Don't even get me started on insurance, and not only health. When I quit working ten years ago we had to get our own insurance, it cost $525.00 a month per year and now it is $1130.00 a month per year,well it just went up again and so more than that and our deductible is $5,000.00. I just turned 56 and DH is 61. What really makes me boil is we have never used it. I go to the Dr. once a year to have my BP medicine refilled and maybe a sinus infection or two , just office visits.. DH hadn't used it probably three times since we have had it and that was for office visits until last year and he had some tests done. He had an MRI and some other tests and out of pocket was $4800.00 That is the only time we have used it for more than probably 3-4 office visits per year. We pay insurance out the a**, auto, truck, pivot,tractors, equipment, livestock, liability on farm workers, shop, even on two old farm houses that aren't worth anything, then there is homeowners and I am sure I am forgetting something. But, it is just like my Dad used to say "you don't need it till you need it." I am thankful we haven't, but I guess what makes we made is that we have to pay for those that do.

I'm having the same problem. Our neighbors house is a dump. We just bought our house almost a year ago. We are first time home buyers so we din't really investigate the neighbors house too much before we decided. Big mistak on our part. We are in no position to sell.. His house towers over our fence & the door that he uses to in and out is right there. we only have one way to get to the backyard and thats on his side. It's horrible. He has a crawl space under his house and you can see all the garbage under there. I can only imaging the rats. He has a dog that he keeps outside. I see a flea color on the dog (and those don't work- trust me I have 3 pets) We recently had to spend a bunch on money to have our house sprayed. I think the fleas are coming from his house because he also doesnt not cut his grass and everything is way over grown. Trash litters his yard and he doesnt not have the garbage man pick up his cans. So what it looks like is that he throws his garbage in the yard. sometimes I smell something burning- I think he burns the garbage that he does not throw in his yard. He has holes in his house. I saw birds going into it. Also, I always feel like he is staring at me. He put up black curtains on the side that we see. I hardly go out back anymore. Once he found out that we are sick of it and we told him that his property is bringing down everybody's value's of their homes in the neighborhood. He started to try and clean up a little bit. But his house is ruined and too old. It needs to be demolished. The sad thing is he has a 10 yr old boy that is forced to live like that. He has a hose going in his back windows. He refuses to sell his property and move. I looked up and found that he bought his house from someone (I'm thinking maybe his Mom) but he bought it for $10.00. So he probably refuses to move because he doesn't owe anything on it. I think were stuck. So I started to build lattice things that I attach to the top of our 6 ft wooden fence. We don't have much money to do all the work at once. So I'm doing slow.... I have big plans to block the view but it cost so much for building materials. This whole thing has me very stressed. And my anxiety levels are through the roof. I'm scared of him, I think he's a weirdo. He works during the day but he comes home at the same time everyday and does not leave his house till the next morning and on the weekends he never leaves. He comes outside when it gets dark. He put a dog house right next to our fence. I hate fleas, rats and I know they are over there. I have photos placed on a blog. Check it out.

I have a condo that I'm renting out. I bought it brand new in 2004. About 3 week ago, I got an email from the condo Management that there was a leak complain from the unit below my condo They investigated where the leak was coming from and it was from my condo's guest bathroom. The plumber came said that they need to cut out the fiberglass to get to the part of the drain that is causing the problems, fix the drain, and then have a fiberglass company come out to put in new fiberglass. . We would need a fiberglass company to patch that after the fix is completed. it will cost more than 7,000.00 depending on how much work is required. I filled a claim and the insurance adjustor said that they will not pay for an improperly installed pipe and that it is maintenance issue. I said that , I bought the condo brand new and how can I maintain the pipe when it's covered with fiberglass. Could you please let me know what will be my next move. I think I got a bad adjustor that is trying to save money for the Ins. Co. Is there something else I can do regarding having the insurance co pay for this damage.? Since it was improperly installed is it the Condo Management responsiblity? I need your expert advice. This post was edited by connie0624 on Mon, Jul 8, 13 at 10:45

Hi Holly, and thanks for your thoughts. We're no strangers to rentals . . . more than half of the last 14 years have been spent in rentals, and we've seen our share of the whole spectrum, from a management company that stole from us and turned us into collections for the privilege, to a one-woman shop that loved us and we loved her. Our current landlord is a one-man show, and he has given us a far freer rein than anyone else we've rented from. He has been prompt with repairs, and changed the way he does things to accommodate us (including not spraying the lawn due to our concerns about chemical use and our allergies/chemical sensitivities). Really, the furniture could be moved to the bonus room to allow the flooring to be replaced, and the piano could be shifted to the new flooring to allow the nook it's in to be worked on. So, while not ideal or easy, it's definitely doable. We have friends that would help with the couches (lightweight and sturdy), and could get several men together to roll the piano across the room. As for the house, it had been on the market for a long time, and we rented it when they took it off. I think the owner didn't make any updates (other than replacing the white tile by the door with granite tiles) because he wants to sell it. He'll have to do something, whether it's replace it before he lists it again, or offer a flooring allowance in the sale. We have a daughter that has developed asthma since we've lived here (I think it's a combination of the carpeting and the pollution from a nearby rail line and highway), so that's one of my main motivations . . . that and the baby crawling on it. (Yuk yuk yuk.) Anyone else know?