<p>Bumping this up. I’ve been quiet, but very busy.</p>
<p>We’ve been working with a kitchen designer at Home Depot to determine exactly where each cabinet should go, whether it should be a drawer or a cabinet, and so forth. It’s painfully – no, tortuously – slow going. We are, I think, almost finished.</p>
<p>We also got two bids from electricians to increase the ampage from 100 to 200 in the house, and have selected one of them. He starts in the next few days.</p>
<p>We have also received three bids to have central air installed and will be selecting one of those within the next few days.</p>
<p>And, we’ve made several trips to the appliance store and the granite/tile store to figure out what we will want to buy, once the cabinets are ordered and the contractor is selected. </p>
<p>It’s a very good thing I’m not working right now, as this is truly all-consuming. I love it!!!</p>
<p>VH, what fun! Really! it’s wonderful to be able to go for just the look and function you want. I hope one day you will invite me to see your house!</p>
<p>I’m actually posting to say…drumroll…my son and DIL finally closed on their house Tuesday, the movers are coming tomorrow and they will be in their new home! </p>
<p>My son is actually a fairly astute purchaser and a good negotiator…but tonight he was taken aback when he and my DIL went to purchase a washer and dryer. They had read reviews and ratings, checked prices, went and did a couple of loads of laundry at the house of a friend who had recently purchased the model they were considering…went to the store, which advertised free delivery and installation…and next thing you know, the salesman is trying to charge for delivery and installation, claiming that models being sold at the special sale price don’t get it for free. </p>
<p>They show him the ad with the sale price and the free delivery and installation, so he corrects the invoice-and this time when they look at it, all of a sudden there is a charge for a special extended warranty…for about 30% of the purchase price. Salesman tries to tell my son and dil that it is “necessary” because these products break down and repair is expensive. So I got a quick call from them at the store, and told them to skip the warranty, and to ask to speak to the store manager about the salesman’s shoddy tactics. </p>
<p>I’m glad they called me. The washer and dryer they chose comes with a good standard warranty. I think the salesman saw some excited young buyers coming in and thought he could really bump up his commission on them.</p>
<p>Lots of good news around here. Terrific, and congratulations everyone.</p>
<p>With regard to the salespeople, and whether people avoid them: I doubt it. These are purchases that people don’t typically buy frequently, so they probably don’t depend on repeat customers. More’s the pity.</p>
<p>We have just bought a beautiful new home. It’s only six years old, but the interior paint choices were…not good. We’ve thought about just living with it, but DH says we might as well fix it now or it will probably always bug us. Even the trim and cabinet paint is an odd color.</p>
<p>I’m glad we got the house for way under asking because the paint bids came and I’m in shock about what it costs to have an entire house professionally painted! :eek:</p>
<p>boysx3, you are welcome here anytime you want to come!!!</p>
<p>Regarding the appliance salesman: Yes, it’s true that one doesn’t buy appliances frequently, but word of mouth works wonders. If a salesman or a particular store doesn’t provide decent customer service, guess what – the customers will stop coming in. Word gets around.</p>
<p>I wonder if the store manager scolded the salesman or applauded him.</p>
<p>ETA: artloversplus, have you seen the show on HGDV called “Rehab Addict”? Whenever I watch it, I imagine that that’s you.</p>
<p>It’s not really the salesman’s fault they are ordered to do this. There was an article in The Haggler (NYT regular column) about these practices, and the salesmen get fired if they don’t sell enough extended warranties.</p>
<p>“paint bids came and I’m in shock about what it costs to have an entire house professionally painted!”</p>
<p>Never give up on those out of line bids, keep on trucking. I have had horrible experiences with painters. But now I found good painters that charges by the hour and they do it fast. The bids you are getting is taking advantage of your ignorance.</p>
<p>When I bought my first home, there was two rooms of wall paper which I’d like to remove and then paint. I have done all the other rooms. I called for a bid, one painter came and told me it will cost $10,000 for the two rooms. I was so mad, I finished it all by myself and it did not fade for 15 years.</p>
<p>Yup, the sales are required to ask or even add those warranties to all customers. Don’t blame them, blame the companies. They are just doing they’ve been asked to do.</p>
<p>We went with a low bid when getting our house ready to sell. They did not do a good job. We will not use them again. We got three bids for the new house; one outfit painted our home originally when we built it. </p>
<p>That said, our bid was nowhere near a $5000 per room deal! Yikes.</p>
<p>VH, congrats on the cabinets! Your kitchen will be beautiful.</p>
<p>I wasn’t upset that the salesman was trying to sell my son the warranty–that is expected as part of his job. I was upset that the charge just appeared on the invoice without it first being offered, or discussed, or agreed to --as if my son and dil would not have noticed a charge of several hundred dollars more on their invoice?</p>
<p>Congrats, VH! Good to have that decision making behind you. </p>
<p>Painting is funny stuff, interesting folks who do it for a living, sometimes. </p>
<p>I got a bid for my very high ceiling stairwell and upstairs hall. With a lot of specialized treatment for the ever cracking plaster, they bid around $1200. Now this was about 15 years ago. Tentatively, I asked for a bid from the alcoholic guy who painted around the neighborhood. $80 plus paint. My plaster repair skills are not bad, so I figured I could be a bit hands on, and hired him. I worked on the plaster a bit myself, had him re do a few things, and it was ok. My money was tight, so I was quite satisfied. </p>
<p>Next job was the house exterior. Very reasonable bid, so I hired him again. His health took a turn for the worse, and mid way, he dried out in ICU at a local hospital, while his also marginal, if kindly friend took over. He finally finished the last bit of the job after recovered from his ICU experience. </p>
<p>Dry, which he’s been for years, he’s my best buddy, and we joke about him being
‘on staff.’ His painting and plaster repair skills have improved, and he still paints for me for a great rate, and we laugh and have a great time while he’s over here. Just discussed dining room colors this AM. </p>
<p>The point is, sometimes the socially marginal, found by word of mouth, can have good skills for a lot less money, if you’re willing to put up with a few eccentricities.</p>
<p>My kids have now been in their new house for two weeks. They love it! The last box is gone, there is food in the refrigerator, and new furniture is beginning to arrive. H and I can’t wait to visit…just not sure we will be able to come in before the baby arrives in March.</p>
<p>Thank you to all of you for your support and knowledge.</p>
<p>I’m in packing mode now. The new place has a basement with lots of storage so a lot of boxes are being labeled “basement - C” (as in A: unpack first, B: get to it soon and C: someday I’ll deal with this).</p>
<p>VH, I am sure you had lots more boxes than they did…and things that needed to be unpacked a lot more carefully! </p>
<p>They moved from a 700sf apartment in Cambridge to their new house–and as part of “growing up” they ditched a good amount of their college-lifestyle furniture, textbooks they will never need again, and a lot of their threadbare towels and bedding.</p>
<p>They want everything in this pretty new doll house to be pretty and new. And, bit by bit, they will do it. </p>
<p>Her family is bringing over their wedding gifts (from almost four years ago!) bit by bit. Her parents bought them a kitchen table and chairs (goodbye, card table!) Our housewarming gift was a new bedroom–including a lovely new bed and mattress set, and linens, and towels…goodbye futon! goodbye towels from college days! They bought themselves a new sofa and some chairs which will come soon–goodbye papasan chairs from college.</p>
<p>They lived very frugally to save and to be able to buy this house…it is so wonderful to see them enjoying it.</p>