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pros? cons?

I rent a room from a lady in a two bedroom apt. well i went on vacation and left my two cats behind. I was leaving for 4 days and had a friend come over to check on them. I left the tv on low and a little night light on for them. well my landlord lady called to tell me i left my tv on and light on and i told her yeah i left it on for my cats. and shes like alright ok. well i came back and everything was turned off in my room. I drink a lot of water and didnt have time to take my water bottles out of my room before i left and she went in my room and took all them out and told me she wasnt sure what i wanted to do with them. i was a little shocked she went into my private room not only went in there but turned off my stuff i told her to leave on and then removed stuff from my room. Its not like i live there for free i pay A LOT of rent for no privacy. Do you think she crossed the line?

Will prices drop a bit more during quarter 1 2009? Low prices and apr's are pros. What are the cons? This will be my first house purchase and want to hear opinions from people like you not from banks or biased realtors.

I posted this question last night and only got one answer. Sorry if my questions are getting on your nerves (haha... I've posted a lot since yesterday). Buying first house. Our price range is getting us a beautiful house that is kind of near the scary, ghetto part of town. We'd like to get some kind of security system even if it is just an annoying siren that would scare away an intruder. The house we're interested in is 1,057 sq ft all on one floor. There is a front door & a back door that goes out onto the deck. There are 6 windows. Can anyone share their home security stories with me? And if you could tell me how much yours is a month and all, that could be great! http://s244.photobucket.com/albums/gg27/bluemidnighttt/ Here's the sex offender list near the house: http://familywatchdog.us/ShowMap.asp?frm=0 It seems like a lot, but I'm from Baltimore, so it's not 1/7th as bad as it was up there. it's the nicest home/area we can afford. The sex offender thing didn't work... Oh well. Only an idiot would have the "nothing bad will ever happen to me attitude". I'm not scared. But on the other hand, I know something could happen (no matter where I live). We live in an apartment now & I'm used to having neighbors who watch out for each other (and who would try to rob an apartment? lol) My parents' house in a nice, PA suburb was broken into when I was 12 and my college dorm was as well. So the thought is always with me.

I'm a recent college grad (2 years out) with a pretty great job. I live in NJ and never really considered purchasing a home... at least not for a few years. Over the holidays, I realized that I qualify for a VA loan... which would mean that I could get a home loan with no down payment, and not have to pay PMI... so now purchasing is a viable option (especially with the rent prices in NJ/Philly). So... as a guy who has done nothing but rent... I have no idea what else to consider before applying for a loan. What other additional costs are associated with home ownership? I'm used to a rent check going out the door every month, and that's it. I know I'd have to consider all repairs and such... but what else? Property taxes? Clueless. Do you pay them all in one lump sum each year? Are they calculated based on your area/home value..? I'm a financial analyst... so anyone who can give me a heads-up on the overall financial impact, I'd be able to follow along.

I rent a house. There is a pine tree that has been dying since before I moved in on the property. Two weeks ago we had a winter storm - freezing rain, below zero temps, wind gusts 30-40 mph. Well, this tree fell over and took out a couple fence panels and the top of the tree landed on my vehicle. It has produced 4 or 5 dings on the hood. My landlord had someone come over and chop up the tree and replace the fence panels. However, he is telling me that the vehicle repair he is not liable for because the tree wasn't dead, and there was no negligence on his part for not having the tree cut down to begin with. And that it will be my responsiblity to pay for the car repair. Is that true? Wouldn't he have insurance to cover it? Why did he repair the fence if he wasn't liable? BTW, landlord is also my insurance agent, so you see it's sticky! Thanks for any insight you can provide me.

How/what do I charge for a tenant leaving the yard with holes that the dog dug? I have their security deposit plus and additioanl pet deposit but don;t know how much to keep. The only real problems with the property are the holes in the yard and grease oil stains in the garage and driveway. How do I determine how much to charge them? Thank you very kindly for your help.

My husband and I are buying our first home. Of course the minute I mentioned it to my grandpa, he was all, "I'll drive up tomorrow to inspect it!" He's more excited about it than we are haha. The realtor said comprable homes on surrounding streets go for $73-91K. The one we want is $75. Does the re-sale later sound hopeful? I'm feeling good about it, but I want other peoples' opinions. I couldn't get good pics of the outside b/c it was getting dark & they turned out weird. We've been by a dozen times in the daytime. it has new siding but original roof & windows (from 1991). The water heater is pretty new (2007). The one thing we noticed is that it does not have a spot for a dishwasher, but I guess we could just give up one cabinet for that. It also doesn't come with a fridge. We have our own washer & dryer (new). What offer should we start with? Our families are saying $69,500 to $71,000. I think 69 is too low. http://s244.photobucket.com/albums/gg27/bluemidnighttt/