s, You seem to know you have an excessive pressure problem. You have laid out a description but actually haven't given any information for us to make a recommendation. What part of the system have you pressure tested. Where you getting 60-80 psi from the hydrant in the street? Have you pressure tested from an outdoor faucet from your house? Is that where you are experiencing 60-80 psi? Do you have a pressure adjustable regulator for your house? The link gives standard looking pressure regulators for homes with various pressure problems. http://www.atlantisplumbing.com/water-pressure-regulators.php Does our house use one of these? What is the height difference between the creek and the garden? As you can read, more info is needed. Aloha

Haven't ever used this but know someone that uses the electric shock one and says it works. I also heard that excersizing the muscles will make more wrinkles...botox relaxes the muscle so maybe there is some truth to that. My guess is it's more gimmick than not, but I don't have any facts to support that, just my own feeling.

Susie, First thing to do is take a deep breathe & calm down the emotions. I know you really like this house & the price has dropped; but, it's not the only "dream" house out there. If it's not available when your house sells you'll find something else you like as much, or better. Four months is too long to go without a price reduction. Even in today's environment the market is very efficient. If a property is priced 'right' it will sell within 45-70 days. The big question today is, of course, what is 'right'? That number has no relationship to what you either want or feel you should receive. The buyer determines value. You can't use current listings as comparison. You need to know what has SOLD recently & is comparable to your property. Ask your agent to update his market analysis. Be prepared...it's likely to be 5-10% below four months ago. If nothing has sold then it's because listing prices are not in line with buyer's current perceived value & you'll need to get down low enough to motivate a buyer. If you want to sell quickly...price aggressively...in the range of 95-97% of whatever your new market comparables indicate. The market is all about PRICE today. IMO, a $1K reduction is unlikely to excite anybody into making an offer. Also, take a hard look at your pictures. Are they showing the house to best advantage? Any wallpaper? If so, remove it & take new pictures. Any strong paint colors? If so, repaint & take new pictures. You've done a lot of de-cluttering recently. Do your current pictures reflect the new cleaner look? Curb appeal? It's hard this time of year but soon you can add a pot of pansies by the front door. Don't forget to keep the windows clean. Does the front door need paint? Is your mailbox by the street? If so, is it old & battered? If so, replace it. IOW, do whatever you can to spruce up the curb appeal. Most buyers reject a property within the first 3 minutes. First impression is critical. But, ultimately, today is about price. Bluntly, it may very well be that you can't get the number you'd like. If it's so tight that you're only considering a $1K drop...it doesn't sound like you've got a lot of negotiation/wiggle room. Over my career, I've probably sold close to a couple thousand houses. I've seen lots of buyer types. Enough to know that there's really no telling exactly what will tweak somebody's button enough for them to make an offer. I can say though that the best bet is price. A buyer will overlook many perceived deficiencies for the right price. There are many ways to manipulate price. A buyer's agent bonus is one way but, as Jo has already noted, a good agent isn't that moved by a bonus. They really do try to match a property to their customer's needs/desires. You could offer to buy down a buyer's interest rate by a point. Rates are already low...but, you might catch somebody on the cusp who could afford your house with, say, a 4.5% mortgage but not at current rates. A straight price reduction offers value to the largest buyer pool. You can also offer a redecorating allowance. First time homebuyers are, sometimes, motivated by having their new appliances paid for by the seller. This technique will rarely, if ever, work with an experienced buyer. You can also offer to pay the first 3-6 month's mortgage payments (cost would be escrowed). Again, this is a first time homebuyer attraction, possibly...not the move-up buyer. I've sold some real dogs by just offering a new TV...this only works well, IMO, if you've got the TV in the house so a buyer can see it...and, it has to be something exciting not the cheapest Best Buy close-out. All of these things are just alternatives to lowering your listing price. Ultimately, IMO again, the best is to lower your price 5%...wait 3 weeks & if it hasn't sold...lower another 5% until you find that "right" price. That WILL work almost guaranteed even today. The market is valuing your property at some now unknown price point. To sell quickly you'll have to find that value. In today's market, any other way is just luck. And, I often say I'd rather be lucky than good any day! Seriously though, if you want that house sold...lower the price ! Best of luck! /tricia

Just to let you know, don't have a facial less than a couple of days before you have to be "presentable" for a social event, big work thing, etc., unless you know how your face will react to that specific facial, since many facials can leave your skin looking "worse before it gets better". The only pictures of me at one friend's wedding are from behind because every time I saw a camera I spun around - I was invited to have a facial and mani-pedi the day before with some of the bridesmaids. (I was an "honorary bridesmaid".) The bridesmaids were "glowing", I looked like a ripe tomato! I piled on enough makeup for Tammy Faye to have stopped me to say "honey, you gotta lay off that stuff" :-) and still had people asking where I'd gone on vacation to get that sunburn. Same goes for the sugar or salt scrubs they do all over - when not done carefully you'll look and feel like you've got a nasty sunburn. I'm a total massage hound (I used to be a "practice body" at a couple of massage schools) so I'd be going for as many different types of massage I could get for the amount of the gift certificate. LOL I don't really think there is anything to the health aspects touted but reflexology feels divine, especially if your feet are, shall we say, in less than perfect condition. Sounds like you're already doing what the "deluxe European facial" describes - "cleansing, exfoliating, and hydration of the skin" is a fancy way of saying "washing your face with a scrubby stuff and putting on moisturizer"!