I bought my first two hibiscus trees last summer, and they did beautifully on our deck. I brought them inside when it started to get cold and kept them in the basement next to the sliding glass doors so they'd get some sunlight. I watered them very occasionally, but over the winter, they both lost all of their leaves (some turned yellow first) and ended up looking like a bunch of sticks. I did nothing in terms of pruning and really thought they were finished. Well, lo and behold, about a month ago, one and then the other started growing new leaves - the smaller one is now beautiful and blooming; the other is coming along more slowly but more new leaves and future blooms are sprouting every day. Recently I started to bring them outside during the day and inside again at night, and I started watering them regularly and feeding them once a week with Miracle Gro. Now it's warmed up enough to leave them outside all the time, and they seem to be doing great. Maybe before you prune, you should try taking them outside when it's warm enough during the daytime - sunlight and warmer temps seem to have done wonders for mine. Good luck!

Well thats a very interesting situation...is anything you know of disturbing part of the root system that u can see?? Its only a thought mind you but thats where id begin to check..a plant is usually almost able to fight anything unless its roots are damaged or being attacked. In which case if thats the situation and u may have some sort or mealy grub id loosen some of the soil AFTER visually checking and see or just give it some sort of good ROOT building food. I WOULDNT start cutting out...not just yet.. This is ONLY MY opinion and as i said a interesting dilema of which im not really sure with all certainty on telling u what to do for sure but thats where ID start, also have u had any mole problems...cuz to me this really sounds like a root system prob...GOOD LUCK

You know pdu - your way of travelling without a carrier or crate works... until it doesn't. Sounds like a mellow guy but all it takes is one sudden loud unexpected noise (with a car door open) at a rest stop and your mellow cat suddenly isn't. Im on a lost cat forum and did a ton of research when my cat once went missing - cats lost at rest stops, campsites and while travelling or moving are all too common an occurrence. Add to that people being in a hurry and not willing or able to stay hours or days to look.... its a sad situation for the poor cat who may likely be abandoned ,.... and the people who generally are kicking themselves quite mercilessly for having been so careless. I'm truly baffled why people would not take even the simplest precautions. Carriers breaking in half (the screws coming loose) are another all too common occurrence. BTW - fyi missingpetpartnership.org is an amazing resource about lost pet behavior - dogs may panic and run and keep running, but cats lost in strange surroundings will typically hunker down silently (they are capable of concealing themselves in very small places) and not respond when called until they've calmed down which may take hours - maybe days. Your search would involve combing every square inch of the area - cant assume they'll come when called .... although perhaps at night when its very quiet you might be lucky and hear a tiny scared meow in reply.

Some random thoughts... Re: the trees. Some maples are solid trees, some aren't as said so I'd get someone who knows trees to look at them. The real estate agent *can't* say anything against the house by obligation. They have a fiduciary obligation to the seller so never trust a real estate agent. They're out for the money. If they'll put it in writing that the trees are solid, fine, then they're responsible but of course they won't. Real estate agents rank very close to telemarketers IMO. Also, if you need to remove the trees, that can be rather costly. So be careful. However, again, they could be good trees and I'm a fan of trees. Re: the lawn. I like a big yard. If you're not too finicky, just get a riding mower and you can handle mowing. Or if you don't like it, hire it done or in the future you could hire someone. I've been hiring occasionally when I just can't handle it. Not very expensive and I find great value having distance between myself and the neighbors. Re: Standing water. Can be important or not. How much water? Can it be modified slightly to drain better? With the bottom of the outbuilding rotted it suggests an issue although that could depend on the age. Have you had an unusual amount of precipitation recently, snow and rain that would make this a fluke or is it normal amount of water? If it's normal, expect it. If it's going to pond water in the summer, you could have mosquito issues. What's the soil conditions? Sandy? Clay? If there's not very good drainage that would be a consideration. Re: the outbuilding. The owner saying it's good, well, that's a representation. If they don't make a disclosure you could have recourse against them if it turns out it's more rotted than you think. I might still have it inspected and do some negotiating that they misrepresented the place so they're not trustworthy. Are there any disclosures on the place about it, the drainage, etc? Re: Mailbox. You can buy a new mailbox for $10-$20 and up if the looks of the mailbox really bothers you. That wouldn't be a consideration to me nor would replacing the glass on the light fixture. That's petty cash expense. You'd spend more buying a piece of Tupperware than those two expenses combined! I wouldn't let that determine whether or not to buy a house. Re: Outside looks (brick, etc) To me, would see the inside of the house more than the outside so to me, the inside is more important. Much like I'm more concerned about holiday decorations *inside*, that I'll see, than outside. I'm not here to put on airs for others. Some people take a lot of pride in the outside looks of their houses and want it a certain way. If that's you, there's treatments for brick, even paint, which I dislike, but many like it. Options: Have sellers remove the trees, remove or repair the outbuilding or deduct from the price appropriately. As far as adding on... Are you going to get what the other house offers you, or a different house should you decide to keep looking? Remodeling can be expensive but doesn't have to be. If you can get what you want, and if you like where you live, then it's worth considering. Sit down and write out what you REALLY want in a house. Include room sizes, costs, payments if applicable, don't forget taxes, insurance, how close to shopping, doctors, recreation, etc. Then, see if the house you're looking at has it. How about the house you have? How does it compare? Then look at a few different modifications to the house. With it done, how would it compare? For me, an attached garage is a very important feature on a house so when I look for places, it really subtracts value if there's not at least a single attached garage. It helps if it would be able to be added easily. I've run across several places I really liked, but when I went home, sat down and looked at my priority list, well I haven't moved yet... Years ago I made a list of things I really like about my place and a list of things I really don't like, together with things I would like in a new place and might like. There's been things on other houses I've seen that impress me so I noted them. I know I'll never find "the perfect place" but it helps to evaluate different ones. And now as I'm getting older, accessibility is more and more important. But I try to keep it realistic. For instance a new place would be nice if it was one level living, however as long as there's the main rooms, a bathroom and a bedroom on the main floor, it would work for me. A place with all bedrooms and bathroom(s) upstairs would not. Also with looking at places I've seen some modifications to certain common style houses that were well done and really would work well for me. Maybe some of these would help you in your considerations. Kinda makes your head spin, I know. In most places, it's still more of a buyer's market so don't let a salesperson scam you. And keep in mind there's LOTS of houses for sale even if you don't get this one!