Rhianna, that was two years ago. LOL!! I don't even remember this. Wouldn't ot be nice to hear from the person who received these just to know how they were doing? Wow! You're in luck, though. I have since moved to the Caribbean (US) and can actually offer you pups from the same types of plants. Where are you? I.can only ship within the US. I have a variety of cactus & sicculents. Please look at my exchange list under my profile and PM me, OK? I'll be happy to send a little of this & that if that's what you are looking for. - Maria Elena

I think that buying a 'fix up' old home is an issue in which the most important factor is whether you can be totally honest with yourself before making the commitment. Almost every home, regardless of its condition, is do-able, as long as you have the skills or can purchase them, and the money. The only real deal breakers are your own resources, or lack of them. 20K is a very, very small working budget in the real world. It can go far if you have had a lot of experience in rehabbing, and a lot of skills, and find a unit where there are no major issues. I 'fixed up' an investment house and sold it, having a working budget of slightly less than that. This home had decent cabinets, decent roof, full/dry basement with excellent foundation, all decent windows with storms and screens, decent exterior with newer siding, salvageable plumbing fixtures, new wiring. I had to replace the heating units, hot water heater, install gutters and spouts, clean....clean.....clean, work plaster, paint, carpet and lay vinyl, replace damaged interior doors, tile tub surround, fix leaks in plumbing, install some interior light fixtures and landscape, and bring some stuff up to code. That's about what 20K will get you, if you do most of the work youself. When you do decide to make an offer on ANY older home with the intention of fixing it up, unless you can jockey up the price in cash..........your lender will be inspecting the house, and after that, if approved, your homeowner's insurance company. You may also get a visit from a code inspector, a gas inspector, an inspector from other utility companies. I can tell you it is a lot better to have those done 'before the fact' than after the purchase. In the best case scenario, you walk away unscathed, a little wiser. In the worst case scenario, you could face a break-the-bank repair before you can even move in.

Hi "mary md7", Please read my blog post and my intent and what I'm asking of Ryland Homes will come crystal clear. I'm not looking to make money, but something needs to be done to protect consumers from a lot of stress and aggravation when they are looking to enjoy their new home. Ryland Homes response to my BBB complaint made me say: "I take that to mean that Ryland Homes believes that what happened to my wife and I was "normal", and that all homebuyers should expect that 100 plus problems can happen during their first year warranty!" Hi rockmanor, Please read my blog post and my intent and what I'm asking will come crystal clear. Rather than getting angry, or asking for selfish compensation from my builder, I want to help them. To answer your question: "Does this mean there was not a full blown, multi-hour thorough inspection by a certified inspector hired by the OP?", that is correct. I could not have put off COE anyway, unless I wanted to spend a lot of money on motels and storage fees. Many people are caught in that same dilema, and the builders know it. The initial "Punch List" was about 60 problems, and the rest were discovered as we lived in the house. Many new home buyers, IMO, are caught between a "rock and a hard place" when it comes to a decision of putting off COE until all known(at the time) problems are fixed. Finally, the real point of the post is what I asked to begin with = "Was it OK for Ryland Homes to fix 100 + things wrong with my new home over a stressful year that wasted a lot of my time?" I'm curious how the professionals here feel about the tract home building industry's attitude about sometimes delivering "Cleaner Upper' & 'Fixer Upper" new homes at COE? I personally don't think it is good for the building industry, Realtors (I used to be one), lenders, escrow agents, or anyone associated with the buying and selling of homes. The bottom line is that the more new home buyers, especially Baby Boomers, are afraid to buy a new tract home (at any price), the more they'll stay put where they are, or buy a resale home. In both cases, the overall buying and selling activity could be reduced. Customer service standards for tract home builders need to be raised like the National Association of Home Builders is trying to do with its "NHQ Certified Builder Program" (See Link Below). Here is a link that might be useful: NHQ Certified Builder Program

A few months ago, we finished our renovation of our "fixer upper". We intended to do what you wanted to do...get a construction loan and use the equity of our old house to pay what the loan wouldn't cover. I'm a professional designer with many wholesale accounts, for everything from cabinets to countertops to plumbing to lighting fixtures. My husband is a contractor and carpenter for thirty years. We found a house and were able to get it for under market value (The homeowner did not want to sell it to a builder. He was offered more, but sold it to us for less because we told him we were going to remodel it.) It was a ranch and we intended to add a topper to it. It would go from 1100 sqft to 2200 sqft. We designed the inside and out ourselves and used an architect we've worked with for years to draft up the final plans for permit. All of these perks cut our costs by about 30-40%. Sounds like a slam dunk, right? Not so fast... First, the paperwork just to get the loan. It took months to finalize it, and during that time, we couldn't demo the house. So we paid two mortgages on it while nothing happened. At one point, I was so frustrated I tried selling the property to someone else. Second, the appraisal of the plans. This appraisal came in well over $100k under what we knew this home should be valued. And there's nothing you can do about that. A low appraisal meant that we had to bring over tens of thousands of dollars to the closing, just to get the loan for the rest. They did not care about the equity in our current house. It only factored into our approval, not the amount we received. Do NOT assume you will get everything you need from the bank. Third, the documents required for each draw. Our experience gave us the ability to price the cost of this construction to the dime. We were able to get our quotes and estimates up front, because we knew our contractors and vendors and had our materials selected early. I cannot underestimate the amount of work, communication, time and diligence this required. Thankfully, one of my employees is a notary, so this also helped a lot when it came time to put in for the draws. Also, you have to pay for many things up front, and then get reimbursed at the draw. So you MUST have the cash to do this. Fourth, the timeline. Our contractors were mostly people we have worked with for years. And even with this history, we had to wait weeks for some of them to be available. Delays happen, even with an experienced crew. Fifth, sh*t happens. Again and again. Even professionals are not immune to problems that will always come up. Materials arrived damaged, were backordered, were not constructed to specifications, etc. We knew how to handle these issues efficiently, but no amount of experience can prevent mistakes made by people other than you. In the end, we passed every inspection on the first try and have a great house. The final appraisal came in $50k over the cost of the house and renovation. We made money. Yay. But remember how I said we were able to complete this remodel for 30-40% less than the average person? If you are not the contractor, do NOT think you will make any money on this endeavor. For me, I can now finally say I'm happy I didn't sell it before we got started. I hope this helps! Before and After below...