btwitkin

Up until 6 weeks ago soda was my drink of choice. I would say I would drink the equivalent of 1 liter a day. It was all I drank.

About 6 weeks ago I gave it up almost entirely. I still drink it with lunch and dinner, but just water the rest of the day. Even at lunch and dinner I rarely will even finish the glass of soda I pur for myself.

Without doing any additional exercise is it possible to lose weight just from giving up soda, or in my case drastically cutting down. I have lost about 8 pounds in the last few weeks. Does quitting soda the way I have really have that effect?

We are renting the upstairs of what we thought was a legal 2 story house on LI, in Suffolk County. Before we moved in we asked several times if it was a legal apartment, and we were told yes.

I found out within the last week that the house is listed with the town as a single family residence. The house has only 1 electric meter, 1 mailbox. Downstairs is a 1 BR apt, with full kitchen and bath.

On top of this, our LL had our cable lines running downstairs, and we just found out that the cable we have been paying for (was not included in rent) has been used by the downstairs tenants for free for the last 1 1/2 years. The LL pays for heat, elec, water.

We want to move out and have 1 year remaining on our lease. I have been reading all kinds of conflicting opinions on:

1. Do we still have to pay rent until we move? We can be gone in 60 days

2. Do we have any legal recourse towards any back rent?

3. Do we have any legal recourse towards the stolen cable?

4. Can landlord sue us for remaining time on lease?

5. How much trouble can LL get in if we started reporting violations?

Even though friends and family offer to play video games with me, I prefer to play them all by myself. Is anyone else like this when it comes to video games?

In our lease it states we are paying for our apartment and the backyard. Over the last few weeks our landlord has been coming and dumping pipes and wood and other things that is taking up room in the yard. We really do not want this stuff there. Do we have any rights? This is in NY

There is a woman who lives in a house not to far from me that I would love to talk to, but I don't have a good reason to. I was thinking of pretending I am a salesman or saying my cat is lost and has she seen her?

Any other good reasons to make up to ring a doorbell?

A few times a day I will actually feel a large heartbeat. The best way to explain it is that it feels like my heart has the hiccups, but it only happens one at a time. Sometimes it will happen a few times in a short period.

It is not painful, does not cause dizziness, no shooting pain, but it is annoying and noticeable. It happens mainly when I am relaxing and lying on my back or side.

My mother passed away in April. All we are waiting for is our accountant to finalize the NY state estate tax return form(s) so we can disburse funds. We do not want to disburse any funds until we know this.

The estate was over 1 million, so we know there are taxes to be paid.

How long does this normally take?

House needs roughly $35,000 worth of repairs to the deck, sun room, electrical work, insulation, termite damage, roof and more.

The original asking price was $359,000

The accepted offer was $336,500

A couple of other things:

In the report it talked about potential termite or water damage that cannot be determined due to the walls and ceiling in the finished basement (there is an apartment down there).

There are no C of O's on the deck, sun room or apartment

We are paying cash, so the C of O's won't be an issue in regards to getting a mortgage, but could be an issue if we ever wanted to sell.

So, what would your new offer be?

I received an inheritance of roughly $700,000 in bonds. Some are long term, others short term.

I want to cash out these bonds to purchase a home outright.

What are the tax implications on doing so? I am in New York.

Our mother passed away in April. We need to get a tax id number for the estate. We were wondernig how long it takes to normally get one. Thanks

Our mother passed away in April. Our attorney said disbursements can be made. What exactly is the process, we don't know how to do this...and how long does this process usually take??

Thanks, and this is in New York

Our mother passed away in April. Our attorney said disbursements can be made. What exactly is the process, we don't know how to do this...and how long does this process usually take??

Thanks, and this is in New York

House on sale on Long Island

Asking Price $359,000

Was listed for $389,000 in July

We are paying cash, no worries for seller about us getting financing.

House is in good shape, just minor fix ups needed.

What would you start the bidding at?

We hired a lawyer to handle our mother's estate. She passed away in April. It was very simple, no real estate.

A month ago he said we disburse funds. We had some questions for him. He has not returned our calls or any emails sent. We understand he may be busy and we are not his only client, but what is normal as far as getting back to us? What should we do?

We don't want to disburse funds until we know the amount of estate tax we are going to have to pay, plus any other expenses...like LAWYER FEES!

Any suggestions?

What would happen?

Last week we were looking at MLS and saw a house that we liked and was within our price range. We e-mailed the R.E. to see if we could see it over the weekend. She wrote back that the owners won't show the house on weekends, only Monday, Wednesday and Friday afternoons.

So I wrote back asking if we could see the house on Wednesday. I have not heard back from here, and have emailed twice.

Why would a R.E. agent not want to show the house?

On Long Island, in Suffolk County. How can you check to see if a house is a legal 1 or 2 family?

1. Is the tenant pays cash every month, it is the LL's responsibility to give receipts every month AND keep a file of those receipts? What happens if a tenant asks for a copy of all the receipts and the LL doesn't have them?

2. If a tenant asks a LL for a copy of the signed lease because they misplaced it, is it the LL's responsibilty to give them a new copy?