She had it listed on craigslist when I found it and there was a for sale by owner sign in front of the house. Given your previous housing situation as well as your ongoing financial situation, this is something that you really should have discussed with the owner prior to moving in. I realize that you were under serious time constraints at the time because of having to quickly move out of your last house but it appears that you knew the situation going in. So at this point I would speak with the landlord and try to come to some type of terms that will be acceptable for both of you. I really hope you take this in the spirit in which it is given. Time and again you get yourself into situations that are not at all comfortable and then ask here for advice on how to get out of it. Knowing all that you have been through, you should seriously consider speaking with a counselor to work out some issues. What I notice is that posters here continually give you great advice that is frankly not always followed. A situation arises, posters here do the work and greatly assist in advising you out of the situation, life is quiet and normal for a minute and then rinse and repeat and the cycle starts all over again. Clearly you knew about the landlord's position when you went to look at the house and accepted the terms and moved in anyway. Now once again there is a potential threat of you losing your home. I admit it irks me that posters here are spending time researching potential options for you when clearly you should have done this yourself. Given the fact that you are fully aware that there is yet another potential housing issue, yet from your recent postings on the other side, you are once again spending and perhaps you should be saving in case you have to quickly move again. Please speak with your children and seriously consider counseling whether it be through your priest or someone else. There is clearly a vicious cycle going on and given the fact that you now have a clean bill of health physically (thank God!), now you need to work on other areas. You have been given a gift, please don't waste it. I know my post to many is going to seem harsh but Eileen, you need some serious help and I think it is more than time that someone was flat out honest and said so. I've been around long enough to know exactly how this is going to play out and I just don't want to see it happen again.

Thanks, everyone, for your ideas! clt3, it turned out that My Sister's Closet, and her cohorts Well Suited and My Sister's Attic, were just around the corner from my parents' house, as was a thrift store. We don't have My Sister where I live, and I wish we did. They are very choosy, especially about clothes, which is good...(and my brother found a tropical shirt with the tags still on for a steal). We brought decor, collectibles, fine housewares like china, and small furniture to the Attic; they are also choosy, they know their clientele and products! The only thing I don't like is that you can't actually go online to see your account, you have to request an email that takes a few days. And, since we don't have My Sisters around here, we have to take the consignment percentage in cash instead of the higher credit amount. Our other find was the thrift store, also just around the corner. We took carloads over, and the nice thing is that they work with other organizations, too, such as a women's shelter and veterans' groups. So what they couldn't use, they passed on to them. If fact, on my second load one day, they told me that the DVD players I'd just dropped off had already been picked up by the Wounded Warriors, who also wanted all our trouser hangers. It was also good to know they would take some of the unopened women's items we had and send them on to the women's shelter. Of course, the amazing library down the road got three boxes of books and DVDs for their shop. It was closer than Half-Price Books, and we didn't have to wait while they priced. We liked taking things as opposed to having them picked up. One, the personal connection. Two, we never had a huge pile in the house or garage. Third, it gave us a break. We'd gather a carload, drop it off, have lunch, come back and start again. Smalloldhouse, I liked your link! There was an estate auction that would have taken everything, and I mean everything (down to the Tupperware and Kleenex boxes), destining artwork and collectibles to the gallery-style auction versus the everything-else auction, donating whatever didn't sell, but by the time the larger items went to the people they'd been promised to, it wouldn't make sense dollar-wise, as they charge for the pickup. It would have been by far the easiest route, though! We ended up doing the shredding ourselves;by the time I went through papers deciding what needed to be kept and shredded, it was just as easy to shred-as-I-went. Never thought I'd say it, but I got my fill of the Property Brothers! They were on non-stop while we sorted papers and more. We also got to enjoy the smooth roads (no freeze-thaw!), beautiful desert and foothills, the off-season low traffic and uncrowded restaurants, and to meet some great cousins I'd never met, and to get to know a couple people who have been so helpful to my parents; all of them were able to take things for themselves or to pass on to others in need. The realtor is a gem of a resource. The neighbors were so kind and understanding about the flurry of activity, too. I'm drained, and pleased with the outcome. Sad to see the house go; it's my ideal, but none of us are ready to have a second or retirement home yet. Just waiting for the shipment of some things we sent home. New stuff for me!

If by "sumps" you mean the filter element housings there is no more risk than water sitting in the sediment filter housing. Since you're on a well have you ever had a comprehensive water test? Have you routinely tested for nitrates and bacteria?

Hi. Sorry for leaving you hanging for so long. My apologies. "I've been told that the entire home needs to be repiped." Initially that's what I was told. The problem is that my in-laws are not native to America and they speak broken English. I think that was part of their misunderstanding and hence mine in understanding the situation. I was getting a rough translation through a middle man or two. Here's the truth so far as I understand it: There are pipes inside the home that are corroded but there are pipes outside the house (but on their property) that have been crushed. My in-laws have never had a problem with water but the inspection basically told them that outside pipes on their property were heavily damaged and needed to be fixed. The whole house does NOT need to be re-piped and that's a relief. There's speculation as to why the pipes outside are crushed, but it doesn't matter anymore. An agreement has been made. They ended up getting a check from the buyer for an extra $5000 to fix the pipes while my in-laws still live there which they are doing now. As a result, they will be moving out at the end of the month instead of, well, today, and the transaction will be complete. As far as the pipes inside the home, I was just relieved that they came to an agreement so I didn't bother asking any more details. I figure it isn't as extensive or problematic as I initially thought. They also found radon in the home but my in-laws went ahead and paid for that and it has been resolved. I did spend plenty of time reading about piping nightmares, getting myself into a scare (my wife and I are moving contingent upon their moving, so I had a vested interest in their success in selling the home). Now I'm more knowledgeable about what sort of piping conundrums to be aware of should something similar happen in the future. Thank you SO MUCH for your responses. Again, my apologies for not providing enough information and taking so long to respond. Greatly appreciated all of you.