I thought that was a pretty good article. I liked the fact that they were practical about what to do and still optimistic. I know it's bad but I hate to think people will stop growing roses altogether because of it. And so much of what you read out there is all about dooms day!

This reminds of the Superbowl I watched at a neighbors on their new very large TV (don't know the size, but it was huge) They had it set up in their family room which was very long and narrow and they put it on one of the long walls with the sofa and seating on the opposite. I went home shaking my head - it was SO uncomfortable!! Seating was way too close. Why not put it at the end of the room??? Good luck - and enjoy your big TV!

Unfortunately it gets a lot messier than that. We haven't been able to get back into court to get a new order made up. We tried for a year, but she would pull stall tactics, fire her lawyers, etc. So we tried to reach an out of court agreement (at our lawyers suggestion). Bad idea...she would agree to something, then come up with an excuse to change her mind. For example we agreed to supervised access, so she couldn't make any more accusations of abuse, but she wouldn't accept the ones we proposed, she took three months to come up with the names of two people she would accept, and then when we met with and agreed to one of them a week later she came back and said that the supervisor she had proposed was no longer acceptable to her. Then we came to another agreement and three days before we were supposed to see them, she got a letter from a therapist (who'd only seen daughter twice, and never spoken to DH) that said daughter shouldn't have any contact with her dad, based on what mom had said, and that daughter is afraid of him and refers to him by his first name or as "Bad Daddy". (Amazing what 2 year, at that time, of brainwashing a young child will do.) This past fall we were again about to reach an agreement and she filed for, and got, an emergency protection order against DH, based on the story that daughter (who hasn't seen him since she wes 3.5) saw bad daddy at the window and banging on the door of their house, to intimidate them. I got a late night visit from the police to be served with the EPO on Dh's behalf, and then they seized all the firearms and bows in the house (right at the start of huntiong season). DH had been working 8 hours away at the same time he was 'witnessed', and fortunately had all the documentation to prove it (The judge threw it out and gave her a warning). We provided opposing council with an affidavit and notice of motion in November (so we could go back into court, since then, DH has been cross examined on his affidavit, and we still haven't received a responding affidavit from her... Long story short...the Order that is in place (from when he was accused) states that he can only have access that is supervised by someone she is agreeable to. (And the only people she is agreeable to is her mother or new husband...neither of whom we trust to provide a fair representation of the visits.) If we can get a new order in place and she still won't let him see them, then they can hold her in contempt...but until we can get a new order in place, technically she isn't doing anything that isn't within her requirements. It's extremely frustrating!! They are now proposing a psych evaluation of EVERYONE (DH and I, our son, her, her hubby, and the kids) before access is allowed to resume. Our lawyer informs us that if we get the wrong judge, we'll end up forced to do it to see the kids but it costs $4K and I'm not sure where we'll come up with the money to do something like that. It's just a rotten deal all around because DH just wants to be there for his kids and be able to tell them he loves them. The real kicker is that what we've been fighing for equates to 6 (24 hour) days of access out of an entire year (in 3 hr segments, because mom says the kids won't be able to handle more time than that away from her) and she'd not even willing to give him that (even though through all of this he's never missed a support payment.) Oh, last fall DH and I were both also fingerprinted because the delapidated heap they were fixing up magically burned down and she fingered us as the prime suspects (hello insurance money...), and then in the house they ended up moving into, was supposedly broken into and the rooms tossed, but the only things stolen were court documents...so down to the police station with our (then) 6 month old, so Mommy and Daddy can make a statement saying we never broke in, and so they could get our prints on file. We have received calls or had visits from the police over a dozen times in the past three years, all because of accusations made by her, and all it has taken to spark some of these episodes is for DH to pass her on the road and accidently make eye contact. (Then she tells the police he followed her to the mall or wherever, where he then proceded to verbally assault or threaten her and tell her he is going to kidnap the children, etc.) According to the accusations she's made to the police, DH makes Genghis Khan look like a saint. :-P The whole system is messed up and it's completely ill-equiped to deal with these really messy situations.

If you like it and want it, make a written offer. Share nothing with your Realtor except price you wish to offer, though looking over the comps with her is fine. Do not discuss strategy or what you would do if the offer is rejected. You will cross that bridge when you come to it. Keep all that to yourself, which one should do anyway at any time with any Realtor. The big pro is that you could be first. This could be a very good deal for you, considering the time of year, and the fact that the sellers can't really get out or do a lot of work. Has she actually got a listing yet or is this something she will do if you want to make an offer? Do you know the list price of this listing if she has it? I'd like to know that. Around here, you can't hold them off the MLS for any length of time, unless they changed that for this year (have not looked). Make an offer if you want it. The worst that can happen is that the sellers say no. But I bet they seriously consider it. Review all the comps and if you write excellent letters, write one indicating gently how you arrived at the price and that you really want the house. I did that once and got the house at over 50K less than asking. House was way overpriced and had special details that not everyone wanted.