I'm no expert, but I can tell you what we decided. We have a state subsidy which paid for about half the cost of our panels up to 5kw, so that's what we went with. To get the subsidy, it required us to be on the grid so we feed the system when we're not using the power we generate. We bank what we don't use, and then, come winter, we draw down the bank before we start paying for power. We don't want to be a net generator as they pay you wholesale, but you buy retail, so it really doesn't pay. We also got a 30% tax credit off our income taxes for the solar panels, so we figure, assuming no electricity price increases, we have about a 10 yr payback. What other appliance actually pays you back? We also have geothermal heating/cooling, so our only fuel cost is electricity, so for us the panels really pay. If we were only using the electricity for lighting, it really wouldn't pay for us to go that way. We also live in the area of the country with the highest electricity costs, so the payback is worthwhile. If you go off grid, then you have to think about batteries which are heavy, take up space, require maintenance and present their own environmental challenges. If you get a qualified solar panel company, they will do all the calculations for you including what your subsidy will be, how efficient the panels are, how much you should expect from your location, etc. Just be careful as there are a lot of fly by night operations out there and the better business bureau has lots and lots of complaints so check with them first. In our area, 3 towns got together and tried to get residents to do a quantity buy which brought the price of the panels down considerably too...they pre-selected the installer so you didn't have to do any shopping or comparisons....I think they ran it for about 4 months.

Thanks for the reply. I hadn't heard about having to pay the lenders costs in a short sale, is that common? I don't mind paying mine, but I'm not going to pay theirs too! They're the ones who made this ridiculous deals with people. If it's the case they'd take, say 85% of the first loan, that would still be more than my offer - but how does the fact of all these repairs need to be done affect the price they'd take after the 85%-90% they'd accept. There's no way anyone would pay that AND have to put all that money in to the house on top of it. Would make more sense just to pay more and buy a house that's kept up and in no need of repairs. I need all the luck I can get, I'm not hopeful at all about this deal - besides the horror stories I've read about SS and the time frame it takes to get one completed, they seem to be more of a pain in the butt to go through. My motto is, "if it's meant to be, it's meant to be!" Thanks again!

Hi Karen, thanks for the answers! I potted in a mix of Black Gold All Purpose Organic Potting Soil, a little more perlite and a little orchid bark mix. I copied the ingredients below for you- is this a mix that you would recommend? The black gold says it’s a combo of: Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss, Composted or Aged Bark, Compost, Earthworm Castings, RESiLIENCE®, Horticultural Grade Perlite, Pumice, or Cinders, Organic Grade Fertilizer The better gro orchid bark mix says its a combo of: Dynamic combination of western fir bark, hardwood charcoal and sponge rock specifically formulated by a team of highly trained orchid growers I’m glad the pink is most likely nothing! I googled so long and nothing came up. I was looking at propagating in Case things went south, but Since it looks healthy I can definitely hold off. The Aerial roots make sense then! There are so many, and it’s hard to see them on others’ pictures so I wasn’t sure it was normal For general care I’ve read so many websites about Hoyas... So I’ve been watering around every 1.5 weeks when the soil feels dry and the pot feels light. It’s in a south window with cellular shades but hanging so high it’s not in direct sun yet. And I’ve sprayed it twice so far with diluted neem oil so it doesn’t get bugs. I’m in north NJ (I see you’re in ny- hope you’re ready for the nor’easter as well!) so when the spring and summer seasons come do you water your Hoya more often? Or do you still let it dry out fully between? Oh and the cat was not amused it was his feeding time and I was taking pictures of the plant thank you!!

Thanks for that link - I've looked at it over and over (found it when searching myself) and Maddie copied from it, I believe. I realized I was confused because part way down the list, it switches to items allowed from other countries (not the US) and says milk is prohibited: Dairy products cheese: up to 20 kilograms per person Please note that quantities in excess of $20.00 may be subject to high rates of duty. The CBSA is responsible for determining customs and duties for items coming into Canada. These items are not allowed milk milk products (whey, cream, skim milk, butter oil, and so on) in these forms: dried, frozen, reconstituted, or fresh I didn't notice the heading change so was VERY confused! Now I think I have it straight. I tried to follow the link to inside the link to get specific fruit and vegetable info, but it's impossible to use (at least from my Mac). I'll just not spend $10 on organic cherries and risk having to discard them. I'll put some raisins and dried apples in his pack. I realized I'll want to go to the grocery anyway before we leave so I can get some Sultanas and Ketchup flavored potato chips to bring back for my friends!