All Forum Posts by: Carl Fredrickson

My landlord installed Clear Token on the laundry machines. At first they retained the option to also pay with coins, but now about half the machines are app only. 

I prefer coins, so have never used it. The reviews in the App Store seem kind of mixed. 

“Contractors with a per diem” could also be interpreted as families/kids won’t get rented to. I’m not sure how many contractors bring their wife and kids with them, but suspect it isn’t many if they’re living in motels. 

If there wasn’t a wall there, then the cabinets would be just as close to the stove, yet you’re not worried about damage to them? 

Also consider whether you can get a 10” wide cabinet to go between the stove and the wall. Otherwise that just becomes wasted space. 

Put the stove against the wall. Move the sink as far to the right as you can. 

That’ll leave 3-4 feet of countertop which is reasonable. Countertops of 20” and 10” are too small in my opinion.  

Depending on where you live, the trailer may require a license plate. That would get you the registration portion. Not sure I would consider a trailer a vehicle though. 

It kind of looks like they’re working off a standardized list, so they’re basically double- or triple-billing you for trips. 

$55 for a special trip out to the property to change a lightbulb may or may not be reasonable, depending on your point of view and situation. $55 for a special trip out to the property to install a padlock may or may not be reasonable, depending on your point of view and situation. $440 for a special trip out to the property to install blinds may or may not be reasonable, depending on your point of view and situation.

But they can complete multiple tasks in a single trip. Changing lights and installing a padlock should only add a small marginal cost (say parts + 0.5 hr labor total) to the painting and/or blind installation jobs, not the $55 per task they’re quoting you (unless they bill ~$220/hr for handyman services, which seems awfully high). 

If you’re being literal, it would be its own sport. 

Otherwise we would call it by that sport's name and not use "REI".

I’m a tenant, and I’ve been at my place a little over 14 years. 

The first couple years I was there they raised the rent at lease renewal. Then they got a new office manager, who has  (so far) kept the rent the same but has added a water surcharge that has gone up over time. I think they’re going to raise the rent on me fairly significantly (~10%) the next time the lease renews, which will sort of be a bitter pill to swallow, but had they raised the rent a little every year or two, I’d probably already be paying that amount or more, so I’ll probably get over it. Psychologically the big jump is worse than several smaller jumps. 

A lot of the things that cause tenants to move will be out of your control (job change/loss, family growth/shrinkage, etc). One guy I know had tenants who needed to move (I forget the reason), but they asked if he had any other properties that were more suitable for them. In other words, they wanted to keep him as a landlord, just not at that property. So do right by your tenants. 

Not a lawyer/arborist/other expert in the field, but my understanding is that it can get complicated and depends on the condition of the tree. 

If the tree is healthy, you don’t necessarily have to do anything, but the neighbor also has the right to cut the tree back to the property line (with no vertical limit). They’re not supposed to do it in a way that kills the tree, but I don’t know of any way to guarantee that they don’t. 

If the tree is unhealthy or otherwise dangerous (i.e. large broken branches hung up and at risk of coming down), then you’ve been put on notice and will be responsible for any damage caused, so it would be in your interest to get it taken care of. 

 Close, but not entirely correct. 

Buffett’s choice was an index fund (VFIAX), not an ETF. 

Index funds are a type of mutual fund where the stocks are selected to emulate an established index like the S&P500. Since the fund managers don’t have to exert a lot of effort in deciding what to buy, they’re usually able to offer lower fees. Like mutual funds, they only transact after the end of the trading day. 

ETFs are basically mutual funds that can be bought and sold throughout the trading day like stocks. There are both actively managed ETFs that focus on particular sectors or strategies and index ETFs, and the internal fees can vary accordingly. I don’t know what mechanism is used to keep the price of the ETF close to the value of the underlying investments, which are being traded at the same time. 

You really should talk to a lawyer or accountant about what the current state of estate law is and where it may be going. 

Some of the proposals for eliminating the estate tax also eliminate the step up in basis at inheritance, though I don’t know if that would apply to all estates or just those over a certain value. I don’t know if and/or when those changes will ever become law, but your original post also didn’t mention how much time you think they’ve got.