Don

Didn't get the house. Offered a fair amount over list, but couldn't go much higher if it was gonna appraise out right for everything to work. Guessing they got a better cash offer. Inventory isn't really a problem here as much as quality inventory is. Beautiful, cheap homes in crap neighborhoods sit on the market forever; but anything well-maintained in a decent area sells in under 24 hours. And those of us that have to finance a place are kinda stuck between a rock and a hard place. Or that's my perception at least, given what I've seen the last few months.

Made an offer on another place today. Just got listed this afternoon. Was one of several offers.

In certain parts of Kansas this is what everyone thinks of as normal potato salad.

Not this last Saturday, but the Saturday before.... 97-99ish all day. Completely still and very humid. Just miserable. Then around 9PM, the temp dropped by about 20 degrees in 20 minutes, we got hit by what I'm pretty sure was a microburst, and then proceeded to be without power for 48 hours.

Agreed that it is a terribly selfish act. But it typically comes from a very diseased and irrational place. Just sad all around. As for another totally selfish thing, I had a chance to go see him here in KC last week and opted not to. Regretting that decision now.

Is it weird if the thread title turns me on just a little bit?

Haven't got it yet. My stance remains the same with the others involved. Get me a prelim sketch and set up the time, and I'm there.

John Butler Trio at Lolla in Chicago back in 2008. There were a lot of great shows there that year, but that one was my personal favorite. That's a group well worth the price of seeing if they're anywhere remotely close.

That's fair. Not looking for sympathy though certainly. The market is the market. I was just telling the story. I've got no issue with someone doing what they need to do to get something they want, and I also have no issue with a seller doing the best thing for themselves.

Put an offer in on a place yesterday roughly 3 hours after it was listed. Offered about 6% over list. Ended up being one of ten offers they got that night. Didn't get accepted.

Saddleback leather, if you want to up your budget a bit. You're welcome.

Question: Boston has long been known as a particularly racist city despite being located in the historically liberal/progressive northeast. Why is that? Like what are the specific circumstances that led to that reputation/reality in that specific city?

The area I've primarily been looking in is pretty solid. Kinda suburbia within the city. Plenty of stuff to do, a good amount of character in the area, and mostly young, upwardly mobile families. There's also a tech company building new offices nearby that should put about 5,000 new jobs there within the next year or two. Prices have climbed quite a bit this year, but it's still really affordable. The place I'm looking at tomorrow is a recently updated 2/1 listed under 130k. The Midwest can be awesome sometimes.

Gonna go look at one tomorrow. Seems pretty decent from the pictures online, but we'll see how it really is once I'm there. The issues I've run into a lot lately are cash buyers grabbing anything they can usually within 48 hours of it being listed, or major structural problems with basements due to the fact that most homes in the area I've been looking in are 80-100 years old. Luckily, we're in our rainy season here, so basement issues are readily apparent with a quick glance. Definitely doing an independent home inspection though.

That's tough man. Not even included in the seller's disclosure.

So I'm getting ready to buy my first house. I have a realtor and I've been looking for awhile, but now I'm ready to actually buy something (probably sometime this month). Believe it or not, you can actually get something decent in a solid neighborhood for 150-ish here, so it won't be horribly expensive. Just wanted to see if you guys have any advice on things I should look out for.

That's odd. Given the fact that it's the same breed, I really don't have any of those issues with mine. He almost never barked when I got him about a year ago. He does sometimes now, but always for very specific reasons (i.e. needs to go outside, is excited to go on a walk, or wants to play while I'm looking at my phone outside). Even then though, it's usually just one, "Hey man" bark, then back to normal. The cat thing is more interesting. We have an older cat here, and the cat and dog coexist well enough. Most of the time they hardly acknowledge each others' existence. The cat gets defensive and bats at my dog whenever he wanders into the cat's space, but my dog's aggression is limited to occasionally trying to sniff the cat's butt out of curiosity. He actually appears quite offended sometimes when the cat rebuffs him. (Sidenote: There is a neighbor kitten roughly the same age as my dog that hangs out with the dog often. They get along great, and have for nearly a year. Makes me wonder if my dog just expects all cats to be that friendly to him.) As for the furniture, I'm terrible about that. In the rare moments my dog is exhausted enough/comfortable to just chill with me on the couch, I let him do it. He sleeps in my room at night, but always on a blanket next to the bed. He just seems to like it that way, and it's fine by me. That said, we get quite a bit of precipitation here. So we developed a routine pretty early of stopping and cleaning his paws with a towel whenever he comes back inside. He hated it at first, but now it's just part of the expected routine for him.

Everyone in the Midwest says it. I refuse to.

In before Richards wins a Cy Young pitching for the Cardinals in two years.

We'll see I suppose. I'm hoping it's just an odd billing issue that can be resolved easily. Otherwise, $500+ for a simple STD test seems absurd and probably not good for public health overall.

I think it was a bill. It came from the hospital (online system) and clearly displayed the amount my insurance had covered. Need to talk to both the hospital and insurance company (BCBS) on Monday. I just hate having crap like this hanging over my head, and hate having to step away from work to deal with it.

Definitely have a deductible (and it's much higher than $500). It's just that these are considered preventative services and are supposed to be covered regardless of deductible.

Just seeing if you guys might have some insight on this... Went to the doctor for the first time in several years last month mainly because I haven't seen one in several years, am in fact getting older, and I wanted to establish a PCP. Go through the motions, everything is fine, etc... Doctor asks how long it's been since I've had an STD test. It's been awhile. He gives me a slip of paper, tells me to go down the hall to get blood drawn, so I do. Everything came back good. No worries. Got a bill today saying my insurance covered roughly $200 of a $700 bill, and I owe $500 for the test. Looked at my benefits guide, which said preventative STD screenings are covered at 100%. So, um, what does this all mean? Will my insurance cover the rest but they just haven't gotten around to it?

I really don't understand how nobody from United recognized how bad that situation was going to be while it was happening.

Sad. Dude was responsible for two of the funniest skits in the history of TV. Bringing that kind of joy to so many people is a great legacy to leave behind really.