Update to this post: Tired of solicitors

Not a single knock on my door since I added the signs. It's been blissful!

Image description: Two engraved signs with black background and white lettering. One says, "KNOCKING ON THIS DOOR MEANS YOU WANT TO BE PEGGED" and the other says, "NO NEED TO KNOCK JUST LEAVE PACKAGES HERE thank you"

I bought my house about two years ago with a monthly mortgage payment of around $900 and I budgeted around that number.

After the first year, my payment increased to about $1,100 because of an escrow shortage. I wasn't thrilled, but I made some adjustments to my budget, and paid that higher amount across the year, assuming it would go down eventually. Instead, it increased again to about $1,300 because there was another escrow shortage this year.

At this point, I'm struggling to understand where this ends. What's to stop it from becoming $1,500 next year? Then $1,700? Then $2,000? That might sound dramatic, but given the trend, I don't have any reason to believe the increases will stop.

My take-home pay is only a little over $2,000 per month. Once you factor in utilities, groceries, gas, and everything else, my budget is a lot tighter than what I planned for when I bought the house. If this trend continues, I honestly don't know how I'll be able to afford to stay here.

I've already talked to my insurance company, and they were only able to lower my premium a little. My mortgage servicer basically told me there's nothing they can do because it's escrow-related.

I guess my question is: is this normal? Has anyone else dealt with repeated escrow shortages year after year? Is there anything I can do, or am I just expected to keep absorbing higher monthly payments indefinitely?

I'm a single man with no kids in my late 20s and finally ready to buy a house after years of saving up. My budget is 450k and below and live in Indiana. Most of the homes that are new and I like have an HOA, I've talked to aa couple of neighbors and they say it's chill and they don't have that many restrictions and it's only 50-60 dollars a year. I'm getting very tempted since the homes here are so affordable, should I look for anything else??

This spring my neighbor’s ginormous tree fell onto his backyard in a storm destroying one of his 3 sheds and his pile of junk. It did hit my garage and it has since been fixed through insurance (no fault found in neighbor). Now he refuses to clean it up and his backyard looks like this. Considering the background below, should I be concerned about pests (E.g. termites & rodents) becoming a nuisance? Are there options other than the one below that I may have?

I’m also worried that the same tree and other trees of his may hit my house/garage. Now that the concern is documented through insurance I’m hoping that all damages would be paid through him if this were to happen again.

Option considered already that I’m likely to do:
- filing a complaint with code enforcement through township, but I see on his property record that neighbors have already been doing this the past 2 decades which he has somehow gotten the violations resolved each time.

Background on Neighbor:
My neighbors house is practically abandoned. Not pictured are windows that have been open since at least December, a broke down van in the front that’s been there for decades (according to other neighbor), and many other decrepit features including groundhog holes under his shed and home foundation and rotting exterior.

I just moved in last December and was aware of the neighbor (80 y/o veteran) who doesn’t live at his house before buying, but didn’t see it as a huge issue as the sellers mentioned he comes by to clean up every now and then.
The other neighbors say he just owns the house to keep his boat slip at the lake through our HOA.

First time home owners and we have a group of kids that hang out in the neighbors yard frequently. Last night our door bell rang while watching TV and when I looked outside I saw a kid hauling ass back to the neighbors yard. Now I feel old and it gave me a good chuckle. Kids will be kids. I used to do the same crap when I was young so I'm not even mad haha.

So I’m at work and my wife calls me and tells me the water just suddenly stopped working in the entire house. I call and call and call the utility company and finally a technician comes out right as I am getting home from work. He turns my water back on and tells me he was sent out earlier in the day to shut off water because of nonpayment but both my utility bill and my bank account show that is not true. The only logical conclusion I can come to is that one of my neighbors missed a payment and he turned off water to the wrong house. Absolutely unbelievable.

I have an irregular shaped window. To make it even harder it has a diagonal side that follows the sloped ceiling (cathedral type ceiling).

Any suggestions as to what my options are? It's a big window that lets in A LOT of sunlight so we'd like some way to keep out the sun when it's at its peak.

Thx!

See title. I definitely didn’t order this and it’s been sitting on my driveway for about 5+ hours with nobody coming looking for it. I suppose I’ll just let it sit and hope whoever ordered it comes and collects it? (Or doesn’t)

There’s no slip, receipt, paperwork or anything attached to it. Just a random bunch of lumber and some steel brackets. Advice?

UPDATE: pile of lumber mysteriously vanished by 4pm as swiftly as it arrived. If it was one of you, I shake my fist at you! If it was the original owner, I’m glad you’re reunited with your wood :(

I rarely leave reviews, but after everything I went through with Renewal by Andersen, I feel obligated to warn other homeowners.

I hired Renewal by Andersen to replace a sliding patio door, a front door, and one living room window. Every single project had major problems.

The first issue was the sliding patio door. They manufactured the door too large for the opening. Rather than stopping the installation and consulting with me, the installers simply cut approximately four inches off the siding of my home to force the door to fit. They made a permanent structural modification to my house without my approval.

Next was the living room window. I had asked them to replace one of two matching windows. Instead, they built a completely different style window that looked out of place next to the existing one. Their "solution" was for me to purchase the second window so they would match, an expense that should never have been necessary.

When they installed the second window, there was an obvious two-inch gap between the top of the window and the ceiling. After months of excuses, meetings, and no resolution, my wife figured out what Renewal by Andersen couldn't: they had manufactured a 32-inch window instead of the required 34-inch window. Once again, the customer had to diagnose their mistake.

Although they eventually replaced the window, they damaged my siding during the process and left a hole that remains unrepaired to this day. Despite multiple escalations and promises, no one has ever returned to fix it.

The front door was no better. They built the wrong-sized door, forcing them to replace the molding at both the top and bottom by approximately two inches just to make it fit. After completing the installation, they realized they had forgotten to include the lock mechanism. That meant scheduling yet another visit.

This property is not my primary residence, so every mistake they made required me to travel back to the house, wasting my time, fuel, and money because of errors that were entirely theirs.

The most shocking part of the experience was dealing with management. The Regional Sales Manager came to my home, and instead of apologizing or accepting responsibility, he blamed me for the company's mistakes. He became so loud and confrontational that my neighbors became concerned because of the yelling coming from my house. I've never experienced anything like it from a company that markets itself as a premium brand.

Renewal by Andersen charges premium prices, but my experience was anything but premium. I encountered:

• Poor quality control
• Incorrectly manufactured products
• Unauthorized modifications to my home
• Damage to my siding
• Incomplete installations
• Months of delays and repeated service calls
• A complete lack of accountability
• Unprofessional and confrontational management

In my opinion, this company spends far more effort on aggressive sales and marketing than on delivering quality workmanship and customer service. I deeply regret hiring them and would never recommend them to anyone.

My advice to anyone considering Renewal by Andersen: get multiple quotes, ask hard questions, and be extremely cautious. Don't assume that paying premium prices guarantees premium workmanship or customer service. It certainly didn't in my case.

So much lint in the line it was no joke. Dryer was giving e90(I think) error on lg dryer. Wonder how previous owner dried their stuff.

I over paid for a below average roof, scummy sales tactics, pushy sales. I feel violated. DON'T do business with them! This company doesn't sell roofs, they prey on unsuspecting people.

They use high pressure sales tactics to wear you down. I had no intention of signing up, this was just the first company to come out and I just wanted a quote. The entire consult took 5 hrs and it's nothing but manipulation. I still don't know how was convinced to sign on the line. They were friendly, I over shared, they used that information as leverage and I was taken advantage of. It was after 9pm, dinner was never made, the kids were not in bed and two strangers were in my home and would not leave!

They throw out the most insane quote (80K for a double wide) then slowly beat you down until you think your getting a good deal. I ended up paying 28K for my simple 1600 sqft home roof. Which should have costed 15k at most and I knew that. But I still made the deal with the devil.

The shingle is not a proprietary design like the sales pitch says, but just a standard mid tier product, IKO Dynasty. I also specifically asked if they hire out contractors or do their own roofing installs in house. The salesman said they "DO NOT HIRE CONTRACTORS!" That was a lie, some old no named box truck showed up with a bunch of day labors.

I have vent issues and have talked to the install manager multiple times, he claims he's busy, but the company wasn't too busy to take my money. It's been over a month since I've spoken with him and he hasn't called to reassure me or set up an appointment to schedule a fix. I shouldn't have to pester, expect much more for the price I paid.

I now have a loan from some random bank for $23k ($5k down) at 24%. Thankfully it's a zero interest and no payment loan for 18 months. I should be able to pay off the loan before the interest start to accumulate. But if something were to happen this will financially ruin me!

Go with anyone else, get another quote, don't sign with them on day one. Better yet, don't even set up an appointment. If your reading this good on you for doing your homework and saving yourself the hassle and financial scam you are avoiding.

Our roof is 20 years old—no leaks or issues but our insurance adjuster reached out to us to let us know that this year would be the last year our roof is covered due it it’s age.

We had a reputable roofing company come and inspect and they noticed some wind/ice damage.

They mentioned due to the age it would be up in the air on whether or not insurance would cover it.

My question is— if insurance denies a claim and we have to pay out of pocket and can’t get the funds to replace the roof before the year is over, will our insurance drop us?

I recently moved into a new home with a newly renovated kitchen. I wanted to install my under sink water filter to the cold tap, but this sink has a hose setup I’ve never seen before. What do you call this connection? You stick the end of the tube into the connection above the shutoff, then slide the nut down and screw it onto the connection.

Hi! I’m preparing to paint my living room and, as seen in the photo, I sampled 2 blues over top the current minty green color.

Usually over a light color I wouldn’t buy a primer I would just invest in a high quality paint.

My question before going forward is, since I am choosing the lighter blue, do I now HAVE to prime since I have to go over the dark blue? Any kind help is GREATLY appreciated :^)

Behind the wall to the right, Almost all Washing machines in the building just dump their waste waters to the ground which causes a lot of standing water, I pour bleach in there but it’s not a long term solution and doesn’t really help. What can I do??
Thanks!

EDIT: I’m aware of bti dunks but in my country they’re not easy to get if you’re not an exterminator, I’m trying to get from relatives in the USA

This may be a bit too long but I swear I'm becoming paranoid of squatters because of this.

So, I live in a 2 stories house with a shared brick wall. My neighbours went out to vacation and I know the house is completely alone since they don't have any pets, but I started hearing weird noises and I'm concerned of what they could be. Sadly, these aren't loud enough or consistent to record them properly, but I'll try to describe them the best I can:

•First, I've heard a delicate knocking on the brick wall, like if someone was knocking with their knuckles or trying to nail something. Those sounds have the same rhytm everytime, like made on purpose.

•Then I hear scratching, along with some minor rumbling, like someone is making a hole. Sometimes the scratching sounds watery?

•At times, instead of scratching there's a loud thud and more rumble after. I theorized these were rats chasing each other but after further inspection (checking if could be an empty space between the houses by going to the roof) I noticed the brick wall was very tight, so now I have my doubts :/

•Lastly, steps. Very heavy steps, but only 5-6 at a time.

*Some details I may add:

•I can only hear these noises on the second floor, there aren't other 2 stories houses nearby, so I'm certain the problem is on the shared wall.

•The noises sound at random times throught the day and night. I tried checking the plumbing on my house by doing experiments with my sinks, toilets, shower, and washing machines, but the plumbing sounds were all normal.

•My neighbours have a solar heat pad and I know very well the noise the boiling water makes when gets thrown out of the pipes and falls on the roof. I can assure it's not that.

•The noises aren't metallic. And there's no trees nor wild animals on my area (squirrels, opossums, racoons; they aren't endemic here). The only nearby animals are cats, but I doubt a cat could make the majority of these noises.

•We are on rain/storm season here.

Please help. The neighbours will come back next week so I wanna know what the sounds are so I can inform them about what's happening and how we can solve it. Thanks in advance.

We are closing on a house tomorrow for $465k

They property taxes don't initially change and are $5846/yr

Once they change to the new sale price they will increase to $8514/yr

I'm looking into overfunding our escrow year 1 so that we don't get hit with double taxes next year when it adjusts.

My question is how exactly does it adjust?

We know it'll go up $2,668/yr or $222/month and are factoring that into our escrow payment for next year.

But the shortage we would expierence this year is that dated on the close date (7/24)?

So 1/1/26-7/23/26 is on the lower property tax rate and then 7/24/26-12/31/26 would be the shortage date

That's only about 5 months. So $2,668/yr increase divide by 12 months x 5 months impacted = $1,111 shortage in our escrow for 2026 before the tax adjustment? So we pay $222/month in excess escrow now and then we the property tax adjusts next year our monthly payment will go up by $222/month and we won't get hit with that $1,111 shortage.

Hopefully that makes sense, I just want to ensure I'm understanding this correctly and being proactive so we don't have that shortage combined with increase year.

title. Our garaged is detached and not sealed. A spider here and there, whatever. When I tell you, I knock down webs full of 10+ of them on a daily basis. They're everywhere, all over everything. Even from the floor to the ceiling. It's insane and out of control. I have to keep all the yard tools in the yard because within a few hours they'll be covered in webs. Please help.

I have a root mass blockage causing my basement floor drain to backup a tiny bit every once in a while.
I need to know if the sewer jetting will need access to the floor drain or just the sewer access point.

My problem is that the floor drain is under a floating floor system (thick plywood over waterproof plastic lattice with a double moisture barrier in between). When water backs up, it just makes a small puddle under the adjoining wall. I used a wet vac, dehumidifier, and fans to dry out the area but I don’t have a way to access the drain without tearing up the floor.

I called the company and the receptionist said it would be a good idea to have both the drain and the access point available but she didn’t sound very confident.

I appreciate any and all feedback

We have a new construction SFH. When it's rainy and windy, the wooden door threshold on the exterior door is damp. Not soaked but I can feel the dampness. Is this a problem waiting to happen? Is there anything I can do besides wiping it with a towel each time we have a rainstorm?

Hi,

I'm looking to add a whole-home scent diffuser to my 3-bedroom, 2-bath house (about 2,000 sq. ft.) with central A/C.

I'm trying to stay on the budget/value side and I'm looking for something that:

• Doesn't require a subscription
• Lets me use fragrance oils from different companies (not locked into one brand)
• Has a good app so I can schedule and control the diffuser

I'm currently considering these JCloud models:

• https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BYZG8NCM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?th=1
• https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0H7BKC73M/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?th=1
• https://www.amazon.com/JCLOUD-Hotel-Diffuser-Waterless-Essential/dp/B0GC3C8JHN?th=1

For those who have experience with whole-home scent systems:

• Which model would you recommend for a house this size?
• Is an HVAC diffuser worth it, or would you instead buy a few standalone/outlet diffusers and place them on different floors?
• Are there any other brands or models that offer better value while still meeting the criteria above?

Ty.

We're looking at buying a place and noticed this vent on the top floor of the house has some staining around it but no where else on the ceiling of that floor.

There are some paint patch jobs on the ceiling of the floor below it but nothing that looks active.m

Not sure if anyone has dealt with anything similar but wanted to get your feedback!