Look at it this way. If you and the builder negotiated a contract and then property values went up, would you appreciate him coming to you asking for more money? It's no different than you asking him for a better price. A contact is a contact. In the business I am in, we quote jobs based on the price of stainless steel, which has very fluid pricing. We quote based on current pricing and hope the market holds out long enough for us to get the order and purchase material at that price. Sometimes the price of stainless drops and we make a little extra, sometimes the price goes up and we lose some money. The builder is in this same position. When he quotes a job, the price of materials may go up or down, either giving him a little extra profit or cause him to dig deeper in his pocket. Either way, you pay the same price. You agreed on a price and you are legally and morally bound to pay what you agreed on.....like it or not. You did come here for opinions and that's what you got. Sorry if you don't like the answers you got.

Yes, yes, yes! That is ridiculous! I interviewed 5 realtors. All were very nice and had extensive experience in my neighborhood. But only 3 showed up prepared with materials. And only ONE of those actually pulled correct comps and knew what she was presenting to me (as opposed to having her assistant do it and not looking at it until she was showing it to me). That was the one I picked and boy, has she stayed true to her word. She's done everything I've asked. We've changed wording and photos multiple times and she always gets it done same day. She's got her own website in addition to the MLS and she has all sorts of things there as well. When I requested flyers, she had them done and printed within 48 hours! She had my floor plan done before I listed, photos up the day of, and professional photos and 360 views the first week (would have been sooner, but I wasn't ready yet!). Speak up, tell him you're disappointed, and ask him present a marketing plan immediately.

Zoe, to be completely honest, I probably wouldn't have taken your cat-scratching-post couch either, because it costs a fortune to have things reupholstered to look halfway good (and as chisue found, you may not even get halfway good out of it)! I've been watching Craigslist for furniture and thought I had come across a few decent things... until I found out what it would have cost to have them reupholstered, even with cheap fabric. Shocking! Even slipcovers are expensive too now - if you want something that actually fits and stays in place for more than a few minutes without being mostly sweaty, itchy spandex, it can cost as much as a complete reupholstering. (Let's not even talk about how many Craigslisters are completely delusional about what their worn-out, ugly furniture is worth. If you bought a couch from Billy-Joe's Discount Furniture and Bait Shop for $750 and let the kids and the dog jump all over it for 5 years, it sure ain't gonna be worth $250. It's very debatable whether it's worth $50, or really belongs out on the streetcorner for the scavengers.) BTW, with the upswing in bedbug and other infestations, some charities in my area are refusing upholstered items entirely. I also found out the hard way (and they may have gotten burned by this as well, thus rejecting all pieces with any cat damage at all) that an upholstered chair that had "a few cat scratches" had had a lot more "cat activity" on it than that! It was out of a storage unit in winter so I couldn't smell anything but as soon as I got it inside a nice warm apartment - whoooeeeee. Fragrant. As Frances points out, it's all very nice to recite the mantra that "everyone should buy only 'quality' furniture" (huge pet peeve: using the word "quality" when you mean "good quality"!) but let's be realistic. Most people of ordinary means can't come up with what "high quality" furniture costs these days. I went shopping for a sturdy, not fancy but reasonably nice-looking wooden bed frame year before last and got quite discouraged at the outrageous prices - but having something made was even more bruising to the checkbook. (Frances, I'm curious, does that $250-300 worth of supplies include the tools required to make a nice piece of furniture? If so, I'd very much love to know where you're buying your tools!) dabunch, I go to Dollar Tree every few weeks. It's a great place for consumable stuff like greeting cards, paper towels and baby wipes (for the dog), and they have some great knockoffs of pricier products. I don't see why I should pay $4 for a pint of Plax mouthwash when 1 1/2 pints of an identical product in a less-attractive bottle is $1.

I bought: a pull out trash for my trash/recyclables a sink tilt out tray A Lee Valley pull out pantry larder unit My cabinets are being installed now so I will wait to see how everything fits once I have moved back in. I might add a few more storage accessories. ie tray dividers, under sink pullout and ???? Good luck! Here is a link that might be useful: Larder unit