This thread might do better on the Money Saving Tips forum.

From what I've seen, policies regarding the length of open building permits really varies according to location. We completed our retirement house a little over a year ago- after 4 long complicated years of building, and our contractor managed to keep our building permit open for the entire 4 years. In that county ( in southwest Florida), a building permit was good for six months, but it could be renewed either by scheduling and going through an inspection, or by paying the county for another six month extension. At the time, there was no limit on the length of time the permit was open ( I think they may have changed things and there is a one year limit now). As long as the building permit was open, the building codes in effect when it was first issued applied to the building. If the permit was allowed to expire, the builder had to apply for a new one, resubmit the plans for approval one more time, and the codes in effect at this later time would apply. I think it's pretty standard policy that any item approved by the county under an existing permit cannot be "unapproved" later on in the event of building code changes. So I'd imagine an evaporation pond approved under a previous permit is safe regardless of how much current inspectors might hate it or how environmentally "unfriendly" county bureaucrats might regard such a device, LOL. That is, hopefully, if there was a final inspection to "close out" the permit for that project. The final inspection "closes out" the permit, ie, the inspector/county signing off that the work has been completed in a workmanship-like manner, meets current standards and codes, etc. Without that final inspection, the permit remains open, expires sooner or later, and the work done under this permit is considered uncompleted. THIS type of scenario is what subjects a homeowner to problems sooner or later, ie, fines, additional inspections and the possibility to being required to tear down the construction, and rebuild according to building codes in effect that the time the open permit is discovered. This situation has occurred in our area where county building and zoning employees discovered that several townhouse and condo developments built after Hurricane Andrew in 1992 were built without the additional hurricane protection ( no hurricane straps on trusses, rebar reinforcement in the outside walls, attachment of tie beam to outside walls) required by more stringent building codes put into effect after 1992. Apparently these dwellings also had open permits that had never been completed, this was discovered about 10 years after the building was finished. The homeowners living in these places at the time this was discovered had no idea these problems existed, but they were still held responsible by the county to make the required fixes. Most of these folks didn't have the money to make these fixes, had their homeowners' insurance policies canceled, couldn't get new insurance and couldn't sell their homes either. The last I heard, they were suing the builder ( well known mass production builder I won't name), the owners at the time of said company ( a large theme park whose name I won't mention either), and maybe the county for not catching these deficiencies during the building process. The builder and theme park both disavowed responsibility for these problems, but I don't know what the outcome finally was. I wouldn't skip a final inspection, and getting that CEO....

Much to my embarrassment, after having harrassed Dell for 2 days - I have just realized that my touchpad was NOT turned off as I originally thought. Apparently, when you remove the touchpad icon from your taskbar - it turns it on and also removes the driver to turn it off again. Peachy. Dell has reninstalled it for me. Anyway, I'm sorry if anyone tried to research this for me. Debbie.

I put aside the shopping season festivities a long time ago. I just quit buying any presents and told all that I want none. Of course, one exception is the wee young ones, the grandkids. I quit with the tree and went with a nice super big wreathe. Now I have quit with the wreathe. Last year I was almost able to ignore it completely. I think that there has been a change in our view of this dictating and dominating holiday. I see less and less of the frenzy around it, fewer home decorations, and I, thankfully, hear less of that gawd awful sappy music due to the fact that I spend less time in stores (in normal times). Also, I don't get as subjected to the TV advertising since I watch most streaming. The exception is the news channel where they mostly advertise heart medicines and reverse mortgages. I identified with the notion of feeling a sense of freedom from it. That is just exactly the way I felt---liberated. Joyfully liberated! I am ready for a new perspective to take shape in our American world view. Those old traditions are ready to take a back seat to a new culture, hopefully. I wont be around to see it, but I have hopes that it will change and evolve to meet the new world. Time for a new perspective. The old one is too small and narrow , and, is worn thin as can be. Good riddance! I have alway liked both Thanksgiving and New Years much better than the Shopping Season. Having said all of that, I just might put the big wreath up this year. Not for me, but for hubs who is having a. hard time coping with it all and he has alway liked the lights. I stopped liking the lights when we went to LED tree lights. . They are such a cold unblinking light that I don't like them. They cast an eerie cold glow onto everything. I have seen some holiday trees in the windows of some houses that are so flashy that they could be seizure inducing! You know, those high tech explosive light shows on the tree.