Hey Charliedawg, thanks so much for taking the pic for me! That brick looks darn close to the brick we chose! I really love it! It is so rich and looks GREAT with black accents and white trim! The next time I go to our build site, I'll try to remember to take my camera and take a pic of the house that has our brick, just so we can compare! I am sure that will look great on your home! Thanks again!

Ok - we can all relax. I have at least! :) We met with builder #1 on the proposal and discussed all the items, etc. DH grilled him....but in a professional/respectful way. A few things he had down re: allowances for items I selected were listed at his cost, not what we identified/expected as the pricing/allowance. So, the items we selected were covered and there's no issue. (ex. - my hw floors, same vendor/floor but the vendor sells to the builder at a reduced price) So, all the drama over my hw floors was for nothing :) A few other items, he had alternative suggestions for because his contractors prefer certain brands, etc. However, he did say he was willing to put our selected brands in and not impact the total $ as it was negligible amount, and he hates paperwork and didn't want to figure the difference. :) Then there were some items we had not specified so he did a middle of the road pricing and told me to let him know what we wanted and he'd include it. And (how stupid do I feel) he also had with him a list of all the items a client selects. In there were my items to date and he said we will continue to fill in over the next month with additional items I select. Anything not selected will come from an allowance he'll update the contract with. We did not get through everything and have a follow up meeting scheduled for next week. Of course, it would have been nice to know this when we received the proposal. I would have spared everyone my "venting" thread, and I wouldn't have had this sick feeling in the pit of my stomach for a week. Which, I shared with him during our conversation. But, I do feel much better about the situation. So, all in all, DH & I decided builder #1 is horrendous with paperwork. And, I can deal with that issue various ways. We are going to wait to see what the final # comes in from him before making a final decision. The good thing that came out of it was a sanity check re: the 2 proposals and what builder #2 offered re: pricing. We aren't that far off (from what we can tell...it really is nearly imposssible without selecting every little thing). Oh, interesting note...we found out inadvertantly that builder #2 was the builder for a another friend of ours. Sent them an email asking about their experience...and all she replied with was "nothing I'd respond to via email, but happy to talk with you". I thought that was interesting! Given the misunderstanding on our end with builder #1, his references and the response from my friend on builder #2, we are leaning towards builder #1....

Just to weigh in with the other perspective, I've been on the other side of this situation. We're also in a city of small lots (ours is 50' x 115') and our back lot borders four properties. Houses in our area are built pretty close to the property lines (some right up against it). A couple years ago, the owners of the apartment building that borders one side of our backyard took all of the branches off of the bottom 30 feet of some evergreens that were the only thing separating our yard from the apartment building. The trees were on their property, and they had legitimate reasons for taking the branches off (wanted to reduce maintenance with needles dropping and ivy), but I was still livid---not that I said anything to them about it, because they were well within their rights, and we have and want to continue having a fairly good relationship with their property manager. However, now the units that face our property all look right into our backyard, and sound and security lights travel right to our bedroom window. It's frustrating, though we've planted screening trees of our own and in time they'll form a new screen between the properties. I would have loved having a heads-up that they were considering this, though, as we could have been that much further along on replacing the trees. So I can see where your neighbors may be coming from. You definitely didn't do anything wrong---it's your right to modify any landscaping on your property, and you didn't need to consult your neighbors---but I can sympathize with their perspective. They are probably concerned that they no longer have screening or shade in their yards or homes, and I imagine they're worried that you may not have plans to replant. I don't think it's over the top or unreasonable for them to contact you with their concerns (although they should also have acknowledged that it was your decision at the end of the day, and should have been polite about it!) This is definitely not something to move over, though! I would just apologize (again, you had no obligation to consult them, but they would likely have appreciated the heads-up), explain that some of the trees were dead or diseased, assure them that you'll be replacing them, and share your landscaping plan to help assuage their worries. If you want to take it the extra mile, maybe get a little houseplant for the neighbors who've contacted you and take it over with a note that it's some greenery for them in the meantime, while your landscaping goes in. It will definitely blow over---our frustration has mellowed over the years, and we never addressed the issue at all, so if you address it in a positive way, I'm sure all will be well. But it's always nice to let neighbors know if you have plans that will affect their properties---just fosters goodwill and better relationships, even if it's things they have absolutely no say in anyway. Good luck!

lukiirish - It truly is disturbing. I think the reason prosecutions fail (read: don't happen at all) in these scams is because the people are beyond the reach of U.S. jurisdiction. Technology is such that these people can set up (or more likely clone) U.S. telephone numbers, email addresses, etc., so people believe they are speaking to someone in the United States, but they are actually speaking to someone 5000 miles away, where the costs and logistics of bringing them to the US for prosecution are prohibitive. The crooks know there is zero risk of prosecution, which is why they are so bold. I wanted to state more clearly what I alluded to in an earlier post: It is IMPERATIVE that you learn how to conduct legitimate transactions over the internet before you buy or fall victim to a scam. In my experience, eBay and credit card companies are generous with their protection policies, but you have to conduct the transaction within the company's terms of service, in order to receive the protections. For eBay, that means setting up your account, enrolling your method of payment with PayPal, conducting the transaction ENTIRELY within eBay's borders, and knowing the timeline and process for filing a claim should something go wrong. You cannot conduct any portion of the transaction outside of eBay's domain (PayPal is a part of eBay). If you follow these rules you WILL be protected if the worst should happen. Finally, do some research on who you're buying from before you contact them or place a bid. You want to look for a seller who has a lengthy history on eBay and a perfect customer satisfaction score. I personally will not bid on anything unless the seller has been on eBay for 2+ years and has a 100% feedback rating. Keep an eye out, too, for sellers who have only been on eBay for a short time but have dozens of excellent feedback in that short period of time. That is a tell-tell sign that the feedback is manufactured to set up the confidence game. I know this is of little use to the OP, but I hope it helps someone else avoid being taken advantage of in the future.