Push has come to Shove

Our basement is still yucky. That is the nicest way to put it. Our landlords do not want to do many of the repairs and touch ups their own insurance company says should be done.

My husband firmly explained what his concerns were. For instance, if you touch the surfaces in the basement, they still have grime on them, despite the cleaning done to date. They are supposed to paint the basement and put in tiles. The landlord doesn't want to do it. How are we supposed to put our belongings down there again? How are we to feel comfortable about washing and drying our clothes in that basement?

Instead they are putting on a new roof. They think it will stop the seepage in the basement. Yeah. Right. Has nothing to do with the type of soil and the foundation issues already pointed out to them by other people.

We're completely frustrated at this time. I have lots of sentimental attachment to the house: We were married there. Angie took her first steps there. But the reality is that we need to find another place to live and just commit to buying a place. I have no idea how we are going to do this. My friend Cathy gave me some good ideas since we'll be first time home buyers. Thanks again Cathy. I just need to decipher all the policies and such to be certain I know what we are doing. We've found some nice places that meet our basic criteria but are just out of our price range. I found a few more today that meet our needs and our price range. We're wondering if the good prices are a result of damage from the floods in July. We might check them tomorrow or later this week.

Given that Angie will be going to school next year, the house search necessarily includes a school search. Just based on the reading I've done tonight, I can't help but be a little edgy. I've talked to people around the county and I done some reading on line. Am I the only parent who can't find the right kind of school for their child? Am I too fussy? I don't think my parents worried about this when I was a kid. We just went to the local school district and that was it.

My head is going to explode.

We're actually going to look at a school tomorrow. There are a few homes that are near the school and in our range.

Stay tuned.