All Forum Posts by: Baxter Stegall

 You pretty much read my mind.  As far as mowing or maintenance, there is none.  Nothing needs to be mowed.  There are no trees in danger of hitting any structure.  The land is pretty much undisturbed.

I use the HD stuff for base when I have to.  The time it takes to install 1x6 and a trim piece in half of the house, I could be done using contractor packs.  Yeah, it sucks as far as quality, but it really isn't awful.  

As far as spraying paint, I have the Magnum X9 (if I recall correctly) from Home Depot.  It cst about $400.  When I have bulk trim to paint, you can't beat a sprayer.  Pass, pass, go have a smoke/sandwich/whatever, pass, pass, done.  It works wonders on louvered doors, too.  Cleanup can be a pain at first, but once you figure out the routine, it's fast.  A garden hose and some acetone is all you need.  And I only use the acetone on the tip.   

If you are installing the trim, I suggest the DeWalt finish nailer.  No compressor and no cartidges (like those Paslodes).  Runs on a 18V drill battery and you can knock out a lot of trim on a single charge.  Shoots 2 1/2" nails with no problem.  I've been doing crown in my house without a hickup.  Re-trimmed a full house, doors, base, windows, crown, without a problem.  

I'm going to be the one to rock the boat here.  

For the tub:  Go to Home Depot or Lowe's and buy a nice respirator.  Knock on the door and go to inspect the tub.   Hand her the respirator and let her know she will have to wear that while she is in the unit for at least 72 hours and the tub people will be there in the morning, unless she's not comfortable with the mask.   Proceed to touch up the tub with appliance repair epoxy.  It actually matches and is durable.  No lady-part damage.   I've had to do something similar in the past.  

The stove:  it doesn't cook unevenly, she does.  Spin the pan, Rachel Ray.  

If all else fails, exercise the Happy Clause.  Let her move out with no penalty and full deposit back, minus any damage (like the tile floor).  That usually puts a stop to the nitpicking.  

Some people just can't help but to be a pain in the ***.  They're not happy until you're not happy.  And they're still unhappy.  Once in a while you have to fight fire with fire and just be a jerk.  There is a difference between being a great, responsive landlord and a concierge.  You're about halfway there. She's training you.

From the last paragraph, it appears to be a damned if you do, damned if you don't scenario.  

Funny thing is, I think my mortgage was sold by Fannie or Freddie to my current lender.  (It's a good thing my wife remembers all this stuff.)

So, dropping an envelope full of cash is legal?   I like it.  :)

You can give cash to anyone you want to.  Your reasons are your own.  I'd call it a common courtesy if someone did you a service.  What's the difference between a Mont Blanc pen and $250 cash?  Or a Rolex and $5000 cash?   Of course, this is based on how I read the original post.  

I would imagine this only applies if they are licensed in TX.  Or, I could be wrong.  

I currently own a piece of property that backs up to an undisturbed area in a part of town experiencing a large amount of growth.  My emotional side says buy this piece of property and come to an agreement on a deed restriction that doesn't allow development for several years.  My business side says, once the period is over the property will most likely be a hot commodity.  The emotional side says leave this for the neighbors to enjoy and allow wildlife to do its thing.  My business side says this property will fund a decent chunk of my retirement and allow me to do a little gardening in the meantime.  

This property directly adjoins mine, has been mowed and maintained by neighbors for some time, and the owner has supposedly given permission to "do whatever we want as long as there is no burning."  I've started building a RC car track out there (knowing a couple hours of work will restore the land to what it was before).  I love seeing the deer and rabbits and other wildlife out there.  I also have no plans to move for quite some time.  I feel like where we bought will appreciate quite well over the coming years.  We're in a suburban area with a little rural feel, and very close to the lake.  Our developer has water access in the plans (when it happens is anyone's guess :(  )  

If you had the opportunity to purchase vacant land directly behind your primary residence to prevent future development, would you?  Why or why not?  Would you do it believing the payoff in the long run would be well worth it?  Would it be worth it if the "payoff" wasn't financial, but for your well-being?  (And maybe to borrow against)

@Levi Cable You can say that again.  :)

I had a tenant who proposed exactly that in NC.  He was no problem, an ideal tenant, until the year was out.  After the initial year he wanted to stay but refused to pay rent on time, if at all.  We wound up evicting him and fixing a good bit of damage and replacing the fridge and stove. He stole them.  

He checked out great, was clean-cut, spoke well, and everything you would want from an in-person screening.  It turns out he was screwing the system with a student loan and never went to school.  He would sign up for classes and never attend.  Turns out another tenant had a class with him, and he never showed up.  Our apartment building is near a bus stop so it is appealing to people with no car.  Our office is also very close to a bus stop, so we never thought twice.  Turns out the guy sat around all day and drank beer and watched TV.  I guess he took the student loan money and paid his rent then screwed off for the whole year.  Must be nice.  I'd like to take a year off, too.

I guess I went a little too casual for my profile picture.  lol  I guess it fits since I'm not a terribly formal kind of person.  I actually prefer my tenants to see me wearing Carrhart pants and a t-shirt.  It lets them know I'm getting my hands dirty and I'm not just a guy collecting rent.  I had one tenant tell me today that she considers me a good friend and it would "hurt her heart" if I fell in with the wrong crowd.  It almost makes me feel good (context of the conversation prevents that).  

I know nothing of CA law, but would an omission be the same as a lie if your application process and lease state that lying are grounds for termination/denial?  We (in NC) have a question on our app that asks if the applicant has been convicted of a felony.  

I ask because there is a town in CA I might consider investing in at some point.  

As far as the OP goes, if he isn't trouble, I'd let him be.  He screwed up and did his time.  If he isn't a problem tenant, aside from the guests, which you say have been handled, I see nothing really wrong with allowing him to stay.  You'd also have to consider the loss of revenue and costs of a turn if you did evict him.