patrick.net

But I have found that it is usually people who have never traveled outside the U.S., or who have only had brief vactions to other countries, who are the first to speak up and deride the U.S.

oh, i wouldn't say that... :P

swissmiss says:
than to pay off a huge mortgage of a termite-press-wood house here in Los Angeles…

well..I heard from my hubby that houses up North are built much better and nice then here in LA… I guess I chose the wrong location.

Coincidentally, speaking of termites here and dodgy realtors in an earlier thread, a workmate just told me about his experience last year when he was about to purchase a house -- it was on a hill with a great view, nice house and property, and he put down a $1,500 holding deposit on it, basically non-refundable. He then arranged pest inspections, etc, the inspector refused to go up into the roof cos it was 'too cramped', but found evidence of termite damage elsewhere that had been 'fixed'. So my friend actually goes back to the place to look in the roof himself, and, you got it, found loads of termite damage in the timbers, so no sale, as the cost of repairs would be prohibitive. It's highly likely the realtor and vendor knew about this problem before going to market. Naturally, the realtor/vendor double-headed monster wouldn't return the holding deposit. My friend now realises the order of events is important, plus lots of contingency clauses in writing if you're going to put down a holding deposit, as you simply can't trust people's motivations... The realtor was also playing a game of 'I've got another offer' with an invisible bidder, which took him completely unawares. People seem to have to find out about the chicanery the hard way...

It's a case of "so you bought an overpriced house riddled with termite damage that we didn't tell you about costing you even more -- you should be happy you have you own place! I know I'm happy with the commission I got from selling a lemon to you"

Ditto for the realtor who cleverly sold a house where a gruesome murder had just taken place (of the parents by their son!) to arriving Thai Buddhists who wre horrified to find out later. Fair Trading didn't do anything til it hit the papers, then fined the realtor $50K and reversed the transaction, only after negative press...

mrcool,

That's the best come back you could come up with? PATHETIC. What are you? 15.

Insulting behavior is a lot more acceptable (or at least interesting) when accompanied by some inkling of intelligence.

First of all, America is not just a landmass but also a country. You don't have to have 10,000 years of ancestral inhabitation (and how many full blooded native Americans do you know?) to claim allegiance to America.

And even "native Americans" have ancestors who came from elsewhere. Should we also make room for the spirits of extinguished woolly mammoth?

Oh, thou dost protest too much. Interesting how you didn't mention how you or Switzerland rose above America's folly, or attempt to correct those follies in a positive manner.

But perhaps (or should I say "certainly") putting other people down makes you feel superior. I suppose that's all someone with your rather limited intellect and less than charismatic personality can muster.