Morning all, just touching base as usual. Rotten weather here - actually welcome to an Aussie summer, two weeks ago we were sweltering and over half the State was on fire ( up to 137 fires at once), then the fires flared up in Tasmania and Victoria and caused havoc there, now we have had a cyclone cross the top of Queensland, made a mess up there and is now moving right down the eastern side of Australia causing torrential rain, massive flooding (talking 100 year floods), 6 tornados in 24 hours in one town (we don't have tornados here), huge seas and storm surges. I am back in a winter sloppy and we have had two days of rain, very high winds are expected later today and the rain looks like continuing for at least a week. Flood warnings are out everywhere right down the Eastern seaboard. Great timing too with schools resuming this week, everyone will be trying to get home after the holidays, roads will be jammed but so many will be cut with floodwaters too and people will be going nowhere.

Ez don't take Aja to heart, I have been giving her a little leeway with the baby and her confinement, she must be so bored, but that is still no excuse for rudeness and she was way over the top in that piece, like she is the only one who knows anything. I often find it is best to let some people have the last say, no matter how much you try to defend yourself they will only twist it back. I do find she has a strange way of replying, sometimes I have difficulty understanding what she is saying. I have absolutely no idea what the last lot of comments were about - sounded a bit like they were talking about her house??? Maybe you have to know her to understand her, but if she doesn't bite her tongue no one will want to know her.

Judy that post you mentioned - I am really annoyed now, that person has two running!!!!

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/inspiration-needed-grey-and-gold-dsvw-vd~321728

Janis, ez, you are right on with your feelings.

roo, I would pay attention to Aja…Aj Amazin.

Just reading about that guy Linda is helping - those banks ought to be made answerable for their actions, that would just never happen here, there is no way banks would over lend on the value of a property, no matter how much money you had. I replied to Michi's question on yesterday's thread on this issue. If you have your house mortgaged and you wanted to buy a new car, for example, the bank would give you a car loan, with the car as security and higher interest than a home loan, but again, your assets, income, credit rating and ability to pay would all be taken into account. You can also get a personal loan which is unsecured so attracts even higher interest but all the same checks go into place.

The only thing banks here are irresponsible about are Credit Cards, although of late they have cut back a lot, I think they got a kick in the pants from the Govt. because they were always offering higher limits and more cards with no checks at all. Interest rates are extremely high on them.

When people get into trouble it is generally because they unexpectedly lose their jobs, but if people go about it the right way, the banks will allow them to extend the term of their mortgage to reduce payments. Mortgage brokers are good at times like this as they can renegotiate mortages to include credit card debts, get lower interest rates and longer terms to help people through a crisis. The people who most run into trouble are those who have been reckless with their spending, still won't stop when they have no income, and ignore their situation instead of getting help.

Must get moving Gdd leaves tomorrow and will be home soon to pack and other dd is arriving later and we will probably all go out for dinner tonight.

Judy, how did your presentation go? Did they love it as much as we do?

Judy - don't get what you mean about paying attention to Aja?

I saw that theory on her name - interesting.

Roo, you went to town on that discussion !!! Have some of the comments been deleted? It's a little hard to follow.

No, I sort of had the soapbox all to myself for a while there and was quite enjoying being able to help the girl work things out for herself, but now the others are joining in. I haven't had a chance yet to read the second post.

Judy, I hope you aren't getting like me, I go to great lenghts with a reply and then hit the "enter" button instead of "submit" and lose the whole damn lot.

Judy, was it here, on this thread?

Judy, check out your profile page, your posts should be listed there.

I think it's possible certain Houzzers are having their posts monitored on a regular basis. I doubt if it's any of us, we're not that controversial and we're not that interesting, to outsiders. And we don't start the fights, more often than not we're the victims.

Eztia, don't feel singled out...Aja isn't particular who she insults. Given some of the comments made in various postings, sometimes the reminder that people are looking for helpful advice is appropriate.

I do get irritated when some folks seem to think that homeowners shouldn't be looking to upgrade their homes unless they have thousands of dollars to spend. Don't people have a right to have a coordinating paint color even if they don't have $5,000 for new granite countertops? Or, how about those who advise about spending the entire budget on one expense and then expect that the homeowner has a comparable amount to spend every year?

Linda, I couldn't agree more with both points. Well said!

My comment was deleted,

Linda I think the recent ideas book on the kitchen nook was a classic example of simple change, and many appreciated it, although funnily enough a lot liked the before better.

My big peeve is the people who jump in with lose this and lose that without any thoughts to the homeowner's likes, wants, budget or needs and also jump in with colour schemes with no knowledge of the aspect or lighting in the room. I was pleased to see this morning a Decorator stand up on that point and saying how people throw things at the wall without asking any questions at all. Even photos here need to be looked at objectively, bearing in mind professional lighting is always used.

Astraea tells the best story of someone who religiously copied a deep coloured entranceway from a photo and then wondered why it looked so dark and dingy in her home.

Many of the foreclosure problems in my area were due to a big run-up in property prices in the 2004-2006/7 time frame. Lots of homes were bought with 100% mortgages and no verification of financial data. I remember seeing a flyer from back then "No job OK, bad credit OK%, you CAN buy a house..."

Around here, many of those deals were done with 100% mortgages with adjustable rates often starting at 8 or 9%, and going up from there. The prices were inflated and many of the Hispanic families pooled resources to buy a house for large extended families. Lots of the first round of foreclosures were inflated prices on compromised houses...no garage, bad locations, busy streets, no basement, tiny lot etc which had been bought only 1 or 2 years before. Now, we're seeing more homes where people have lived for 10 years or more and just couldn't keep up the payments when their income plummeted.

My area has a large blue collar/working class population who could buy homes but don't have the credit history, even if they have the income. It's cheaper to buy than to rent but now the banks have restricted the loans to only those people with perfect credit and verifiable, on-the-record income. Prices on many older homes are now below what the homes sold for 10-15 years ago. The house I'm selling this week sold for $110K in 1998 and 15 years later, I'm now selling it for $100,000. The house we're moving into sold for $115k in 2001 and might fetch $80-$90K now, after we clean, repaint, recarpet and stage the house.

To me it seems like many don't even read the homeowners question, comments sometimes. Like they just look at the heading and picture and go to town with their advice. I love it when the home owners post a budget and you know 1/2 the advices given have completely broke the bank as if the money will magically appear.

Linda, I can understand how your local townspeople must feel. Fortunately, here an established job, a decent deposit and a record of good savings especially as a customer of the prospective lender, with no bad credit card debt is sufficient to allow newcomers into the market. Many people were getting handouts from parents for deposits and expected that to do the trick and I can understand why the banks knocked them back. All lenders have money to give out so the option to shop around has never been better which has meant the old 'established' banks have had to become more flexible and take each application on individual merit - as it should be.

I think our banks generally are very progressive now, competition has forced the "old boys' club" attitude out and it sounds like finanacially they are much further ahead than over there, which is really ridiculous when property prices can be so low, you are not talking the average mortgages people have here.

ez, having been there I do know exactly how you feel. I hope you are better tomorrow after you can get some rest. Be well.

Oh, ez, I am so sorry to hear that. What is your weather like? Maybe try for a nice walk? Just getting out for some fresh air can do wonders at times like this.

You are obviously a very caring person and can be easily hurt so no matter how much we tell you to ignore it, it won't work. Just focus on the fact that we love you and care about you and are thinking of you. We know you are a better person.

Roo
Here, the banks are getting downright nosy about people's source of funds. It used to be that you could get gifts from family members for the down payment, but now some banks are even asking that the relatives provide proof of the source of the funds for a minimum of 12 months prior to the sale date. Now, agents are advising people to ask for downpayment funds to be transferred at least 6 months before starting getting to a sales contract. Also, bonuses and incentive pay are not counted toward income in most cases so sales people and other commission based positions are really struggling to find lenders who will work with them.

Linda, that made me laugh - I remembered back when I was working and we had to give everyone the third degree when they were posting bail money. They had to produce bank statements and everything to prove it wasn't a one off payment from someone else - or the proceeds of a drug deal. It was quite a different situation but one that gave us a lot of joy, particularly with hardened crims.

I can understand though that a lump sum amount with no rhyme or reason doesn't mean that person has means to pay a mortgage. Definitely commission based sales people would be in a difficult position but here tax records over a few years are generally a good indication of a reasonable income and realistic ability to pay. In this day and age though, nothing is certain in any field of employment.

Funny, roo! I like the memory one!

trasgorshek
I just looked up your question about painted stair treads. I've never painted stair treads or risers, except for outdoor/porch stairs. I've restained and varnished or applied shellac to stairs, but never painted them. If you do paint them, try painting every other stair and when the first coat is dry, paint the unpainted stairs. That way, you'll always be able to use the staircase. Do your stairs have a flat front or a rounded nosing? And, are they open at one side with spindles or are they between two mopboards?

Runners do look nice and are so practical on stairs. You just have to find someone willing to take a bit of time putting them in to make sure that the edges line up from bottom to top. When we had our basement steps done, my business partner stood at the bottom and made the carpet installer fix the couple of stairs where he had gotten them off center. BTW, buy the more expensive "horsehair" (it's a synthetic product, but not a foam or a rubber) carpet padding for the stairs as you don't really need much of it at all. It will make your runner wear better.

ez, we are here for you. Always!

Ez, do you have a good old movie to put on and lose yourself in that for a while?

Linda, thank you so much! Yes there is a round nose and we have one open side with spindles until you get to the landing then it's open with spindles on both sides. We have a 5 year old and I worry about slipping so I plan on putting the runner down as soon as I get them complete. Thank you so much for your advice! I can see it now, I would have just worked my way up (or down) and both kids would have been sleeping in moms bed. LOL (It would of happened, no doubt!!)

What is wrong with people today?? Geez....there must be something in the water, is there another full moon tonight?
https://www.houzz.com/discussions/inspired-by-grey-and-gold-dsvw-vd~321731

Ez, hope it is a good one so you get "lost" in it. Good night, sleep tight.

trasgorshek..the person who responded so rudely is probably just another alias used by you know who.

Just google the name as one word and you will find she has been banned from several sites, but morphs into someone else.

Janis, she claims to be Australian but I saw a photo one time she posted that makes me feel she is Asian. Aussies send themselves and others up as a humour thing - it is just a thing we do and often talk the opposite to what we mean as a form of humour and I think this is what she is trying to do, she is trying to be funny but her Asian background isn't letting her pull it off correctly. I hear it here a lot.

What she is trying to point out is the old decorating thing, how changing something in one room can lead to things being changed in another, which then makes another room look sad and so it goes on through the house and spreads to the outdoors as well. Just isn't the time and place for it and her language shortcomings aren't allowing her to get the message across.

Good morning creeser!, Yep, that's a weird one alright!

Will you open OLLD 1/28?

Ez, you're just getting caught in the tidal pulls sweetie. Toss on a necklace of garlic cloves, grab your silver bullets and don't watch the Twilight movies. We'll ride this out together by redecorating!
To get your mind off of things, did you ever find the perfect color for a nursery? I have my daughter all interested and told her I'd let her know. There is a color that I used in one room of the house that I thought would be nice for a nursery. It's called 'Contented' and it's by Sherwin Williams. Not sure how it translates on your computer screen, but it's something of a pale, sagey green with a touch of blue. Very peaceful for grownup, but not sure for babies. You did say, pale blues weren't good, right? Or lavenders?

I will bobbi!

HI ladies, sorry to butt in here, and I know the tone of this thread is private, but wanted to chime in.....Olldroo.....are you in Qld? I am from an Aussie from Qld orginally and have lived in the US for nearly 18 years now. I've been hearing about the flooding there, are you near any of it?
Just reading with interest some of your comments. No doubt you've googled her?

Julie, welcome, you're not butting in!

Catching up ..

Linda – I looked at a house (loved, but too large) that the owners had bought in 2005 for $980K. They were getting divorced by 2007, and the house went on the market for $1.15 million .. although the market was already getting soft. They had a large mortage & took more money out to do some fix-ups for sale. I looked at it when it hit $975K (still too high for me, but the owner was firm) .. it eventually sold in 2012 for $590K .. can you imagine that? They had to be underwater for around $300K .. ouch!!

Totally agree with all the comments here, about the excessive “help” some posters give. One recent dilemma was about the placement of a piano in a room, and even after some good tweaking, when the owner mentioned being happy with the changes & a few more things they planned to do, someone posted pretty much wanting to turn the whole room around. I thought the idea was to help the homeowner meet their needs, not how you’d rearrange everything if you lived there?!

Roo – Thanks for your funnies!! Except for the last one .. I grew up in a 3-generation household, so whenever we went antiquing .. even when I was young, I’d say “Gosh, we had that!”

There are a lot of people who talk about where they live (other countries), but their profiles say “United States”. One woman .. very nice, has mentioned living in Mumbai several times (Bombay, India?) .. yet her profile also says “United States”. Not sure I understand that.

Creeser – Very odd! Like on the AARP website (50+), there would be kids posting. A lot of us complained about it, but AARP reps said maybe they were looking for “grandparent figures”. But not with silly posts like that!

Julie, welcome! To echo bobbi, you're not butting in. C'mon and join us! We love seeing new faces. :) We've started today's thread. Look for it under Other and OLLD 1/28.

Julie, I have Googled. Very interesting isn't it? I even went so far as to look at the second page.

Yes, another poster outed it once too but it was taken down immediately. Be careful.

I've been searching hi and lo to find that profile pic, because I want it too,,,,hehe

Hi Julie - and welcome. I am in Sydney. Queensland is certainly copping a hammering with the remnants of Oswald, they said tonight the wind speeds are equal to a Cat 2 cyclone. Can't believe one town copping 6 tornados in 24 hours - we don't get tornados!!!! There were some photos of huge waterspouts so I think the "tornados" were waterspouts that made land. On the news tonight they were following it right down the coast - usual towns copping it, Lismore, Grafton, Bellingen, Coffs and they expected Newcastle to get it bad. It has been raining here solidly now for over 24 hours and we are supposed to get the full force of it around dawn tomorrow. Fortunately we are on a hillside and fairly high above the Harbour so are not subject to any flooding. Seems hard to believe two weeks ago we were sweltering and had fires everywhere - I've had Dorothea MacKellar going through my head all day.

I hadn't Googled her but Janis did, but I keep coming across her on posts - you know how there are just little things in language and expressions you pick up and get a feeling for? More been going with that and just not getting involved - unless I'm in one of my devil moods.

So what took you to the US? Wish you were here, I'm trying to make new curtains for my whole house and am having a devil of a job getting tape. Everything on Google is US.

You know, the more we mention her the more we fuel her fire. Do we really want that?

Roo: I lived in Bondi Junction for 10 years before I moved here: 62 Mill Hill rd.... loved my time in Sydney. I worked for CBA for 20 years, and moved to NYC in 1995 for my job....banking. Staed my drapery business in the year 2000, complete change of scene for me, but there it is a great niche over here. I would love to move back to sydney but could NEVER afford it as I hear it's now the most expensive city in the world!!!
Can't believe the heat you've had and now this??? those type storms never make it down as far as Sydney!

Olldroo, if you need anything for your curtain making, I can send it over.

Julie, our weather sure is getting weird. Most cyclones fizzle within a day of crossing the coast and rarely make it down to Brisbane even. They reckon the floods won't be as bad as 2011 but for many they will be. So few people seem to have insurance now too, this is sure hiking up premiums, plus of course many of the insurance giants refuse to cover.

You certainly lived in a busy part of Sydney, I'm on the north side and rarely cross the bridge these days. Too much traffic and too many road changes, I can't keep up. Property prices are crazy, but as well as that we just pay so much for other things, expecially compared to the States, and don't have half the choice. Median price for a house is now $649K.

Thanks for your kind offer, but it will cost a bomb in postage. People stopped sewing years ago, although it seems to be making a bit of a comeback but all the good old shops are gone. The main tape I'm having problems with is for linings, I can get the detachable one easily but I have several rooms I am doing separate thermal linings and they are my problem. I will keep hassling the stores when this rain stops and I can get out again. Worst case scenario DD is coming over in June and she can bring anything for me.

Ok I saw your comment that she is in LA. Are you referring to a gathering tape for the heading per chance? Maybe you are making yours a different way to how they do here? Explain in more detail if you get a chance. Must be late over there now. Yu can email me direct as I think my contact info is on my pro site.
Haven't been to Sydney in over 5 years, and when I was there last there were suburbs I'd never even heard of. When I go back I go to my parents in Qld, my brother is just outside Canberra.