One Happy Mom!

The property in question is in Virginia. The tenants are about to be evicted. They aren't the nicest of people, and I fear they may damage my property. I live out of state, so a property manager handles just about everything. If they destroy my house, can I press criminal charges?

I was looking into buying a condo to use as a rental property, but I found out that the Condo Association is "under water" and the pool hasn't been opened in 2 years! The fees are $285 a month plus a "special assessment" of $85 per month...so that's $370 a month for ZERO amenities! How can they continue to collect and raise fees on their homeowners, but provide no amenities? They are "under water" because of foreclosures in the area which means people didn't pay dues. It seems they are putting it all on the backs of those who are current homeowners and on time with dues.

Can someone give me an example of the 203(k) loan process? For example, I am looking at a property that is for sale at $14,900 that needs a total rehab. Would the loan cover costs for repairs? After repairs are made, how is the new mortgage determined?

Hello. What if someone wants to buy my home above fair market value in this down economy? Here's the situation: the owner owns an older home and is looking for something newer. My home is newer and we are looking for something older and outside an HOA. The homes are similar in value and size, but the other owner has lots if equity since they bought a long time ago. We are considering swapping homes...this means that we purchase the older home if they agree to purchase our newer home. Our home would be priced a little higher than current fair market value because of what we owe on the mortgage. If the other owner is okay with paying the price we ask, can we go forward with a sale...or is there some legal issue or law saying we have to sell at fair market value? The way we see it, this is a situation where the other owners and I can help each other out. Thanks for reading and any advice or thoughts you may offer.

Thanks for reading! We are looking to swap our current 3 bedroom home AND our rental property (condo) for a larger single family home. I put an ad on craigslist and actually got several hits from people looking to downsize. My question is: is a permanent home swap like this viable if all homes involved have mortgages? How could this be done (if possible) without a realtor (I.e. using a lawyer or title company instead). Have any of you had success with a permanent swap? Thank you for your time.

I know this may sound ridiculous, but I am 27 and have always wanted a medical career. I went to college and got a bachelor's in math. When I graduated, I got accepted into a top-notch graduate school and got a master's in math. Yet, my desire has always been to pursue a medical career. I am now married with a toddler and maybe another baby on the way. Am I too old to even think about pursuing a career as a Physician's Assistant? I have about 1-2 years of prerequisites to complete. Thanks for reading.

Hello. I have a cat that will ONLY eat fishy flavored Fancy Feast food such as savory salmon or flaked fish and shrimp. I read somewhere that too much fish is bad for kitty. I've tried other chicken and turkey flavors and he won't eat them. Is it bad to feed him the fish flavors all the time? (None of my cats like any of the beef flavors).

Do you live in a town that's ravaged by foreclosure? How does this affect your child's school and your community? I'm just curious because we're planning on relocating to Orlando from VA and it seems there are tons of foreclosures in that area. Thanks.

My husband has spent nearly all of his life in Virginia. His parents and extended family are all here. I moved to VA about 11 years ago and my dad retired out of the military here. My husband is interested in a change...meaning moving to Orlando because there is a school there where he wants to pursue his PhD. Both our jobs have agreed to transferring us, so we won't have to look for new employment. We will have to sell our home though (possibly for a loss). We have a 1 year old daughter and both grandparents enjoy seeing her frequently. Have any of you ever moved away from family with a small child after living so close to them for a long time? Are we wrong for wanting to partake in this "adventure?" Do any of you ever regret moving far away from your family with small children? Any of your life experiences or advice will be greatly appreciated! =)

Our home was built in 2006 with an irrigation system. The home sat for 2 years until we bought in October 2008. The sprinkler system was under a 2 year warranty, but no one lived or owned the house. The system now has an electrical problem, and the company says it's no longer under warranty. We only owned the house for about 1.5 years. How can they implement a warranty on the system knowing that no one owned the house at the time? That just doesn't seem fair. Now they want to charge us $65/hr for several hours plus parts. I contacted the home builder and they said they can't help us. Are we just going to have to suck it up and pay? I just don't understand how a warranty can be placed when no one owned the house. No one could run the system under normal use to identify any problems. Help!

Hi everyone! My precious angel sleeps about 8 hours at night in her crib (8:30pm - 4:30am). However, hubby and I don't get up for work until 6am. We've tried putting her to bed a little later, but it doesn't help! She wakes between 3:30 and 4:30am and won't go back to sleep in her crib. So...I put her in bed with us, or fall asleep on the couch with her. Does anyone have any ideas or suggestions on what we can do? Is it bad that I bring her to the bed or couch with us? She just started doing this a couple of days ago and just started sleeping in her own crib about a month ago. We co-slept before. Thanks!

I have an orange LG Env that I plan on selling. However, I don't want my personal info to remain on the phone. Is it sufficient to restore the phone to factory settings to ensure my personal data is gone? Thanks.

Hello! My daughter is 6 months old and will not sleep in her crib. We moved her into her own room and crib at 2 months old and she had no problems until she caught a cold at 5 months and began teething. Now, she absolutely refuses to sleep in her crib! As soon as we lay her down, she opens her eyes and begins a screaming fit! We've tried the following:

*giving her a warm bottle with baby oatmeal cereal to lull her to sleep

*adjusting the temperature in her room to make sure it's comfortable

*I've even slept on the floor in her room next to her crib

*I wrapped a shirt of mine in between the bars of her crib so she could "smell" it and think I am near

*We let her cry it out (even though I'm not a fan of the CIO method) for 45 mintues and she didn't even stop crying for a second.

I don't know what else to do! After we let her CIO, my hubby laid her in the bed between us and within seconds, she was snoring! She has no problem sleeping at the babysitter's place, but refuses to sleep in her crib at home. I think she just wants to be next to mommy! =) Hubby and I don't mind cosleeping, but we'd prefer she sleep in her own bed. Her crib is too heavy to move into our room. Are there any other good ideas out there that I can try?

Thanks! =)

Have a very nice 5 bedroom house with all the perks such as a huge yard, hardwood floors, sunroom, lots of space, swimming pool, etc. (with a mortgage), or have a small 3 bedroom home that's paid for?

Hi everyone. I am the proud momma of an 8 day old baby girl. She's our first. My plan was to exclusively breastfeed once she was born. Due to complications for both of us, I couldn't start until the next day. After bouts of bad latching, I endured a lot of nipple pain. (I saw a lactation specialist several times during our week-long hospital stay). I finally got her to latch correctly and feed with minimal to no pain.

Last night, none of us got any sleep. Everytime I fed her from the boob, she would eat for a while and then fall asleep. I would lay her down in the bassinet next to my bed and she would instantly cry (she's swaddled too). I spent part of the night sleeping upright with her in my arms for a few hours. I don't want to make that a habit because I am afraid I will drop her. She also never seems satisfied with just breastfeeding, so I supplement with more pump breastmilk via a bottle. This is probably the cause of my next problem

This morning, she keeps rejecting my boobs. I know she's got to be hungry. I don't want to cave and give her a bottle again. She's been home five days and has had maybe a total of 6 bottles (at about 2oz each) and lots of breast time.

She's finally sleeping now that it's 7am. I am sitting up in my bed and have her lying beside my thigh. She's knocked out! I guess she just wanted to be close to me. If you moms could please provide some tips and words of encouragement, I would greatly appreciate it. I feel like a total failure right now and I've been crying my eyes out everyday since I've been home.

PS: My husband is such a good support person in all of this, but I still feel like a complete failure.

Hello everyone! My husband and I are expecting our first baby (a girl) on or around May 1. I will be on paid maternity leave for 6-8 weeks and then using 6 weeks of my vacation time on top of that for a total of about 3 months home with our new baby girl. I'm struggling with wanting to be a SAHM and also wanting to work. I'm the primary breadwinner in our home and I love my job. My husband has a great job too. We have considered relocating from Virginia to FL or NC (where cost of living is lower) to be able to afford for me to stay at home. With the state of the economy, there's no way I'd feel comfortable giving up my job and I am not even sure I am the type of woman who wants to stay home! My question is, can I be a good mother and still work full time? (My mom didn't start working until my youngest brother started school). I'm afraid of my baby girl growing more attached to her nanny than to me. My job is completely flexible as well. I can choose to work from home whenever I want and my employer stands behind a good work-life balance. Has anyone else struggled with this? What did you decide to do?

Thanks! =)

Hi everyone. I'm almost 8 months pregnant and due in May. My half-sister is getting married. The original date was in September and she just moved it up to July. I just found out this Monday that she chose dresses and we have to submit sizes and the deposit tomorrow! I have no idea what size I will be after I give birth...and most women know that those types of dresses come in varying sizes. I have bridesmaids dresses that range from size 8-14 (I was an 8 pre-pregnancy). I just found out a couple of weeks ago the wedding was moved to July. I've been coordinating with her maid of honor about dresses, and today I got an email from my sister saying (politely) that she understands this is all short notice and that I have no clue what size I will be and that if I didn't feel up to participating in her wedding, that was fine with her. She said my presence is enough, whether or not I am in the wedding party. Is it wrong for me to not participate as a bridesmaid? My younger sister will be a bridesmaid as well. Thoughts?

Thanks in advance.

Hello! I have a question that I'm hoping someone here can help me with. I have a retirement plan with my company. My retirement contributions are in two pots: one with Fidelity and one with TIAA CREF. The one with TIAA CREF is our required contributions to our retirement (company matched). My contribution to Fidelity is a Roth and is a voluntary contribution (also matched). What do I need to put into Turbo Tax to make sure these are all covered?

Thanks in advance.

Hello! I will have my 20 week ultrasound next Friday and I am super excited! My husband's parents want to come...not really sure how comfortable I'd feel with them in the room. Anyway, what kind of ultrasound will they do (i.e. vaginal or not)? If they are doing a vaginal ultrasound, I definitely don't want my in-laws in the room while I have no pants or underwear on! I feel like this is a private event for my husband and me. So...what can I expect at this ultrasound?

Thanks for your time! =)

Good morning! I have a slight issue here and I wanted to get your opinions and some suggestions on how to handle it. My husband and I are truly blessed to have great jobs and we manage our finances well. My brother-in-law always makes snide comments to us about money. Just yesterday, he told his young daughter to come over and say hi to us because we have money to get her good Christmas presents (the daughter is 10 months old and just started walking). I was blown away at the comment, but just ignored it. I also thought my pregnancy hormones got the best of me! We're moving into another home in a week and putting our current home up for rent. We secured a tenant fairly quickly and things have just been falling into place for us. My brother-in-law said he won't help us move. Once again, I think it's sheer jealousy because he wants a bigger home.

So, am I being over-sensitive or do I have the right to feel the way I do? He treats us like we act like we're better than everybody else and we don't act like that. Trust me, if we did, my sister would let us know! LOL. We're humble and don't live lavishly. So...how can my husband and me handle situations like this when they arise again (as they are sure to)? I'm afraid that his rude comments will rub off on his daughter and she'll feel that way about us too.

Thanks in advance! Have a great day!