I don't know about the foundation; from inside the cellar, it looks fine. The water seem to be coming in where the lower wall meets the floor. The walls look solid, but there's no insulation anywhere (attic or between walls). This makes it $$$ to heat in winter.

Main issues realtors have: no grounded electric outlets and antiquated wiring, intense cat pee smell throughout (which I can't detect), papered plaster walls and not drywall, galvanized iron plumbing, damp basement.

Why are there so many viruses? Why do peole create them? Too bad they can't put that energy into doing something useful instead of destructive.

The biggest peeve I have (besides having so much functional obsolence) is that there's no driveway or pull off in front of the house. This confuses people since most don't know where to park on the busy main street of town. The people that live on my block have their driveways coming off the parallel back street, here's an aerial photo of my block.

Are you morally opposed to getting a CC? Yes! Also, I hear that businesses can track your spending habits which I feel should not be public information.

A few years ago, I went on a short vacation with a friend who had made the reservations because she has a credit card. When the time came to pay, she paid for her room with her card and I paid for my room with a check. She was charged an extra 5% because she used her card. That's all I heard on the way home was that she shouldn't have been charged the extra amount because she used a credit card to pay. Is it normal for businesses to tack on a surcharge for using "plastic"?

I never has a credit card, but I'm finding it more and more difficult to function financially. If you go to get insurnace, rent a car or get hotel reservations, the first thing you're asked for is credit card information. It was't like that back in the 60s. When my family went on vacation and needed a place to stay overnight, my dad would just pull into a motel, pay cash and get a room. I took an overnight trip 2 years ago and thought I could do the same (I am not much of a vacationer, so I didn't know the rules have changed). But the guest house at which I had planned to stay demanded a credit card. Fortunately I found logings that would take cash. I also had trouble getting home owners insurance a few years ago because I have no credit score and I have to pay higher premiums and get less coverage because of that. I pay my bills promptly by electronic withdrawl or check or cash. I do not have any debts, so why am I seemingly being punished for not having a credit card?

I haven't been made aware of any physical or mental evaluations. It just seems to me no one wants to have to deal with him. He did not designate me as a "contact" on his instructions for Adult Protective. I am hearing about it though, from a mutual friend who is his contact person. She calls me and vents when they call her about something regarding my uncle. She takes him to doctors appointments and looks in on him occasionally. I tell ner my hands are tied unless he designates me as a contact. I visited him 3 times in the last 6 months and the smell of his apartment would make a garbage collector gag.

My 75 year old uncle recently came under the care of a public health nurse. He lives alone in a small senior apartment. He has very regular habits and will only eat meals between certain specific times, yet will not bathe or change his clothes. He sleeps in a recliner and never leaves his apartment - he has someone to do his shopping and if he need to do banking, he just sends things by mail to the bank with written instructions. A few weeks ago someone called the police because there was such a foul odor coming from his apartment. They discovered him alive, but he had an infection in his feet. He was transported to the hospital, over his vehement protestations that nothing was wrong. He was there a week, but was discharged because he was "non-compliant" (wouldn't let anyone draw blood or give him a bath and would not take any medicine). He went back home and a county nurse was assigned to him. I have now heard that she will not be coming any more because he will not submit to her care regimen. I wanted to know if his visiting nurse can just drop him like that. What would be the best course of action?

I'ts mainly a residentail neighborhood, but there's no zoning within the village limits. You can see a convenience store/gas staion from the front porch. The only thing you can't do here is fire a gun within 500 feet of a residentail building, operate power equipment outdoors between the hours of 11 pm and 6 am, or let your dog bark outdoors more than 10 minutes. One village trustee was vehemently against zoning, saying that it interfered with people's freedom, until a motorcycle repair shop opened next door to her. That's how the noise ordinance came to be. Since my mother passed, I've been working to clean out th house so I can put it on the market. My mom was a collector. She loved buying vintage glassware and china and other things. The spring after she passed, I contacted an auctioneer that was highly recommended to me. However, he took the best wooden furniture and sold it for pennies. He also didn't account for other items he took and returned what he didn't sell in damaged condition. After that, I also tried to contact other estate sellers. Most didn't return my phone calls or emails. The few that did said they unless I have high-end antiques and art, they weren't interested. I was in the process of that when my father's sister passed and the family came after me to clean out her house. Now it's like I'm back at square one. So I've been having 3 or 4 "estate" sales a year out of the house, but it's slow going. People just don't seem to be interested in Victorian style furniture, china and Depression glass. Seems like I'll never get out! Here's an aerial view showing teh immediate neighborhood (red arrow points to my house)..

I've talked to 4 real estate agents, two walked away when they saw wallpaper in every room but the kitchen an bathrooms (I'm still scratching my head about that reaction). One other said I would have to make at least $120K in upgrades before she would even accept it as a listing, and one indicated that I'd not likely get much more for it than my partents paid for it in 1975 ($35K), considering the work needed on it and I have to start cleaning out the "clutter". Now what "clutter" is to him are precious family heirlooms to me. Attached are some interior shots. Here's a little realtoresque blurb I wrote about it: Ten-room Victorian style house – approx. 2500 sq. ft.. Two living rooms with sliding pocket doors, dining room, Florida room, country kitchen, half-bath, a room that could be used for a bedroom, office or den on the first floor and an enclosed back porch comprise the first floor. Four bedrooms and full bath on the second floor. Full walk-up attic with a walk-in cedar closet. The full, unfinished cellar has stonework walls and poured concrete floor. Cellar has two additional rooms, one has washer and dryer hookups and the other could be used for additional storage. In the front is an open L-shaped front porch to sit out in the summer and enjoy the view of the Hudson River between the houses across the street or listen to the local church carillon bells. New roofing in 2001, 2009 and 2013. New boiler furnace in 2011. New breaker box and electric meter in 2013. On ¼ acre historic village lot with mature maple trees. Two-car garage built in 2002 faces the back street. No fireplace. Oil/hot water heating system. Within walking distance to convenience store, town garage and library. Needs extensive TLC (much functional obsolescence – ungrounded wiring and galvanized iron plumbing, for examples).

I am a 62-year-old retired single female that inherited a 117-year-old, 2500 sq ft Victorian house. My dad passed 31 years ago and my mom 7 years ago. In that 24 year interval, mom didn't keep up the maintenance. I am now living in the house and I've already spent thousands trying to rectify dry-rot, rusty plumbing, leaky roofing and other flaws and it seems no matter what, it still looks the same and I have continuous problems. I am just emotionally and financially worn out and yet to sell it would still require extensive modifications to bring things up to "code" or I fear a bank would not approve a mortgage (cash buyers are rare). There are no grounded electric outlets, the exterior is in desperate need of painting and there's always ground water seeping into the unfinished cellar which I fear is contributing to its continuing decline. I've been debating whether to keep throwing my life savings down this money pit and get into the senior apartments or a much smaller, modern house, or try to sell it to someone that has the money to invest in it or can do the work themselves. Opinions appreciated. Thanks.

Are grage sales becoming an old-fashioned way to sell stuff? My mom and I used to have sales and on village-wide sale day, cars would be lining both sides of the street and our front yard would look like St. Pater's Square on Easter morning (slight hyperbole there). This year, it was pathetic considering the advertising I did (Craig's List, Facebook, Ebay, local paper). I think only 5 cars stopped and only 2 people bought anything. Most expected at least 50% off the MARKED price. It was a lot of work for $5! What's happened to the garage sale business in the last 10 years?