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The FIOS package I saw was $33.99 for 5 mbps and I'm paying $42 for 6 mbps through Comcast.

I'm sure the uploads are faster and it's little cheaper at face value, but they aren't doing a great job of highlighting the benefits, IMO.

Is the 5 mbps dedicated bandwidth? That would be a HUGE selling point since I currently have a 10 mbps connection through my existing cable provider that rarely clocks above 3.

I should note that I signed up for just about all my new utilities today (cable, phone, electric, gas, etc.) and my longest wait on the phone BY FAR is my current cable company...all I need to do is cancel.

I've been on hold for over 15 minutes already and they are always like this.

F-d,

FIOS to my understanding is dedicated bandwith. Its not shared like cable.

That's huge because the shared bandwidth is garbage.

That said, ever since bandwidth got over the 2 mbpsish area, I haven't had any problems online and download speeds are always good enough.

I am paying 49.95 for 15 down and 3 up. Comcast was $99.95 (because they made us take the business version.)

I'll post my actual up/down speeds from home but my actual speeds are WAY higher than my actual Comcast speed was.

sorry, 15 down 2 up

I didn't realize they were going to offer TV...

Hopefully that will create a little competition that keeps prices down.

my actual speed tonight on Verizon FIOS:

15387 kb/s down
1823 kb/s up

The ultimate cable crooks closer to the big house

The cable guy getting ass raped by the consumer? Interesting turn of events.

Just wanted to update the house selling blog...

It's been about 50 days now and it appears that we're going to be getting an offer within the next 24 hours. I have no idea what that offer will be, but we'll see how it goes.

The market is basically a wasteland. It seems like it dropped off a cliff in our general area around the time we put our house up, give or take a couple weeks.

I have two other friends who have had their houses on the market in different areas of the same region (both southern PA, but a couple hours apart). One of them has been on for 2 months without an offer and the other has been on for 6 weeks with only 2 showings.

The guy who has been on the market with only 2 showings is seriously considering just pulling it back off the market because he was only really selling because he got into some dispute with the home owners association.

In the neighborhood I moved into, there are 3 houses that were for sale when we bought this one and all 3 are still up. I don't know how long they were up at that point, but it's been over 2 months since we agreed to terms on ours and stopped looking, so they've been up for longer than that.

The funny thing is my realtor still stubbornly believes this is a good market. She blames the media for creating the bubble scare and forcing buyers into their shells trying to "wait out a deal", but claims even with that element, it's a strong market.

Either way, just wanted to update the thread. If this offer would work out and we accept, we'll be out with only 1 double mortgage payment and just a hair under 2 months on the market, which isn't bad (IMO). if not, it's back to the drawing board.

because he was only really selling because he got into some dispute with the home owners association.

Elaborate, please, especially if it's funny.

First, it was the fat friend of mine you met at the one tailgate who was obliterated (that's how he spends most of his life).

There were a couple incidents that led up to this, but apparently his home owners association passed a "no outdoor pets" policy about a year ago. He thought that was only for new residents and when his girlfriend moved in with her dog, figured he was grandfathered in.

One of his neighbors complained about seeing dog shit behind his house and reported him to the HOA. They sent him a manilla envelope with pictures of the dog shit and copies of the HOA agreement stating he cannot have outdoor pets.

He called the guy and tried to talk it out with the conversion going something like this:

Drunky: I was here before the ban went into effect, so I thought it was okay.

HOA: Yeah...doesn't matter because you didn't have the dog.

Drunky: So you're telling me that even though all my neighbors have dogs and I've lived here for the past 3 years, I have to get rid of my dog?

HOA: No.

Drunky: So I can keep the dog?

HOA: Yes...you just can't let it outside.

Drunky: How will it go to the bathroom?

HOA: I don't know.

Drunky: "I'm going to kill you you fucking faggot."

Scene.

NTFF

Alright...new update on the house blog. The house has been on the market for 84 days and after a flurry of activity last week, we received an offer on Saturday. It's obviously under the list price, but it's close enough to our mendoza line (what we need to pay off the swing loan) that this will likely be it unless there is some kind of catastrophe. We're in the process of preparing a counter, but it looks like this may be the one.

They have a house right now but it's under contract and closing next week, so while the sale would be contingent upon their closing, the closing is imminent.

In a weird twist, our agent is expecting a second offer from another interested buyer today. It's not a guarantee, but a good chance.

If we get lucky, we might end up with a little leverage here.

House blog update...

The offer we received fell through, so we were back to the drawing board. We received a new verbal offer yesterday and the papers are supposed to be in our realtors hands today or tomorrow, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

House Blog Update:

The offer mentioned above did come in and we did agree to a price about 3 weeks ago with a closing scheduled for 9/14.

I figured I'd update this to share the rest of the story, which is mostly bitching.

Negotiating in this market is awful. The buyers know you have little leverage and they are real assholes about it. The buyers we're currently dealing with got a good price on the house and I figured we were all systems go...not so fast.

They had the inspection last Friday and issued a 15 repairs/credits based on that report. Now, anyone who has been through this process of buying or selling a lived-in house knows that inspectors get paid to find problems...that's their whole job. If you pay them, they WILL find problems. Most of the problems are insignificant and while some do warrant a credit, most are things you just say "yup" to and move on.

They sort these items by "Major Concerns" (issues that are big, expensive, and looming) followed by all the ticky-tack stuff like the width of space in the railings being wide enough for a retarded child to stick his head into.

Well, our house had "Zero Major Concerns" and was classified as an "Above Average House". That didn't stop our buyers from trying to use the inspection as an opportunity to re-negotiated their price.

The roof is 15 years old and need 2 new shingles, with a note from the inspector that by it's age alone it's likely to need replaced over the next few years. the buyer's translation: We'd like you to pay for a new roof.

The inspection stated the last step on our front porch (poured concrete porch) is 1 inch too high in comparison to the other steps and represented a safety concern. The buyer's response: We'd like you to pour us a new porch.

The Inspection said the condenser drip pipe could be placed different for better functionality on the Air conditioner/heat pump. The buyer's response: replace condenser in Air Conditioner.

These are 3 of the more expensive/ludicrous requests the buyer made that would likely total $12K or so.

We're in the process of negotiating these requests based on my response of "You'll eat shit and like it", but until we hear an answer from them, there is a possibility the deal will fall apart.

This market just blows...

"The Freezer does not quite put the proper chill on a standard 750ML bottle of Rumple Mintz".


Translation: We would like you to purchase and install a stand-alone unit specifically for this purpose.

Again...I know no one cares about this thread, but the offer above that was a done deal...was not.

The buyers stood firm on their ridiculous credits and there was no way we could sell it for that price. As it turned out, the buyer received an inheritance and wanted out of our deal to shop in a higher price range.

We tangled over the deposit and all that stuff for a long time, but I eventually gave it back once I didn't feel like screwing with him anymore.

2 weeks after that offer, we got another offer for a little bit more money and they requested ZERO credit after the inspection. Funny how that worked out. The closing was the first week of November so between the extra double mortgage we had to pay for being forced back onto the market another 5 weeks and the additional money on this offer, we ended up making slightly less than we would have on the first buyer (if we gave him nothing in credits).

So...the voyage has been officially over for a little over a month. It took a total of about 7 months from market to closing and we sold for about 8% less than we originally listed.

The house prices seem to be getting worse and worse since then...very glad we were able to get out relatively unharmed, minus a couple double mortgages.

The buyers stood firm on their ridiculous credits and there was no way we could sell it for that price. As it turned out, the buyer received an inheritance and wanted out of our deal to shop in a higher price range.

If he had any class at all he would have bought your house, then shopped for another one.

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