Miss T

Tri-level home with 2 ancient, non-operable central air conditioning units with the air handler in the attic....will cost $20k or more to replace with the same set up. Can install a multiple (6) mini split unit system for <$10k. Price is good but am concerned about the electric bill, how future buyers will accept this split system and how efficient they are overall. If anyone can give me some pros and cons, I would be most appreciative...thanks!

We requested a quote for replacing our 2 air conditioners---have a tri-level home and one air conditioner compressor is in the attic. The quote came in at an amazingly low price but it was written on a contract. The next day we paid the amount quoted---in CASH! A week later we get a call from Lowes that the job was underquoted and it's going to cost more. We told them we wanted it done at the price quoted and at what we PAID! For the last 2 weeks they have been beating around the bush, the store manager called twice indicating he was trying to track down the regional manager---blah, blah, blah. Meanwhile they have our money and we are sweltering in a heatwave. Do we have any legal leverage? Help please!

e.g. I get approved by the bank for $500k and buy a house for $400k---they would say I have $100k for reno. But where does the $100k come from? Would I have to take out another loan and wouldn't doing so hurt my credit and reduce the amount I could get on the 2nd loan? I'm so confused by this....

My parents are both deceased, dad died in February of this year and mom in 2012. They owned 2 houses, the house they lived in and a house they rented. The house they lived in was sold but the rental is not in the best location and despite repairs, landscaping and staging is not selling. It's next to a graveyard and it's also upside down on the mortgage. Since the house is legally in the name of the estate, how likely is it that the bank will accept the deed in lieu of foreclosing, kind of like a short sale in reverse? Any suggestions for unloading the property without having pay it off which we can't really afford to do?

My dad died in February of this year. We filed his 2014 taxes and he received a refund check. I am the executor of his will and have been handling all of his business. Should I send the check back to the IRS and ask them to make it out to me? Will they do that with a death certificate and copy of the will? Don't know what to do....

2 or 3 plastic tubs (like the kind you put Christmas decorations Ina) full of family pictures and all family members want a copy. How can we get these digitized without doing them ourselves?

My sister, brother and I are joint heirs to our deceased parent's assets. I dont have any children but both my sister and brother have children and have asked to give their children assets out of the family home. How can we do this so that I feel I am getting my fair share? Mind you, these are large assets---cars and an expensive medical bed. My suggestion is for the heir giving an asset to their child to estimate the fair value of that asset and buy it from the estate with the proceeds being divided by the other two heirs (siblings). Does this sound fair?

I live in Michigan and my 94 year old dad lives in Arkansas. He is in a nursing home and is bedridden and noncommunicating after a massive stroke. I have power of attorney over his health and finances. He owns 2 homes and has 2 bank accounts with considerable balances. I need an attorney to help me understand how to protect his assets. Any suggestions on picking an attorney in this situation would be helpful.

Can anybody tell me where to get the orange pumpkin trash bags??? I have looked at all the usual suspects---Wal-mart, Target, Lowes, Home Depot, ACE, ACO....HELP!!!

I have an ASUS Model U46E laptop with an Intel core i7 processor and Windows 7. I have had it for a couple years and have had no problems whatsoever. I am just giving background on my equipment, I really don't think its related to my upload/attach problems. Lately I have not been able to upload photos to FB or attach items to Yahoo email from my laptop. It occurred to me that all my recent uploads have been from my android phone. I have checked the usual suspects----virus protection settings, Adobe Flash on my laptop, type of file (compatibility)----all seem to be current and in tact, but I am still not able to upload. Can anyone help me?

We bought a fixer upper and have been utilizing a lot of local contractors to do work; drywall, painting, closet, floors, etc... The work has been pretty good quality and the prices have been good but no one I mean NO ONE has finished one job when they said they would. Everyone seems to have an excuse, "My wife needs me to come home," "My daughter is home from college," i hate to sound cruel but a job is a job and it seems some pressure should be on workers to adhere to a deadline. My thought is to offer an incentive for finishing when they say they will but my husband says with the low cost you can't bargain. All I know is we need our entire upstairs re-floored and I so am not looking forward to some long drawn out venture....any suggestions for negotiating effectively in this space?

We bought a fixer upper and have been utilizing a lot of local contractors to do work; drywall, painting, closet, floors, etc... The work has been pretty good quality and the prices have been good but no one I mean NO ONE has finished one job when they said they would. Everyone seems to have an excuse, "My wife needs me to come home," "My daughter is home from college," i hate to sound cruel but a job is a job and it seems some pressure should be on workers to adhere to a deadline. My thought is to offer an incentive for finishing when they say they will but my husband says with the low cost you can't bargain. All I know is we need our entire upstairs re-floored and I so am not looking forward to some long drawn out venture....any suggestions for negotiating effectively in this space?

We finalized a short sale with Bank of America in January 2012. Included in the paperwork from the bank was a letter that indicated the lender is waiving the right to pursue collection of any deficiency following the completion of the sale. I was told we would need to receive a 1099 c form to complete our taxes and BOA is sending us a form. I thought up until 2013, the forgiven debt of a short sale wasn't considered income. Can someone please clarify? Oh, and we live in Michigan.

When I was a little girl, my older brother loved Millie Jackson. He used to play this song all the time that I wish I could remember. I vaguely remember her singing about a man of course and apparently he cheated on her or he dumped her and she went crazy at the end of the song. Does anyone know the name of that song?

When I was a little girl, my older brother loved Millie Jackson. He used to play this song all the time that I wish I could remember. I vaguely remember her singing about a man of course and apparently he cheated on her or he dumped her and she went crazy at the end of the song. Does anyone know the name of that song?

What am I doing wrong? Just bought asus laptop and have only been able to power up if plugged in...thought needed to charge battery but have had power cord in for 3 days. When I take the cord out and push the power button it won't turn own. HELP!

We were approved by BOA to sell our condo in a short sale to be closed by 9/9/11. We were told the seller sets the actual closing date but for 3 weeks now we haven't heard anything. Our realtor who has supspposedly been in touch with the buyers realtor says the buyer is getting money together and paperwork and everything is fine. But without a closing date we are reluctant to put anything down on a new place or even pack....we are in limbo...we are only a few weeks away from the close by date. Does anyone know what could be what taking so long to get a closing date or what the buyer could possibly be doing??? This is pure agony!

I am working on a process improvement project in the Accounts Payable area of the company for which I work. They routinely pay invoices 1-4 days early or late so as not to have to change their regular pay cycle. Is this a widely accepted practice or is this just an excuse to be complacent with current performance? Does anyone know of any website where i can get information related to this issue? THANKS!

My husband and I own a condo in Michigan where home values are in the gutter. We have attempted several times to do a short sale so that we can buy something larger but the deals keep falling through. We are not open to foreclosing because we care enough about our neighbors and community that we dont want to contribute to ever-declining home values. Recently our neighbor that shares a wall with our townhouse foreclosed or at least he has left and he has not payed association fees in 3 months so we assume he is foreclosing. We have been tossing around the idea of buying his condo and adjoining it with ours by knocking down the center wall. When we took the floorplan we have on paper and modified it with how we think it should be remodeled---it shows great potential. Of course we are not architects and have no idea what we are doing. But we need to get a professional opinion without spending too much money in case we are not able to buy the condo for some reason or another. How do we go about seeking out an architect to give us an opinion? About how much would such an opinion cost and are there architects who specilize in this kind of work?