The other day a friend of mine told me of a problem he was having with one of his 5 alternate homes. He travels between them and lives a life of leisure and likes to have his own place when he visits his favorite cities for a month or two at a time. Your basic perfect neighbor, hardly ever there and never bothers anyone. Unfortunately, this mild mannerism and graciousness is not always reciprocated.

Let me re-tell you the story he told me. One of his 5-homes is in a very nice resort type town, and this particular residence is a Condo. Above him is a Doctor who really is, well, a not so nice person. Apparently, his drain on his bathtub or shower leaks and has been for quite a while, it leaks down through the ceiling and the walls into his condo. When the doctor was told of this, he said, it doesn't bother him in the least, nothing on his upstairs condo is leaking in his bathroom. Right - water goes downhill!

Well, it just so happens that my friend found a stand-alone home he really likes in the same city, prices are lower than usual, but it has not taken the huge hit that other parts of the US housing market have. His condo has held because it is a choice place to live and the home he wants has taken a little bit of a beating, so he figures he can move straight across on cost. Good for him right, condo will sell fast and the home can be bought for a lower than normal offer. He doesn't have to sell the condo to buy the home, but no longer needs the condo and does not wish to deal with it or this neighbor of his.

It turns out however that the Doctor will not fix his leak, so my friend cannot repair the damage and sell his condo. Worse there is the problem with mold issues if it is not fixed. My friend had to take his condo off the market, while he is entertaining offers. A couple of buyers are irate. The doctor doesn't care and although the home he wants to buy is not going to sell tomorrow, it will eventually sell. The condo he is selling is 1700 miles away and he now has to deal with all this. He likes the idea of owning a condo and has another, because it is little upkeep, when he is not there, but now he realizes that there is a price to pay for sharing walls too!