlap at the doorway leaving a little "pillar" of concrete that will surely break off. They left the downspouts off the front of the house for months, so with all the heavy rain we've had, all the water washed under the foundation and soaked through the walls of the garden garage, ruining the drywall and paint with mildew. The gutter installer ran a downspout so it washed uphill on the new family room roof and caused a water leak the first time it rained after that. They had to repair the drywall and repaint half the room, as well as extend the downspout to the gutter below as it should have been done. The electricians installed a ceiling fixture 10" out of alignment with the one across the room it was supposed to line up with. Now they have to move the fixture, repair the drywall, and repaint the ceiling. They tore up the daylight drain that ran across the backyard and caused it to plug up. Wasn't a problem until it got hot and we turned on the air conditioner. Then the condensate had nowhere to go and flooded a room in the basement. They tore up the TV cable that ran across the yard even though I told them where it was before they started. They also tore up the dog fence wire in several areas. Now they say we are responsible for getting them repaired. They put vents to the outside in the crawlspace under the new laundry room, but they are blocked off with tyvek and now the whole basement smells "like a basement". The plumber was re-routing the pipes under the kitchen floor for the sink/DW swap and got called away to an emergency. He didn't come back to finish that day and when one of my kids took a shower upstairs that evening, water started pouring into the floor of the kitchen and the ceiling of our theater room in the basement. Luckily I got my hand over the open end of the pipe before it flooded the electronics, but the ceiling was ruined and the chairs and carpet got wet. In his favor, the plumber came back that night to cap the pipe that was accidentally left open. I could go on and on, but you get the idea. If I'm not standing watch every second that someone is working, something gets done wrong. Yet I overheard the drywall guy say to another sub, "I wish [the GC] would grow some b---s and not let the homeowner get involved in our business." This from the guy who slung drywall mud ten feet away so it got on kid's toys that should have been well out of harm's way. He also tracked it all through the house on our hardwood floors (that are not being refinished) and did a lousy job to boot. I'm so done with these morons. I've lost my sense of humor, I don't trust anyone, I just want my kitchen back. If I hadn't overpaid, I'd tell them all to get lost and hire someone else. A word of advice to anyone else contemplating a remodel, put deadlines and penalties for not meeting them, into the contract. Add that things you buy on your own get subtracted right away from the allowances.

What can you do as the homeowner? I'm not a realtor, but I have bought and sold a lot of houses. While you are paying a boatload of money to sell the house, you need to take an active role in getting it done. Get the realtor to go through the house and make a list of items that need attention. If they have already done it and you have done everything on the list, get one of their fellow agents to repeat the process. Something is missing. It's hard to tell someone to their face that their front door is dirty. Get a list in writing and start working. The work you did to date was good, but you aren't finished. Check the internet. Go on line to Realtor.com, the agent's real estate broker office website and Zillow.com and look at your listing very carefully. Check for errors. Make sure the listing description is attractive, accurate and positive. Have the agent update the listing if you find an error. I've done that myself. It can make a big difference to someone in the market. Get your realtor to provide you with a copy of what other agents are seeing on their master MLS page. This is the point where most information is derived. Check it for errors and go over it with the realtor to make sure it provides accurate information and positive marketing language without any errors. Make sure your listing pictures are great. They can only be great if a professional photographer, plus lighting and staging are used. This is the HGTV generation and they need to be spoon fed. I happened to be home one day and opened the door to a realtor and potential buyer. They walked in and the buyer said to me in my foyer, "This looks just like the pictures on the internet. I love it." She was hooked and bought the house for more than listing. It proved to me the power of a good internet marketing program. Make sure that when the listing page loads, your front exterior loads first. If you see the living room load first on a listing, right or wrong, it's code that the exterior is a horror and the agent is trying to hide something. It's right up there with the words, cute and cozy. The buyer doesn't need to see every room in a house photo tour, just the big ones, living room, dining room, kitchen, master bedroom and bath. Make sure the toilet seat is down. I'd fire a realtor that posted a picture with the toilet seat up. It's a pet peeve of mine. A lot of these are items that your realtor should have done for you. But, you have to follow up and make sure they are doing their job. Details matter. You can't just sit back and wait. Your work has only just begun.