All Forum Posts by: Patsy Waldron

Structure- I won't say I miss it, exactly, but having a place to be and deadlines to meet create a structure to your days and your professional life in general.  I have had to recreate that (in a modified, more flexible form) for myself. 

Goal setting/ recognizing your own success- Working under/with other people has a built-in mechanism for publicly marking and recognizing when you get stuff done. When it's just you... Well, you are the one who needs to recognize when you have accomplished something and take the time to celebrate it. That's where writing down goals and milestones on the way to accomplishing those goals is key- you can see visually when you have done one task and made progress towards the goal. 

Social life- I miss informal chit-chat with my colleagues, grabbing lunch, intellectually stimulating conversations, and other social occasions. What I DON'T miss is all the gossip, back stabbing and grand standing. :-)

Mark- I am a fellow pet lover and mom to two Lhasas (both rescues- another one of my passionate causes!)

I wrestled with the same question and decided to forgo pet insurance, as I couldn't reconcile myself to paying month after month and only using a fraction of my premiums every year in routine care. I have had one baby for almost 10 years, and only this year did I have a non-routine vet bill (excision of 2 cysts, removal of 1 lipoma, several tooth extractions, laser treatment for arthritis). Total cost was just under $2,000. Furbaby #2, which I have had for almost 9 years, got an ulcer in his eye this past spring and we got a graft ($2,200) which didn't "take," so then we had the eye removed ($1,250). As you can see, my total cost for all these surgeries was a fraction of what I would have paid in premiums over the years! 

The flip side is that I take excellent care of my dogs. They eat premium raw food, get exercise everyday and regular preventive care.

On the other hand.... My sister chose to get pet insurance for her dogs, and she is grateful she did. She's had no end of health issues with her dogs, and having insurance cover 90% of the endless tests, surgeries and vet's visits has been a real godsend.

I guess it comes down to what you feel comfortable with and whether you will be disciplined enough to save the money from the premiums if you give up pet insurance.

Leave the dining room and add the bedroom in the basement (especially if you are putting a bathroom down there anyway). Most people don't mind a bedroom in a finished basement, but many won't like having a 4-person table in the kitchen as the only option for dining.

Thanks for the tip, Tom! We'll definitely check them out. So far I've called or been to 4 stone shops, and haven't had much luck.

Tom- no, I don't want a full slab, just remnants will do. Ideally already in countertop length and width, which are pretty standard. My crew would then only cut to install the sink and then install. Do you know of a stone shop where I could look around?

One RE agent told me that he recently had a sale go through where US Bank lent 75% of appraised value even though the purchase price was lower than appraised value (i.e. allowed built-in equity at purchase). My experience with my own banks has been that they lend 75% of the lesser of purchase price or appraised value. It appears that whether built-in equity is okay or not depends on the bank.

Thank you all for your input! I will go check out what remnants the local granite store has and check out the prefab granite too... And while I'm at it, I might go with the small corner butcher block too!!

I looked at a property there once... It was a multi at a very attractive price and stupendous returns (on paper, at least). I am on the east side of Cleveland and wasn't familiar with Lorain, so I drove out to check it out. What I found was a pretty desolate town, with some okay parts and some very run-down areas, and plenty of abandoned commercial real estate (like the worst parts of Cleveland). Not an area where I'd ever consider driving around at night. The crime map didn't look all that promising, either (two murders in the past 2 months on neighboring streets of the property I was looking at, lots of petty theft, etc). I decided against buying there.

Jeff is right, drive out there- it's half an hour away, at most, from Lakewood- and get a feel for the area. Nothing beats seeing for yourself.

@Mike Wood- I only recently heard about prefab granite and wasn't sure if it was something to look into. Thanks for the price date- I had no idea it was that much cheaper than the slabs (I wonder why it is?). The 9ft is the perfect length for my big counter- 8ft 5in.

I guess the real question is whether my kitchen guys are up to the task!

@Julie Marquez- Thanks for the post! Wow, I can't believe they got a granite countertop for $450 all in!!!! I will definitely have to ask the stone stores about their left-over pieces to see if they have anything that would work for me.

@Jassem A.- Thanks for the idea! I had no idea there were granite tiles. I'll have to look into this- if it's cheap enough and looks decent, it will definitely be easier for my kitchen people to work with. 

Lots of options and food for thought here!