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treehugger
ParticipantI have nothing other than voicemails and texts. We have never met the pool service guy in person (his “independent contractor” came to our house to service the pool and I had met him once before, he seemed like a nice enough person…. if not bright?).
How do I check to see if a lien was filed?
The lien is not against the pool builder, it is a claim that we owe pool service company for service. Again, we knew they were coming for 2-3 months, but the days didn’t work, so we declined. We did not know they continued to come nor did we ever have a written contract. We don’t deny we owe them something, but we NEVER received a bill nor did we know a physical address. We were prepared to pay just to get rid of him. Pool service guy kept leaving harassing voicemails and texts and within 2 days of receiving a text reply regarding owe $550 and a po box we received text saying lien filed and to “enjoy”.
Stopped any plans to pay.
My internet research indicates this may not be a ” legitimate” claim, but could still be filed and cause a lot of pain in my a#$!! Also, seems does not require a contractors license to file.
I spoke with my mortgage company and they were very nice (if not a bit confused over the whole thing, as am I) and put a note in my file in case anything shows up.
June 10, 2013 at 11:16 AM in reply to: Calif. utility to retire troubled San Onofre nuclear power plant #762559ParticipantI wonder, do folks understand that they have 60 years to fully close that thing down? Edison leases the land from Camp Pendleton and the lease states something along the lines of the land will be returned as it was found…..
Rumored 1,100 workers to be laid off in the next few months, starting in August. A skeleton crew of 400 will remain (let’s not forget that site must still remain secure 24/7 for the next several decades). These are good paying highly specialized jobs. I have a friend whose husband was informed on Friday he will be losing his job. They currently reside in North County and will relocate within the next few months, hopefully just up to SLO and the El Diablo plant. At what point will the economic impacts to San Diego and Orange County be analyzed? The impacts to environmental/biological, socio-economic, utilities, water quality/resources, recreation, traffic, hazardous material/waste, cultural (yes there is a burial site under there), land use, visual, safety and environmental health, etc… of closing the plant have not even begun to be analyzed, good or bad. The folks who are SOOO excited when they heard SONGS was closing they cried, should demand that analysis in a timely manner.
Desal starting construction in Carlsbad, has been looking for a toe-hold on CPEN.
Might I remind folks that the ONLY reason that 17 miles of mostly open coastline between San Diego and Orange County still exists is because of the United States Marine Corps! Camp Pendleton is home to 16 threatened and endangered species that are thriving because everyone else wants to build houses everywhere! Camp Pendleton is NOT going away and we should be damn happy about that.
END RANT.
ParticipantHad the 4runner washed and waxed yesterday, getting ready to throw it on Craigslist and see if I can sell it for what I want. Debating if I need to go get the 20,000 mile service done (I am at 22,500). Figure, I don’t need to sell it. If I am able to sell for what I want, great, if not great I keep the 4runner not a big deal. I can always buy a 4runner again, not the end of the world.
All roads point to the prius, with 50 mpg average, I did the math that is 2.7 X better than my 4 runner that averages 18.5. We took the tape measure to the dealership when we test drove and they still have lots of room, plus I have so many friends that drive them and love them (I am convincing myself to drink the Kool-aid). The electric vehicles are interesting, especially the Rav4 but still with such limited mileage it hardly seems right. After doing the online research and price game it comes down to whether I want to get the upgraded package with bigger wheels and stuff I don’t understand. My husband thinks it makes the Prius look “sporty” and is worth the upgrade. I am cheap and have a hard time justifying the $2,000 cost for the upgrade.
Have not costed out new vs used, since the incentives seem to be on new right now.
ParticipantTeCKis300 I read about the RAV4 EV, but the $49K price tag was a bit crazy! If I am reading you correctly you received $10k federal and $10k toyota rebates for a total of $20k in rebates and a purchase price of $29k out the door with 0% finacing? Now that is certainly an option.
I have been driving some friends Prius’ and went to the car lots this past weekend. Drove the Jetta TDI, but yes overall cost to drive doesn’t make sense given the higher cost of diesel. I have heard from several that the maintenance costs on Audi is high, but I do like the Audi A3 wagon, but they no longer make them and the dealership was out. Supposedly they will be returning in the near future as a hybrid, that should be interesting!
The Ford Escape no longer comes in a hybrid.
Any more info on the RAV4 EV would be greatly appreciated.
ParticipantVery interesting discussion, lots of good points and some not so….Excursion REALLY? I take no issue with the cargo capacity to carry dogs/kids/toys in my 4Runner other than the gas mileage I love it. I know we should not base our identity on a vehicle, so childish….but I just don’t feel like a sedan kinda person. I think I am very much a mid-size SUV kinda girl.
I would love a TDI SUV; however, the cost is crazy expensive! That is why I was considering the Jetta Wagon. I researched the Audi A3 and the Lexus hybrid and cost to purchase would not make sense over the 4Runner and as I said, overall driving experiance is lost on me, I love the big tank feel of my 4Runner.
Realistically, if I am doing it for gas mileage all roads point to a Prius. The Leaf is interesting theoretically, I just don’t feel society is there yet, maybe another few years, we are building more green technology infrastructure, then the plug in may take off once we are not afraid of running out of juice stuck in traffic with the A/C off on a hot summer day when all the fools are bound for the horse races….Anyway, I have a bunch of friends who own the Prius and they love them. I may justify buying a smaller stand up paddleboard to fit into a Prius. Putting a big 10 ft paddleboard on top of an SUV sucks! I am not sure what the interior dimension of a Prius are am going to reaearch and see if a 9 ft paddleboard would fit.
Thanks for all the input. If anyone knows the interior dimensions of a Prius I am listening (relative to a 9ft board assuming I am alone in the vehicle).
ParticipantI am amazed at the callous and ignorant comments regarding the effects of sequestration. I am one of the tens of thousands of government employees who are facing the furlough and associated pay cuts associated with sequestration. 20% pay cut over the next 6 months.
Not fun.
I am lucky, we live within our means, husband has a good job, and I tend to have a lot of “discretionary” spending that I can stop. I would think that in the big picture that would effect the economy of SD. Thousands of government workers with pay cuts being cautious of going out to eat and other discretionary actions.
I have decided to get a real estate license, since that seems to be where the “respectable” money comes from. Well that and a personal trainer certificate, so I can legitimately kick people’s ass without getting arrested.
ParticipantDo you mind telling who you used? We have an investment condo we need to refi….it is my husband’s condo from before we were married and has solid rental history for ~3 years. I believe the comps finally will allow the LTV (owe $160,000 and comps ~$220,000) to be good enough to refi. He has a 5.25 rate now and it is freaking me out watching how low the rates are.
ParticipantMy family just knows they have a matter of 2-3 days before I freak out (after ingesting large amounts of sugar due to complete lack of self-control on my part) and throw everything away….I have no problem with throwing that trash away. The kids and dogs have fun trick or treating, great, doesn’t mean I let them keep it.
Problem was they would attempt to hide it in their rooms and then discovered the destructive power of 2 very creative weimaraners! We don’t leave food in our rooms anymore.
Da$% those people that bring it into the workplace….
ParticipantWe have basic cable with Netflix and Hulu run through roku and apple TV, pretty much hate the apple TV, roku is way easier to use.
We also have a “media room” with the kids wii hooked up to run everything through, that works pretty well, but I don’t really know how to operate, kids are more tech savvy than I am!
Guess that could be the problem with the apple TV as well, roku just seems simpler to the techie challenged.
ParticipantUpon further research it turns out the the solar system for the pool is just for heating the pool water. It runs the water from the pool through black pipes to heat it up and then pushes the heated water back into the pool while pulling in the cooler water to be heated. Since the cost to heat a pool up may be $100-200/day depending on the time of year and it would extend our pool season, I think we are going to spend the $4,500 to “upgrade”.
Looked at my current SDGE bill and it is only $69.95 ($4.73 gas and $65.22 electric including a $1.50 reduce your use day award). Pretty good for a family of 4 in a 3,000 sqft house. I guess the tankless gas water heater that came with the new house really is efficient. Also, my heater is gas not sure the regular solar would help much there either?
ParticipantTrying to figure out if it is worth it. We are in process of researching a pool, but not sure how the solar helps off-set the cost if the pool/spa heater is gas? From what everyone we have talked with says the new pumps are so efficient they don’t use a lot of electricity. I had thought a pool was expensive, but apparently only if I heat it?
I would really love to embrace alternative energy and think everyone in sunny places should have solar, eventually the economy of scale would make them as realistic for everyone as a normal roof. Unfortunately, it seems it is just some scheme to make money and the installation companies are not out to help me and the environment. Whatever, I am fine with making a buck, but have been unable to really understand the details.
Can anyone explain how it will help off-set the cost of a pool?
ParticipantWell I believe we have settled on gunnite. Surprisingly the fiberglass pools are more expensive. Can’t really understand that, we liked the 2 contractors we interviewed for fiberglass and the shorter installation time, but can’t really justify the cost.
I have been interviewing and researching pool contractors for the last few weeks and have a few bids waiting for the rest. If anyone knows a good one I am still open to suggestions!
Does anybody out there have any knowledge on the different pebble finishes vs plaster?
Stamped concrete vs pavers vs travertine coping (we redid the house with travertine floors, so i had this thought I could match the pool to my house).
ParticipantFire her.
Had a realtor doing that to me and I walked (ok I actually was a chicken, ’cause she was really nice, just really annoying….told her we gave up the home search and were going to rent).
Did my own research and found my house within my budget, in my desired neighborhood, with no help from a realtor. Really not that hard with the internet and iphone apps, I found stalking neighborhoods with my iphone and dog (so I looked innocent) were particularly useful. I used the listing agent and he got both sides of the deal. Served me well as there were several offers and he basically told me what my “highest and best” should be and we won.
ParticipantI have an interesting perspective.
I just sold my house myself, interviewed a lot of realtors who wanted to help me. Then went on the hunt for a home and went through a lot of realtors who told me “I had to buy now”.We are currently in escrow, in the neighborhood I have been stalking for years! I watched the house go to foreclosure then stalked it until the realtor was attached, then went after him. In this case we went round and round and eventually went to a “highest and best”. Due to my realtor also being the listing agent he had the inside scoop on what I needed to offer. We won. I was told after all this that the house needed termite work to the tune of $4500 and the bank would not pay. The realtor went back to the bank and was able to get them to offset the purchase price that amount. Also no home warrenty from bank owned. I kinda hinted to realtor that he was making both sides of the deal and he should kick in for the waranty (less than $400) he didn’t seem to want to. So we want the house and are proceeding, but don’t think I would ever recommend this realtor to anyone else.
Me being me yesterday saw a house I had chased and lost as a shortsale (same neighborhood as i am in escrow) it came back on market yesterday as a flip and I wanted to see what they had done. I called listing agent. He was AWESOME! Fairly young guy, super knowledgeable about all the repairs and upgrades to the house. When we talked price we told him the house was fantastic, but probably a little out of our comfort zone. he was emphatic he would do whatever he needed to make it happen if we decided to move forward. We were his clients now and he was going to look out for us, even if it meant giving up a few thousand of his commission. I actually left him and felt guilty for not buying from him, I really wanted to!
I believe we would not be in escrow on a house we are super excited about if I had not used the listing agent….but wow, the guy yesterday willing to go the extra mile was impressive!
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