University of Maryland Class of 2010 part 01

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Dr.Mario said:
Guys, I almost went freakin nuts looking at apartments today. I really liked Redwood Towers but I really can't afford to live there (I'll be living by myself). Centerpoint said to call them back when it gets closer to my preferred move-in date (August 1). Marlboro/Redwood Square was ok. Paying for parking is going to suck no matter what building ($110-$135/mo.). And I have a cat...I actually have to pay like $30-35/mo plus at some places a couple hundred dollar deposit (which, at one place, was not refundable!).

🙁 I'm not going to med school anymore. I mean, tuition is bad enough, I just didn't think it'd add up to be this expensive living in Baltimore...

Sorry for the long post of whining. 🙁
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If you would like some advice from someone who has lived in baltimore city for several years, here you go. If you haven't already, take a look in the City Paper (avail on most street corners, in the yellow box). This will give you a chance to find private landlords, who often times are much more reasonable than the types of buildings that you have mentioned. There are several nice neighborhoods just a couple of stops away from UMB both on the light rail and bus line if you would like to not morry about parking costs at school. I live in MT. Vernon and it takes me about 10 min. to get there on the the light rail. We have street parking, so we don't have to worry about parking in a garage either.Hope this helps with your worries.
 
Stagger Lee said:
If you would like some advice from someone who has lived in baltimore city for several years, here you go. If you haven't already, take a look in the City Paper (avail on most street corners, in the yellow box). This will give you a chance to find private landlords, who often times are much more reasonable than the types of buildings that you have mentioned. There are several nice neighborhoods just a couple of stops away from UMB both on the light rail and bus line if you would like to not morry about parking costs at school. I live in MT. Vernon and it takes me about 10 min. to get there on the the light rail. We have street parking, so we don't have to worry about parking in a garage either.Hope this helps with your worries.
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I am only asking for my roommate to cover 1/2 of my mortgage, which means that he/she will be paying me between $625-$700/mo, depending on what this property ends up being classified as 🙄

But, anyway, my point is that you should totally look at private homes renting rooms. I think that my price is EXTREMELY competitive, given that they will technically be renting a 1-br apartment, and there are tons of amenities, including their own parking space in my 2-car garage. The 1-brs in buildings like the Redwood, University Suites, etc. were ALL over $1000/mo, and that's if any of them were available (they almost exclusively were not.), and that doesn't even include parking. So, it's either share a 2br/1ba with a roommate for $800-ish a month, not including parking either, or find a comparable room in a house somewhere for a fraction of that price.

Granted, I plan to ask my rooommate to cover half of the utilities, but I think it'll still end up being significantly less than paying for a comparable room in one of those posh towers.
 
PS:

LS, your husband told me that you had looked at the interactive crime stats map. Did you see the 4/11/06 murder on the 1200 block of Glyndon? I think we looked at a couple of houses there! According to the map, it was at a hospital/nursing home!

The same map said that there was an aggravated assault a block away from my potential home on 4/16. 😱

This map is rather sobering...you should all check it out.

http://141.157.54.34/bpdmaps/police.htm
 
LadyWolverine said:
PS:

LS, your husband told me that you had looked at the interactive crime stats map. Did you see the 4/11/06 murder on the 1200 block of Glyndon? I think we looked at a couple of houses there! According to the map, it was at a hospital/nursing home!

The same map said that there was an aggravated assault a block away from my potential home on 4/16. 😱

This map is rather sobering...you should all check it out.

http://141.157.54.34/bpdmaps/police.htm
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Yes, I did look at it a few days ago. I was a little concerned when I put in 218 S. Calhoun and saw the "murder" cross right on top of the yellow star denoting our future property. If you zoom in it looks like it happened next door. But I'm not overly concerned, in that a)I have lived in some really crappy places b)The house has a security system already installed and c)I felt safe there during the day and don't plan on being outside alone at night. I mean, the fact is plain that B-more has a crack problem. Everyone knows that. And a lot of the assaults etc that go on have to do with that. So for me, bottom line is that I know I'm not moving to the suburbs, but that I can minimize risk by just beig smart. Also, one of the things I like about this property is that it is in an area that the campus caravan operates. http://www.umaryland.edu/student/transportation.html So if I decide to bike or walk to campus, I think I can get the caravan to take me home if it is after dark.
 
LucidSplash said:
Yes, I did look at it a few days ago. I was a little concerned when I put in 218 S. Calhoun and saw the "murder" cross right on top of the yellow star denoting our future property. If you zoom in it looks like it happened next door. But I'm not overly concerned, in that a)I have lived in some really crappy places b)The house has a security system already installed and c)I felt safe there during the day and don't plan on being outside alone at night. I mean, the fact is plain that B-more has a crack problem. Everyone knows that. And a lot of the assaults etc that go on have to do with that. So for me, bottom line is that I know I'm not moving to the suburbs, but that I can minimize risk by just beig smart. Also, one of the things I like about this property is that it is in an area that the campus caravan operates. http://www.umaryland.edu/student/transportation.html So if I decide to bike or walk to campus, I think I can get the caravan to take me home if it is after dark.
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Also, you can all come take taekwondo with me. 🙂
 
LadyWolverine said:
Geez, it's not like we have a test EVERY Monday, right? There are like 3 weeks in between each set! That leaves plenty of time to go drinking! Plus, if we are done with the exam no later than 5pm, then we can get to the bar at 5:30, which gives us at least a solid 5 hours of hardcore glass-pounding before we even have to think about crawling back to our beds in order to wake up in good shape for 8am lecture the next morning. Or, we could just skip lecture due to the massive hangover and just go to the afternoon session in our pajamas. Maybe one of the clinical skills that we can learn early is how to give each other a normal saline IV. That should significantly decrease recovery time.

OK, I'm seriously not this sad.
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Its sooo much more than drinking for me. I plan on working doubles on weekends, so the weekend b4 an exam, I'm losing 32 hours of earnings. Trust me when I say...I need that money. But 1 exam every month or so works out really well
 
Cozmosis said:
On a side note, supa, is your nick from the PJs?
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Nah, it's my DJ name from back in the day. Damn I miss those turntables
 
LadyWolverine said:
depending on what this property ends up being classified as 🙄
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LW, Greg was telling me about some of the drama going on with this. 🙁 Yikes! Don't worry, it will all get worked out somehow. 😳 I know Greg is doing everything he can to get this thing going smoothly again.

But I feel bad that we are snatching up your second choice. 🙁
 
LadyWolverine said:
PS:

The same map said that there was an aggravated assault a block away from my potential home on 4/16. 😱
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I would take those aggravated assaults with a grain of salt....many are probably just from 2 individuals who got into a fight, as opposed to a random beating (particularly if there is a bar nearby, because we all know how drunk people love to fight each other).
 
Cozmosis said:
And damn, 32 hr weekends working? I'm not even messing with trying to work during school.
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I hear that. There's talk of me doing like 5 hours a week with my company for awhile, but by telecommuting and nothing that requires brain power. But I nothing will be definite until after I've had a few weeks at school to get into a routine - and after I see what they will offer me 🙂. Supa must be superman. 🙂
 
LucidSplash said:
I hear that. There's talk of me doing like 5 hours a week with my company for awhile, but by telecommuting and nothing that requires brain power. But I nothing will be definite until after I've had a few weeks at school to get into a routine - and after I see what they will offer me 🙂. Supa must be superman. 🙂
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Supa is short for superman...you're good
 
Cozmosis said:
So I take it you still don't spin?
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Nah I gave it up for a 9 to 5. Or should I say an 8am to 9pm
 
LucidSplash said:
LW, Greg was telling me about some of the drama going on with this. 🙁 Yikes! Don't worry, it will all get worked out somehow. 😳 I know Greg is doing everything he can to get this thing going smoothly again.

But I feel bad that we are snatching up your second choice. 🙁
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Yeah, I was pretty frickin upset yesterday, and kinda lost my temper a couple of times. But I went home, had a beer, and vegged for a minute, and that did the trick. I just feel really attached to this place now (you'll start to feel the same way about your house), and I don't appreciate communication failures that result in unexpected surprises that end up costing me more $$. Especially not this late in the game. Greg's doing a great job of handling his end of the deal...I'm glad to have him on my side.

And, although I appreciate the concern, you shouldn't feel bad. If you hadn't taken it, someone else would have. All's fair in love and homebuying. And my first choice is my first choice for a reason - because this property is the best place for my situation, and I really want to live there and not settle for anything else.

I'm actually really happy that you guys are moving to Calhoun, instead of someone else that I don't know. This way, I can hang out in your awesome kitchen/dining room area. That strip that separates the kitchen from the dining area would make a fantastic bar. 🙂
 
supa said:
Its sooo much more than drinking for me. I plan on working doubles on weekends, so the weekend b4 an exam, I'm losing 32 hours of earnings. Trust me when I say...I need that money. But 1 exam every month or so works out really well
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supa, we haven't even started class yet, and you've already managed to make me feel like an underachiever 🙁
 
LadyWolverine said:
supa, we haven't even started class yet, and you've already managed to make me feel like an underachiever 🙁
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Trust me when I say I work because I have to, not because I want to.
And I'm jealous that everyone has a house, and I can't find one. Well at least one that I can afford. The cheapest I found was $340,000 in Randallstown
 
LadyWolverine said:
I'm actually really happy that you guys are moving to Calhoun, instead of someone else that I don't know. This way, I can hang out in your awesome kitchen/dining room area. That strip that separates the kitchen from the dining area would make a fantastic bar. 🙂
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Definitely! And yeah, I already told Greg he could keep all the alcohol under the counter there. We actually own a stand alone bar but I don't think is room enough for it there, so it'll have to get stored in the basement.
 
supa said:
Trust me when I say I work because I have to, not because I want to.
And I'm jealous that everyone has a house, and I can't find one. Well at least one that I can afford. The cheapest I found was $340,000 in Randallstown
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Supa, you must not be looking in the right place. I looked at 8 houses under 200k (most between 150k and 175k) this past weekend. They are there, and there are some good ones (although some really really bad ones too).

Out of curiousity, why do you have to work? You don't have to tell us if you don't want to. I'm just curious because I know that even with my husband's income and a high EFC, I got the max amount in federal loans and I could take out some of those health plus loans if necessary. Even without Greg working, I would have enough to pay tuition and get by so its hard for me to imagine a situation where I needed to work.
 
LucidSplash said:
We actually own a stand alone bar but I don't think is room enough for it there, so it'll have to get stored in the basement.
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Unless, ahem, you would like to "store" it in my downstairs kitchen.

🙂
 
supa said:
And I'm jealous that everyone has a house, and I can't find one. Well at least one that I can afford. The cheapest I found was $340,000 in Randallstown
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supa, you really should talk to LS's husband. He works for a local real estate company and has been a HUGE help to me. And just talking with him won't cost you a cent. He has access to databases that us laypeople don't, and I would almost guarantee that he could find a list of places that fit your price range. He found me 33 places to look at that fit my criteria.

I don't know why anybody would go into this process without an agent. It doesn't really save you anything to try to do it yourself, especially if you don't have any experience (like me).
 
LadyWolverine said:
supa, you really should talk to LS's husband. He works for a local real estate company and has been a HUGE help to me. And just talking with him won't cost you a cent. He has access to databases that us laypeople don't, and I would almost guarantee that he could find a list of places that fit your price range. He found me 33 places to look at that fit my criteria.

I don't know why anybody would go into this process without an agent. It doesn't really save you anything to try to do it yourself, especially if you don't have any experience (like me).
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I had refrained from mentioning it because I really don't want to seem like I am pushing my husband off on my new classmates to make $$. I'm really really not. But he is definitely there for anyone that wants to check him out. Anyone is welcome to PM me to get his contact info if they are interested.

As a buyer, working with an agent usually costs you $0, because the agent's commission is worked into the sales contract in such a way so as the seller pays it. I don't completely understand how it works, but Greg can explain it to you. 🙂
 
LucidSplash said:
Supa, you must not be looking in the right place. I looked at 8 houses under 200k (most between 150k and 175k) this past weekend. They are there, and there are some good ones (although some really really bad ones too).

Out of curiousity, why do you have to work? You don't have to tell us if you don't want to. I'm just curious because I know that even with my husband's income and a high EFC, I got the max amount in federal loans and I could take out some of those health plus loans if necessary. Even without Greg working, I would have enough to pay tuition and get by so its hard for me to imagine a situation where I needed to work.
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I have an agent, but the key thing is that we have a school age child, and a baby on the way and really don't wanna raise our kids in Bmore city. So we're looking out in the county, and also looking at newer type homes, cuz we figure might be less risk of something major needing to be repaired. One thing I hate about Bmore city is that you can live in a relatively nice area, but go a block or so away from your house and you invariably encounter the seedier elements that we're trying to avoid.
My monthly budget was about 5 or 6 thousand so I don't feel comfortable borrowing $50K. But don't get me wrong...if I have to cut back my hours, I will. Nothing is set in stone
 
LucidSplash said:
I had refrained from mentioning it because I really don't want to seem like I am pushing my husband off on my new classmates to make $$. I'm really really not. But he is definitely there for anyone that wants to check him out.
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LOL!! Read this again....LS is a PIMP! Greg needs to get out there on the streets and earn his keep! :laugh:


I'm GLAD you pimped him out in the first place, otherwise I'd probably have strangled someone by now!!
 
supa said:
I have an agent, but the key thing is that we have a school age child, and a baby on the way and really don't wanna raise our kids in Bmore city. So we're looking out in the county, and also looking at newer type homes, cuz we figure might be less risk of something major needing to be repaired. One thing I hate about Bmore city is that you can live in a relatively nice area, but go a block or so away from your house and you invariably encounter the seedier elements that we're trying to avoid.
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Aha....that's the rub. And I don't blame you one bit. I can't imagine having a kid running around in some of these neighborhoods. Still, it seemed that there were some <$200K places within a 2-5 mile radius of campus that were in suburban-type neighborhoods. For example, the neighborhood that my house is in seems relatively safe and there apprears to be lots of younger kids. It's called Morrell Park, and it's only a couple of miles from campus. Check it out. It's technically Baltimore City, and it's not the greatest area in the world, but it certainly seemed safer to me than the area right by the campus. There were lots of cute homes available that would comfortably fit a family of 4. And most had small yards/back porches for your kid to run around in/on.
 
LadyWolverine said:
LOL!! Read this again....LS is a PIMP! Greg needs to get out there on the streets and earn his keep! :laugh:


I'm GLAD you pimped him out in the first place, otherwise I'd probably have strangled someone by now!!
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LOL 😱 - I guess I should watch how I word things on here. 😛
 
supa said:
I have an agent, but the key thing is that we have a school age child, and a baby on the way and really don't wanna raise our kids in Bmore city. So we're looking out in the county, and also looking at newer type homes, cuz we figure might be less risk of something major needing to be repaired. One thing I hate about Bmore city is that you can live in a relatively nice area, but go a block or so away from your house and you invariably encounter the seedier elements that we're trying to avoid.
My monthly budget was about 5 or 6 thousand so I don't feel comfortable borrowing $50K. But don't get me wrong...if I have to cut back my hours, I will. Nothing is set in stone
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Ah, yes. Kids, I hear that as well as the newer place deal. One of the things I like about ours is that it is a complete rehab, new from top to bottom. Basically only the existing exterior structure is not new, but new roof, furnance, hot water heater, A/C, etc. Plus there is a home warranty. So we don't have to worry about that. And with kids, I agree you may want to look near LW - I was looking at a single family home in Morell Park (the infamous blue house) for $160k, but someone bought it out from under me. It obviously wasn't the suburbs, but it looked like a nice little community, not what I like to call a "transition" neighborhood like where my house is.
 
LucidSplash said:
they accepted our offer. Yay!
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WOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

PARTY AT GREG&LS'S HOUSE!!!

We are gonna have to start a "homeowners' club" or something like that, for all us cool homeowning people!! I'm sure it would quickly degenerate into an excuse to drown our home-related sorrows in alcohol, though. 🙂

And LOL at "transition neighborhood." Gotta love euphamisms. It's not that bad, though...maybe it was an ethical murder.
 
LadyWolverine said:
WOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

PARTY AT GREG&LS'S HOUSE!!!

We are gonna have to start a "homeowners' club" or something like that, for all us cool homeowning people!! I'm sure it would quickly degenerate into an excuse to drown our home-related sorrows in alcohol, though. 🙂

And LOL at "transition neighborhood." Gotta love euphamisms. It's not that bad, though...maybe it was an ethical murder.
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:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: 😍
 
LucidSplash said:
Also, LW, they accepted our offer. Yay!
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Congrats homie! Now when is your BBQ going to be?
 
LadyWolverine said:
We are gonna have to start a "homeowners' club" or something like that, for all us cool homeowning people!! I'm sure it would quickly degenerate into an excuse to drown our home-related sorrows in alcohol, though. 🙂
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Hey now...don't get all exclusive. I so desperately want to join that group, but we can't even think about owning a home until Todd gets a job. Can I be an honorary member of your group? I'll own a home someday!
 
SuzieQ3417 said:
Hey now...don't get all exclusive. I so desperately want to join that group, but we can't even think about owning a home until Todd gets a job. Can I be an honorary member of your group? I'll own a home someday!
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Maybe we should just start our own club. ..I've got nothin, how about you?
 
Hey LW,

I was perusing about the UMB housing website and came across your ad. Have you gotten a lot of respones? It sounds like a sweet deal (too bad we need 2 bedrooms!). I thought I would look there before signing a lease for the apartment communities downtown (plus many of them are so much cheaper).
 
SuzieQ3417 said:
Hey LW,

I was perusing about the UMB housing website and came across your ad. Have you gotten a lot of respones? It sounds like a sweet deal (too bad we need 2 bedrooms!). I thought I would look there before signing a lease for the apartment communities downtown (plus many of them are so much cheaper).
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Someone mentioned the Baltimore City paper before, and I thought I'd post the link online for out of towners who are looking at private landlord options as well as apartment complexes. Just thought SQ and others might like the link if you are not familiar with the area.

http://www.zwire.com/site/tab1.cfm?brd=2752
 
SuzieQ3417 said:
Congrats homie! Now when is your BBQ going to be?
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Thanks! We'll figure out a date for a bbq - we'll definitely need to get Greg a grill first (and I do mean Greg - unless you like hamburgers burned on the outside and raw in the middle) or we'll be using the George Forman. LOL. But seriously, we'll try and do one, even if it is in August, after classes have started. I suppose everyone could spare an afternoon on a Saturday a couple weeks into classes without ruining your medschool careers right off the bat 🙂
 
LucidSplash said:
Thanks! We'll figure out a date for a bbq - we'll definitely need to get Greg a grill first (and I do mean Greg - unless you like hamburgers burned on the outside and raw in the middle) or we'll be using the George Forman. LOL. But seriously, we'll try and do one, even if it is in August, after classes have started. I suppose everyone could spare an afternoon on a Saturday a couple weeks into classes without ruining your medschool careers right off the bat 🙂
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It's too bad we're lazy and don't want to move a lot of stuff with us, because we've got a propane grill that we'll be leaving or giving away. Still, if you need more grill power we could always bring over our George Foreman too...we could have a train of them going across your counter.
 
SuzieQ3417 said:
It's too bad we're lazy and don't want to move a lot of stuff with us, because we've got a propane grill that we'll be leaving or giving away. Still, if you need more grill power we could always bring over our George Foreman too...we could have a train of them going across your counter.
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OMG SQ, I just got the funniest mental image, because there's a long counter in the kitchen...I can just picture like 20 George Forman Grills lined up side-by-side with stuff sizzling in them.

OF COURSE you can be in the homeowners club. You and Todd can be honorary members. On one condition - you bring me some of that bbq sauce that you were talking about. The spicier, the better. Yes, I've gotten a lot of responses to my ad already. I think I've heard from 9 or 10 people. Which sounds great, but I don't even actually OWN the place yet, so it's not like I can show it to them. 🙁 But I don't think it's gonna be too tough to rent. Especially with the garage.

I went to the mall the other day (BAD move) and saw the grill that I want. It only costs about $800. Holy crap, I never realized how expensive refrigerators are. And I have to buy 2. Craigslist, here I come!!
 
OK, I know that LS is tired of hearing this from me (I think this is the first thing I said to her when she told me that she saw the house), but can I rave just a little bit more about how much I LOOOOOOOOVE their kitchen??? I never realized before how frickin cool recessed lighting is. It's totally posh.
 
...And it's L-Dub with the triple post!!!

PS: SQ, it's about time for you to get an avatar, my dear. 👍
 
LadyWolverine said:
OMG SQ, I just got the funniest mental image, because there's a long counter in the kitchen...I can just picture like 20 George Forman Grills lined up side-by-side with stuff sizzling in them.

OF COURSE you can be in the homeowners club. You and Todd can be honorary members. On one condition - you bring me some of that bbq sauce that you were talking about. The spicier, the better. Yes, I've gotten a lot of responses to my ad already. I think I've heard from 9 or 10 people. Which sounds great, but I don't even actually OWN the place yet, so it's not like I can show it to them. 🙁 But I don't think it's gonna be too tough to rent. Especially with the garage.

I went to the mall the other day (BAD move) and saw the grill that I want. It only costs about $800. Holy crap, I never realized how expensive refrigerators are. And I have to buy 2. Craigslist, here I come!!
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Sears is having a sale through May 6th. Also, you can save up to 20% by opening up a Sears card. Definitely check out craigslist, but check out sears.com too. There looks to be some really good deals on there. My friend just did her whole kitchen and with the sale and the sear's card savings she put all new appliances in her kitchen for around $1500. At least that's what she told me. Unfortunately, its WAY too soon for us to buy ours. But if you did it on like the last day, I bet they would hold it for you and deliver it after you settle.
 
LadyWolverine said:
OK, I know that LS is tired of hearing this from me (I think this is the first thing I said to her when she told me that she saw the house), but can I rave just a little bit more about how much I LOOOOOOOOVE their kitchen??? I never realized before how frickin cool recessed lighting is. It's totally posh.
Click to expand...

LOL - yes we like the lighting too. Did I tell you Greg already gouged the floor in the living room? He says gouge is too strong a word. But there is now a small hole in the floor in the living room. So I guess it was fate - he marked it as ours when he dropped the housekey from the lockbox which was attached to some heavy metal thing. Our first purchase will be area rugs to protect our poor wood floors.
 
LadyWolverine said:
PS: SQ, it's about time for you to get an avatar, my dear. 👍
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I've never been able to resist peer pressure.

<----- how do you like it? Too cheesy? (my current school's mascot is a tiger, so I thought it might be appropriate)
 
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