You are facing several problems. First, to find out who owns the house, check with city hall or town hall. The owner of the property is listedÂitÂs a matter of public record. I suspect one of two things is going on: 1) The woman above you owns the property but doesnÂt want to pay for repairs or 2) the landlords live in Europe and have no idea that she is renting out part of the space. Second, about the broken toilet. Usually, there are regulations requiring landlords to fix things like this, provide adequate heat, running water, etc. Check your state laws on this matter. Ask her again to get it fixed or tell you how to contact the landlords to get it fixed. If she refuses, contact whatever agency your state/town/city has for tenant problems. Tell the woman that you will do this if the toilet isnÂt fixed in one or two days. Third, about the furniture. You can ask her about rugs again. You can contact the landlords. Or you can move. IÂm suspicious that you may be living in an "illegal" apartment, one that isnÂt allowed by zoning laws or that isnÂt known to the owners of the building. If you push the woman upstairs too much, she may try to get you to leave. Did you sign a lease or are you month to month? SomethingÂs just not right with this picture.

Hardwood floors are an investment in the value of your home; protection of these floors is necessary in order to retain the beauty of your investment for years to come. Simple steps can be taken that will provide really big pay offs in the long run by allowing you to avoid the costly and time consuming process of refinishing your floors more often. It is also important to remember that every time your floors are refinished you are actually removing some of the wood that makes up your flooring. The less grinding you must do to your hardwood floors, the longer they have the potential to last. Must-Do Hardwood Floor Protection Tips 1) Use rugs and carpets in order to protect highly traveled areas of your floors. By using carpets and rugs in high traffic areas, you are minimizing the exposure of your floors to actual damage not only from traffic but also drops, spills, splatters, and any exposure to dirt and other debris that the carpet shields your floors from. 2) Place rubber mats in front of sinks or tubs to prevent unnecessary exposure to water in these areas. Water may not only warp your hardwood floors it can also cause stains or Âwater spots that are very unappealing. 3) Use a dehumidifier in bathroom floors in order to remove moisture from the air and limiting the exposure your wooden floors have to that moisture. This will also help limit the swelling and contracting of your floors due to humidity and steam. 4) Never wear shoes that can damage your hardwood floors on them. Heels, golf shoes, and any other shoes with either cleats are scratchy bottoms can bring all sorts of problems to your beautiful hardwood. 5) Trim the nails are of your dogs and cats in order to prevent unnecessary scratches to your hardwood floors. If you can hear their nails on your floors, itÂs time for a trim. 6) Use protectors on the legs of all furniture to protect your floors. 7) Never drag furniture across your hardwood floors. If you must move it, use a hand truck or have a friend help you lift the furniture before moving it. If you must drag furniture across the floor, slide a small rug beneath the legs of your furniture before moving it. Keep in mind that when it comes to protecting your hardwood floors from damage, every ounce of prevention is worth a lot of money in a cure. Here is a link that might be useful: House buildings movers

Hi again everyone. Just a few thoughts... Lisa I am sorry to have made you add things up! It's exactly what sent me reeling. Making the list and looking at the numbers, all in one shot, was stunning! I am actually very happy about the move, even though the process is difficult. I really love my home here and the way it has turned out. It's been a joy to work on and I am finally feeling pleased with the results. Interestingly, the staging process seemed to seal the deal. A little less furniture and clutter and the place looks "perfect" to me. (To the powers that be, may I please carry this awareness to the next place!) But we have never felt like we fit in here in FL. Going to MA is like going home. Our friends and family are there and the general mentality is a much better fit for us. DD has said repeatedly she wishes we could pick up this house and move it. To some degree, I will recreate certain elements up there...like in the kitchen. As for finding a good mover, we have been referred to someone by our piano dealer. We have a mid-sized grand to store and ship and supposedly this company is the best. (Don't even ask where we're going to fit that thing!) I have seen movers do a hack job. As a confirmed control freak, I'd love to do it myself! But that is ridiculous, of course. We will hire the best and just hope for a positive experience. Nothing we own is without patina anyway. Funny, Hoyamom, I woke up this morning thinking about my grandmother's silver. I think that will go in the car with me. So, if anyone's still reading, do you think I need to offer things at 25% like my realtor suggests? A good friend suggests I start at 40% and work from there. Patina or no, this stuff is only 4-6 years old and it's mostly name brands people would know and recognize. The dining table is the first thing you see on the Ethan Allen website when you do a product search for dining rooms! So, it's still relevant.

This is a subject near and dear to my heart as we are closing on a house purchase next week and plan to have some work done before moving in. Here is what I would like to have done: 1. Repainting several rooms and painting lots of built in cabinets (currently stained). 2. Change cab pulls and hinges. 3. Take out carpet in family room, master bedroom and master bath and replace with wood (tile in bath). 4. Add recessed lighting several places 5. Remove flourescent lighting in kitchen. 6. Replace a few ceiling fans 7. Convert 3 windows in master bedroom to french doors going out side. 8. Re-do tub/shower area (they are separate and OK but I would like a larger shower and there is room to extend). 9. Remove flourescent lighting above vanity and put in something else. 10. Extend utility room (adding to back of house) 11. Replace doors with glass with more secure doors. 12. Reface brick fireplace with dry stack stone 13. Open up between kitchen and dining room (i.e. take out top half of wall). Rearrange cooktop and refrigerator area. Add island to kitchen. 14. Replace laminate workspace in hobby room with something else. 15. Replace tile in kitchen/foyer. 16. Replace 4 1/2 ft fencing with 6 ft fencing. What we are actually doing on the list before moving in: 1. Repainting several rooms and painting lots of built in cabinets (currently stained). - Yes. This will be much easier and cheaper to do before moving in and is not all that expensive. We are cutting back and not doing as much in some areas as I would live as we are deferring other work in those area. We decided not to piecemeal the family room for example. 2. Change cab pulls and hinges. - Still doing this since the painting won't look good without it. 3. Take out carpet in family room, master bedroom and master bath and replace with wood (tile in bath). - Deferring this one. This would be easier to do without us there. But it is only 3 rooms and can be done later. And, this is an over $10,000 item so it really makes a difference on the budget to defer this a year or two. Also carpet is not to my taste but is in good condition. Had it been in poor condition I would feel differently. 4. Add recessed lighting several places. - Not very expensive and important to my enjoyment. 5. Remove flourescent lighting in kitchen. - Not expensive so will probably do this. 6. Replace a few ceiling fans. - Mostly moving around. 7. Convert 3 windows in master bedroom to french doors going out side. - Deferring. This can be done later. 8. Re-do tub/shower area (they are separate and OK but I would like a larger shower and there is room to extend). - Deferring. It is in good condition now, just not exactly what I want. 9. Remove flourescent lighting above vanity and put in something else. - Doing this. Not expensive and I really don't like how it looks. 10. Extend utility room (adding to back of house) - Maybe some day... 11. Replace doors with glass with more secure doors. - Important. I would like to defer but I want to get new locks (instead of just rekeying). Sellers have single deadbolts on glass doors and I don't feel secure with that. 12. Reface brick fireplace with dry stack stone - Probably will defer. Would like to do it now but makes sense to do it when we do the flooring. SO deferring flooring means deferring this. 13. Open up between kitchen and dining room (i.e. take out top half of wall). Rearrange cooktop and refrigerator area. Add island to kitchen. - Later. This is a huge project because it also likely means new appliances and new granite. 14. Replace laminate workspace in hobby room with something else. - Not sure. Logically it makes sense to do it now but I'm not sure exactly what I want so I may defer it. 15. Replace tile in kitchen/foyer. - Defer. The current tile is nice and fairly recent just not a color that I personally like. But it isn't objectionable so I will wait on this (probably for years).