Here are the factors that raise the fees and much of it has to do with the physical plant of the complex itself 5 buildings built between 1838-1840 1 1860, 1 1880s, 1 highrise (8 stories) 1922. Developed as apartments in 1965 with a common boiler HVAC 2-pipe system (Heat Oct-April, AC May-Sept). Outside, inground pool added 1965. Early condo conversion 1981. So the utility fees of water, gas, sewer, heat, AC are calculated by # of cubic feet of the unit, and #of bedrooms, and split up since it is One system for 68 units in 8 buildings. This is the UTILITY fee, about 1/3 of the whole fee. There is a tremendous amount of common space with exterior windows and such, the pool has to be maintained, and we are required by law to have private garbage pickup and maintenance of public sidewalk areas (shoveling etc.) This is the COMMON FEES part of the whole fee. For a decade and a half of the condo era Most of the Units were rented out by their owners as investments and there was a very strong board of non-occupant owners who deferred maintenance, and preferred to pay out of pocket by specific assessment for repairs that came along rather than maintaining much of a Reserves Fund. The reserves fund was actually illegally underfunded. I, for example, was the FIRST owner to occupy my unit since it became an apartment. From 1965-2002 it was a rental, it was in 1965 original condition. (I am not sure it had been painted more than once in that time) Once the physical plant hit 40 much of the piping for the HVAC pipes failed all at once and we had $100K worth of replacement expenses and damages in a very short period of time. The final third of the current fee is to Fund the Reserves which were nil. So one third of it pays the utilities and part of another third pays for the pool whereas in most condos in the city except some hotel-highrise conversions everything is separate and the pool must be joined separately. Take the utility one-third out, and it's in line with a lot of buildings, take the reserves-building out and it's inline with a lot of buildings but add it all together, and its not. Plus I have heard Realtors tell lookers that the condo fee is the Common Fee and that as far as they know everything else is extra, which is false, but a lot of Realtors are not great about doing their homework, especially some of the newer ones who got licensed during the bubble, when being a Realtor here was easy, and now all the sudden they are finding it is a lot of work and one of those jobs you have to love.

I bought two armless slipper type chairs from WM and they are fine quality for the price. I needed the seating when I was hosting a large party and thought I could use them in a bedroom afterwards, but I like them so well and they look so good that I made room for them in my living room. They really are only used when I have guests and I'm very careful to keep my grandson from having food or milk or sticky fingers near them because I doubt they will hold up too well against those things. They are covered in a microfiber and I'm just unsure if it would spot clean too well. They were on sale and I got an extra 30% off because they were floor samples. I bought some beautiful coordinating pillows for them, too. I also love the international food selection and the inexpensive wine selection is good, too. The have great greeting cards and wrapping items. I've bought a few little toys, too, some I've not seen anywhere else. I'm not sure if I'd drive hours to visit one, but it's a good all around import store in our area.

Frigidaire is simply the Electrolux's North American subsidiary for major appliances. If an Elux appliance is made here, it is made in a Frigidaire factory. The "Electrolux" brands are used for the more upscale models with Frigidaire brands being segmented between plain Frigidaire, Frigidaire Gallery and Frigidaire Pro (which sometimes aimed at the Elux market, too.) They pretty much all come out of the same factories. There will be some variation in materials, but the differences are mostly a matter of features and capabilities and design/aesthetic/appearance. Going upmarket does not necessarily mean more reliability and durability. Sometimes the extra features mean that there are just more things that can go wrong and result in more problems as you go further upmarket (which apparently has been the case for SxS and FD fridges bardged as Electrolux and Frigidiare Pro).

A good read Cathy. I also do many of the same practices but a 200 cell flat is as small as I go. A few other hints may help with your operation or sales. When transplanting I blow the basil plugs from plug flats onto a tray using a low pressure air hose. If you replant fast plants are not affected. The sales tip I heard years ago was to offer variety 6 packs. One of 6 different basil varieties we called the "Pesto 6-Pac". Other combos include "Medicinal 6-Pac", "Salsa 6-Pac", "Seasoning 6-Pac"....etc. Those 6-packs will fly of your sales tables.