The Glass-Blockhead Window

Our bathroom window has been a huge, petrified dinosaur-bone of contention between our lovely young buyers (Ken and Barbie as Heather calls them) and us. In this dysfunctional relationship, HB and I are the sensible, logical, and patient ones. Our "other half" is impetuous, flighty, and without sense.

And they are hamstrung by a terribly inept realtor who should probably have gone into cosmetology instead of real estate. (with all due apologies to my cosmetologist readers)

First they asked us for $4,000 to fix the bathroom wall that their inspector said was rotted and about to collapse. After we had a contractor in and he said the wall was fine, they asked for a new window to fix the improper sealing situation. They were cool with either a new glass block window, or a standard frosted-glass variety. We agreed that the window was not installed right and just to get the sale finalized we would put a new window in or fix it.

After the first contractor decided to break up with us and stopped returning our calls, we got a window company in and put in an order for a brand-new frosted glass replacement window.

But they didn't want that. Now they just wanted the money.

So we told them the window was already bought and paid for and they were ok with that. They also asked if they could put in extra money to get a "deluxe upgrade", whatever that would be on a bathroom window.

So I got the number of the window guy to my realtor. But before he could do anything with it, he got another call from them. It seems they had changed their minds and wanted the money instead.

Enraged and way past the boundaries of my patience, I called the window company and cancelled the order. It will take a few weeks before we get our money back.

I just got a call from my realtor. If you can believe this, they called back and asked if I had cancelled the window yet, because they change their minds again and they want to go through with it.

"Too bad", says I. That ship has sailed. In fact, it's already in China being loaded up with plastic toys.

I'm going to write them a check for the price of that window and tell them where they can stick it.

They're lucky I don't charge them for my time.

The things we do for one more bedroom.