I've been a member of Gardenweb for many, many years. I also have posted on many of the forums: hoya, house plants, orchids, gesneriads, african violets, cactus and sucs. I collect all different types of plants. I've traded too many times to count over the years. I've been stiffed only a few times. I just chalk it up as a failure. There are so many great people on this forum who are willing to trade. I've never posted to the Rate & Review. If I see someone who has stiffed me asking for a trade, I email the one offering and let them know privatly of my experience with that person. Often new people to the forum will lurk for a while. Then start posting. I'm mainly a lurker. I belong to other forums, and there is a lot of posts to read. In the past, a newbie posted on here for a trade of leaves. I thought she was treated very badly by some of the people on this forum. I emailed her privately and did a trade with her. I was very satisfied and will certainly trade with her again. She was hurt by the members here and haven't seen her post again..Everyone needs a chance. Just my two cents worth!

Hi again donaldsg, I was able to use Dave's post to convince my husband to shop around some more and I'd like some advice on alternatives. Good... but ugghh!! These are the best offers & advice he's secured??? Option 1) Home equity loan from our credit union with a fixed rate of 6.24% for a 10 year term, and costs are mortgage tax only, or Even Bernanke has come out & explicitly stated that the Fed is going to keep short-term interest rates low "well into the foreseeable future." Currently, HELOC money is available around Prime (plus or minus maybe 1/4 to 1/2%) That means you can get the money you need (and only draw it *as* needed) at around a net rate of 3%-ish. That's under *HALF* the costs of the fixed loan, without the more dangerous burden of a forced 10 year repayment amortization*!!! If you anticipate the ability to save up enough money over the future 10 years to pay for this kitchen addition... then you are likely far better off using a HELOC to do the job (which is also exponentially cheaper in closing costs... from jest a few hundred bucks,) and then using your "savings power" to apply your budget to retiring the HELOC balance. (* The reason amortization is a responsible person's nightmare is because it removes budgetary control from YOU. Now, this may actually be a good thing for those who know they are "money-management challenged" and if this is true for you I understand... many people are. HOWEVER, if you are indeed a strong income and budgetary manager, then you are far better off keeping 100% control of which direction you send 100% of your money each month (which you can only do when you are NOT constrained by amortization.) The *BEST* way to eliminate your mortgage (for responsible people,) is to accumulate a side "Mortgage Freedom Account" which grows to the point that you can then stroke out a single large check to extinguish the entire balance at once. EVERYONE ought to eliminate ALL of their home leverage (HOWEVER, never a day nor a dollar earlier than it is SAFE to do so!) Option 2) refinance with our current mortgage carrier for a 20 year term at 4.75%, paying closing costs of $5500 and $1920 for points. Again, going the wrong direction on amortization (I am assuming from your self-description you are indeed a tight and responsible budget manager.) Further, 4.75% is way too pricey on today's market for a 20 year loan. EVEN FURTHER, if you are planning on staying in this home longer than 5-8 years, and you accept a higher interest rate offer in order to have a lower closing cost (which will entirely be financed by the loan anyway,) then you will be tilting the cost/savings trade-off into the present, and casting your permanent costs into your permanent monthly payments which will NOT get reduced back down after the 5 year breakeven period. Put it this way.... For approximately every $1 you spend in higher closing costs which results in a lower interst rate.... You save an annual total of about $0.20 in interest costs, permanently, per year. After 5 years has passed, you CONTINUE to save that $0.20 per year, EVERY year. SPEND $5,000 in discount points, save $1,000 per year on interest charges. After 5 years, KEEP saving $1,000 per year. ALTERNATIVELY; For approximately every $1 you REDUCE in closing costs which results in a HIGHER interst rate.... You SPEND an annual total of an additional $0.20 in interest costs, permanently, per year. After 5 years has passed, you CONTINUE to SPEND that $0.20 per year, EVERY year. AVOID $5,000 in discount points, SPEND $1,000 per year in higher interest charges. After 5 years, KEEP SPENDING $1,000 per year, permanently. Make more sense? This is one of the reasons why it pays to use a properly educated planner to structure your finances, if you aren't familiar with all the variables and how they can really affect you over time. Cheers, Dave Donhoff Leverage Planner

Prayers for Dave and loved ones from here, as well. (((((Dave and loved ones))))) ole joyful

Hi @ sshriva - As you can see, the middle has more or less dropped out in the appliance market. Many of us have faced this -- I did as I was forced to replace appliances over the last 14 years. I have a whole house water softener as my water is hard -- similar to AZ. I advise that to extend the life of plumbing fixtures. It takes care of the dishwasher issue. For that I would go with the Miele with the lighting and adjustable top rack. I don't have induction. I looked at Wolf. Miele and Gaggenau are also well rated. I briefly looked at the Thermador silver one as a replacement for my radiant but decided against (lots of complaints on that one when I looked it up). Had to replace a b-i fridge (Viking) 2 years ago. It was 36" bottom mount. Got it down to SZ and Miele. Went with Miele and thrilled. The lighting is fabulous -- best of any fridge -- don't hold the halogen against them. It's not as glary as LED. However, SZ makes a very good fridge/freezer -- pricier than Miele. Compare the lighting. I went with Miele in the end as it could withstand our frequent power outages. That was a tough decision. Expensive but you can't go wrong -- like your car, right? Also have a Miele wall oven that's been terrific. Wolf has long been a top choice but no one seems to know if the enamel chipping issue is resolved. One feature of my oven that I love is the rotisserie and it has combination heat settings that let me, fe.x. start the Thanksgiving turkey (and other foods) in a cold oven. Sad to say that Dacor, as a brand, is not as highly touted as a decade ago, at least not so much around here.