Hi E., Actually, I'm not at all troubled by the questions you ask, because I've been pondering the same things myself. In the next few months, I will be living alone. My skill in doing home repair is negligible. That means that just about anything that goes wrong, I'll have to hire someone to fix. This can be a significant added expense. I've watched a friend of mine struggle with plumbing problems, and it is costing her a fortune to fix them. Even routine maintenance tasks are either beyond my skill or interest. I'd prefer to pay someone to come mow my yard, shovel snow in the winter, and clean out the gutters and such. All this begins to add up, and would need to be included in my budget as I analyze the costs of buying vs. renting. The condo in a community would address many of these concerns, but in so doing, I'd lose my ability to have a large dog if I chose to. Beyond that, I think a condo in a community begins to feel too much like apartment living. I'm certainly not saying that a blind person can't or shouldn't own a house, but there are definite issues to consider. In the end, I shall buy a house. There are many advantages to home ownership that I'm interested in obtaining, but in the end, I've got to make some careful choices. -----Original Message----- From: bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:bksvol-discuss-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of E. Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2007 9:04 AM To: bksvol-discuss@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [bksvol-discuss] Re: OT: Apartment Leases I was being conservative. You are correct. Every two weeks is more like it. And then there is weeding. If one fails to mow and weed the yard ends up looking crumby. We have not discussed the amount of money or time spent in winter shoveling out driveway and porch steps. Mind you there are advantages to home ownership. Maintenance for a blind person is truly something to investigate thoroughly. If someone buys an older house fixing up may be necessary. Again it is challenging finding good quality work when it may be difficult to evaluate a contractor and such. House ownership is tricky given the number of surprises which can arise. For a blind person it may present particularly interesting challenges. Again rather than thinking my comments please think of them as things to ponder. By the way, for those of you who have read my comments over time, much of what I say is meant as things to think about rather than outright negative thinking. Sometimes I come across in a way I do not intend. Some of that is the limitation of email. Some is the limitation of my personality. I am working hard on tact, and expressing myself better. I am actually a kind person who gives people the benefit of the doubt. I have been known to give some people too many chances as it were. Anyhow, I just want to add how important all of you on this list are to me. Oh yes, I am a bit long winded too. (grin) E. To unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to bksvol-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the subject line. To get a list of available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line. To unsubscribe from this list send a blank Email to bksvol-discuss-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx put the word 'unsubscribe' by itself in the subject line. To get a list of available commands, put the word 'help' by itself in the subject line.