In the mean time, do you have a friend who might be willing to take one or more of the animals? Surely someone would be willing to help out if it’s truly that bad.
Awhile back someone started a website in which they threatened to kill some small animal (I think it was a rabbit) if the public did not donate x amount of money in a certain time window. In this scenario we have someone who is intimating that their rabbit will die from overheating if this message board doesn’t pony up three large before summer comes around. It’s punctuated by the “not getting rid of them statement.” That’s basically the OP saying “I know my pets might die if you don’t give me the money, but we are not willing to get rid of them if that happens.”
There’s a lot of really stupid gimmicks that have gotten people a ton of money. Hell, some kid in the UK made $1m by creating a website he called “The Million Dollar Homepage” and selling pixels at $1/per on a 1m square pixel page. I think this is someone’s attempts at something along those lines. If it isn’t, it’s ridiculous that you’re doing something like this before tapping into a retirement account. Depending on your short term finances that would actually make a lot of sense. You can borrow from your retirement account interest free for 90 days, and even if it would take you longer than that to pay it back combining that with maybe taking advantage of 0% interest financing offers from places like Sears or something and this should be a lot more manageable than you’re making it out to be.
Also, unless you have some strange animals from totally different climates (and rabbits don’t sound like it) I doubt very seriously they are going to die in your house if you keep them out of direct sunlight and in some shade. Rabbits actually live outside in places that get 100F+ regularly.
I would actually be less irritated if Lute would admit he wants AC for his own comfort. That sounds more likely than doing it for the animals. But posting a picture of a cute bunny is easier to do than posting a picture of a sweaty human.
Just a WAG.
This is a condo. No place to put it here, and no vehicle to take it away ourselves. The friend’s truck we had been borrowing is no longer safe to drive.
She’s out of town until July.
Have already said it’s for both. We had no AC our first summer here, turned out that the original condenser looked like it hadn’t been cleaned in 30 years. That condenser was replaced about a decade ago, by someone who didn’t quite know what he was doing and his company no longer does buisness in this area.
An answer for every question.
Sears, Lowes, Home Depot, all have same as cash extended financing. It’s a really good deal.
10-15 years for an HVAC system is pretty normal. So, after you get done paying for this one, be aware that you have to set aside money for the next time, and not in some super-secret inaccessible vault that you can’t touch so that you have to mooch money you don’t need from people you don’t know so that you can make more in interest.
How much are they charging for disposal? How much is it to rent a truck from Menards or Home Depot? Call some recycling places and find out what they’ll pay you for what you need to get rid of. Honestly, you might come out ahead here and for what your asking of your fellow Dopers, you’re don’t get to not look into these kind of things.
If they’re charging $30 for disposal and you can rent a truck for $30 and the recycling place will pay you $60…you’ll only need $30 from 99 dopers (and you’ve pissed off more then 1 so you should probably take what you can get).
Get some numbers, do the math and see where you end up. Hey, it might still be cheaper to let them haul it away, but until you find out, you’re just guessing.
But there’s still a chance that the contractor might just waive the disposal charge since they’re going to scrap this as well…they’re just collecting on it twice, it’s pretty common since most people just assume that it costs money to get rid of this stuff and don’t realize that it’s actually worth money…and if they waive it, I’d probably just let them have it, even if I stood to make a few bucks (say, less then a hundred, net).
People. he doesn’t want your solutions, he just wants your cash.
Because last year when I wasn’t making ends meet and our AC died the Dope community helped us get one?
Actually, for some people lacking AC actually CAN be an emergency - my spouse’s health condition means he doesn’t tolerate heat nearly as well as a normal person. Failure to get an AC would have required relocating him to a cooler residence (which would have been a problem with no money) or risk him winding up in the hospital.
Also, if you read the OP, this isn’t just AC, it’s also heat for next winter. Or don’t you think heat in winter is important?
Anyhow - if you don’t want to contribute then don’t. No one has to give who doesn’t want to. I don’t get why it chaps so many rear ends when someone else decides to help out yet another someone else.
Exactly; there are a myriad of ways he could resolve this. Having dopers pay for it is just the least work for him and that apparently is the one guiding factor.
Your comment is an excellent example of what people fail to realize when they’re home shopping. I know Suze Orman tells people that you need to be able to afford the mortgage payment plus 40% to truly be able to be financially secure in your home. Too many people want to get as much as they can get for the loan amount forgetting that you also need to have money for maintenance and emergencies.
Did you and your pets survive?
And… just for the record, I am reconsidering my initial idea of helping out.
Lute - I don’t know about your area, but our local electric company also offers low-interest financing for heating/AC units. They have strict policies about the companies they hire, they inspect the work before the company is paid, and the payment is tacked on to your electric bill each month. From their website:
StG
If the OP had said “My mother/sister/daughter/son is physically frail/disabled/ill and will get very sick and die when they overheat, and we’ve got no way of getting any money whatsoever to move them to another residence or find any other solution” then fine. These things are valid emergencies that need assistance.
“My bunny will get hot and might get overheated” is not. Especially in a situation where it’s only health risk for the animal if it’s left in an airless and sun-exposed location for an extended period. Doubly so if the OP has resources such as retirement funds, access to finance through a store or some super-secret untouched-in-18-years savings fun.
And solutions for summer can be reversed in Winter, if the OP still hasn’t managed to save the money in the next six months. A small heater to be moved from room-to-room with family members. Straw and extra bedding for the pets. Weatherstripping and lining for windows and doors, or extra-heavy curtains. Throw rugs and electric blankets. So on and so forth.
The OP hadn’t even finished finalising what support his sister could give him before wandering up, hand out for gratuities. Asking for assistance when you’re in a “We could lose our house or someone could die” style emergency is nothing to be ashamed of. Begging for cash when you’ve got other resources is absolutely shameful and an abuse of the good nature of people who want to help.
Okay, I’m going to shut this down for a few reasons. For one, the OP has requested it to be shut down.
For two, it was a request that probably should have been given more thought before having approval anyway, we freely admit.