My original post was probably half Rant and half call for suggestions for fruit trees that are well suited to the Suburban Yard. There is a local University Horticulture Professor (And peach researcher) here who has gone on record on the Radio that Homeowners shouldn't fool with stone fruit in our area.... One of his Key Messages is "Don't buy a peach tree at the grocery store!" But.. The grocery stores have a big pile of $14.99 Peaches and Apples sitting out front this spring... Destined to die a painful and horrible death in someone's back yard next year.. He has many *Excellent* points... related to the short attention spans, lack of knowledge and commitment of your "Average" Homeowners... They buy the tree without knowing anything about what to buy, stick it in a hole, then wait for the bounty to arrive... What they get is a sick tree and a big pile of wormy and rotten fruit.. Lets face it -- a Red Haven or an Elberta or an Indian Blood Cling grafted onto a Guardian rootstock would stack the deck in the home owner's favor here in SC... but good luck buying one at the Supermarket or local nursery... You would probably have to mail order it... Thanks John

Timely topic, as I'm right in middle of granite installation now w/HD. I paid back in early Feb, but had delays with new cabinets till now. HD still honored the promo pricing I had at the time of purchase ("D" level granite for "C" level price, plus free undermount sink.) I thought their price was good...I did some research and it seemed in line competitively with what others were quoting....not ridiculously low or high. Someone who works at HD once said they often negotiate really good prices from fabricators since they represent so much volume to a local shop...and if you catch them during a promo, they can offer some pretty decent values, even with their middleman markup. Not saying their price is always best, but wouldn't count them out right off the bat. They definitely let me choose slabs - in fact, they stressed that I must do so to make sure I got what I wanted. Local fabricator they subcontract to has been in business 20 years and granite yard is one of the largest in the nation. Doesn't mean my experience still may not go horribly wrong, but I feel I've covered bases as much as reasonably possible without over-obsessing any more than I already have. (And according to my husband, I'm a big time over-obsesser!) HD does have the 1 yr labor and 15-year stain-resistant guarantee. As someone here mentioned, can't say how well they'll honor guarantee if a problem arises - and I have polished black granite, so I already know I may have specific problems related to that color - but the kitchen/granite places I've checked offer no guarantee at all. So it's something. Chose slab yesterday...install should be within 8-10 days. my fingers are crossed that all goes well. (Tip: one thing I did as soon as I found out who they sub-contracted to was to Google that business's name along with "complaints" in search box, as well as check BBB to make sure there were no red flags. I think the #1 risk with HD all comes down to who they choose do to the work.) Hope this helped someone...

mfbenson: "So in order to sell a house quickly I have to sell a house quickly." More like in order to sell a house quickly one has to take the appropriate steps to give it the best chance of selling quickly BEFORE it is put on the market instead of waiting for months without a bite...pricing it right..making sure it is in good shape, no repairs needed..neat..clean..decluttered...with good curb appeal.

NCREGuy, "no good deed goes unpunished" ;-) Tis a sad day when we have to be paranoid over legal ramifications of something for illustrative purposes. I used the blueprints and physically measured the house while doing this mock-up. It was surprising how "off" BP-to-Actual really was. Now my measurements were done with steel tape and probably not as accurate as laser, either. We'll be using this "for illustrative purposes only" to show floor layout and flow. Our REA will add boilerplate in the ad copy. Sorry for being semi/off-topic ;-) As we're relocating, it's interesting looking at listings here & there. Rural property is a different critter LOL and I see more pix of the pasturage, barn, out-buildings, etc than the interior of the house. Usually house interiors are very dark, as in electricity was turned off dark, and the photographer used basic camera flash. Maybe there's a card table in the middle of a room with some REA's laptop & Big Gulp adorning it. My favourite was interior & exterior (landscaped) shots of an outhouse (working...) beautifully staged with folded-corner pink toilet paper, basket of bow tied white dinner napkins, and gallon jug of Orange Goop. Yes, the property was listed as "sportsman paradise" so we knew it would be more rustic. Got me to wondering if there was a "working inhouse" in house. The ad copy showed "deep well with water rights on property" so we're pondering whether there's any house plumbing (or electricity for that matter). Sometimes I wonder if I've seen too many Parade of Homes and Gallery of Homes and have set my expectations too high :-) Here is a link that might be useful: