All Forum Posts by: Cathy B.

A 36" square shower is a standard size and pretty normal for small, older apartments.  I even have two that size in my 4 bed, 3 bath house. Of course, we'd like at least one to be bigger.  :)

Most of the new design I do is required to meet accessible requirements and those showers are larger, closer either 42"x48" or 30"x 60".  As long as you are exempt from those requirements, you should be fine with the smaller shower.  I assume you are getting permits for this work?!  

Danny,

Some thoughts . . .
Option 1 is certainly tempting since you have a studio unit and no one will probably notice that the shower is small as the whole unit is small.  Likely the most cost and time effective considering where you are now.

Option 2 is my least favorite as it involves putting the toilet is the first thing that you come across in the bathroom.  In fact, you would probably be able to see the toilet from the hall, and maybe even an adjacent room?  This is considered tacky and a design no-no.

Option 3 . . . its unclear what the 60 inch layout would be from what was shown in the video.  It might be better, but consider the use of space that you have.

The layout in general seems a bit awkward, but moving plumbing can get expensive.  Consider where things like towel bars, TP holder, etc. would go along with the vanity size and moving around within the space.

-Good luck!

I would confirm which wire and whose responsibility with your electric provider.  Usually they have a handbook online for installations that outlines this.  This is the one for my local utility:

You can see that not all wires are the responsibility of the utility.  This could vary by utility/ area.

(hopefully you've already gone down this path, but I thought I would mention it if you are looking at claims and responsibility)

Another thing to consider is whole house surge protection, which you may be able to get a discount on your insurance if you install something like this, and it could help avoid some future issues.  A licensed electrician would be able to go over different options and the level of protection from these.

Matt,

For your listing, consider allowing cats to increase your pool of interested tenants.  Also, a floor plan or 3D tour might help potential tenants envision themselves in the home.

Its been listed for 38 days.  I would have taken it off Zillow when I dropped the price put it back on so that it shows as new to those searching by "newest" properties.  Sometimes people assume its already in process with other tenants or that there is something wrong with it.  Or if they searched by price before, they may have missed the price drop if searching by newest.

Some thoughts . .

I would take the term "AS IS" out of your listing wording.  I'm not what is intended by that, but it could be interpreted to mean that you will not fix anything ever (even if its landlord responsibility by law).

Also, it looks like the bathroom and bedrooms could use some window coverings for privacy.  These would ideally be in all of the living spaces, but I can't imagine anyone being ok without them in private spaces.  Normally these are provided by the landlord and not for tenant install.

Lastly, this seems like mixed signals to me: "Is not pet friendly. (Pets accepted on a case by case basis)"  If you might accept them, just strike the first part.  Have a good idea what criteria you have for accepting a pet beforehand so you can explain what will be acceptable to interested parties.

Good luck!

Rage,

Sorry, I'll have more questions than answers, but hopefully some food for thought here.

What does you lease say about repairs?  I can see why the landlord wants to use their person . . . they probably want to make sure its a quality repair.  You could see if your landlord would be willing to entertain a bid from someone that you found that is a licensed contractor in your state.

Is the replacement assessment based on what the repair person stated, or just what the landlord wants?  The more I think about this, the more I wonder if you should just get a quote/ assessment from a Contractor just to be sure you are not overpaying or to reassure you that the replacement is warranted.  See if you can get a free estimate and pick the brain of the estimator!

It is possible that the landlord has depreciated the garage door and it has met its life expectancy so they are ready to replace it once the first thing goes wrong.  While you could be responsible for part of the cost, you should only be responsible for the worth of the depreciated door.  So, if you can find a make/ model of the door, that might help inform you as to how old it is.  This could be useful information if you need to push back on this and you might want to consider floating some questions back to the landlord about the depreciated worth of the door and hint that you are not expecting to pay for a whole new door.   (unless it was a new door)

Hmm interesting.  It looks like its for company closings or mass layoffs (33% or more of workforce) for companies with a large workforce, which is probably why I've never heard of it.  Doesn't seem to apply to many situations where employees are laid off unless the company is really in trouble.  It also appears to be a federal law (WARN act signed by Congress in 1988), not an Oregon specific one.
Thanks for the info .  . . I learned something new!

It looks like you are accounting for cost to build + cost of land.  I assume you looked at the cost of subdividing as well.  Have you looked at system development charges or other fees that the town or city has?  These fees can be quite high in some places.  A call or visit to the building department might be very informative if you have not already done so.

Sounds like cool opportunity though!

I'm curious about the 60 day heads up that you mention.  I thought most employment in Oregon is at will and can be terminated at any time.  I'm pretty sure every employer of mine has handled layoffs this way. Employees get no notice of being laid off until it happens.

There are some industries that are resetting due to the high interest rates.  It is definitely affecting developers ability to have projects that pencil out, which translates into less work for others down the line.  Expect more layoffs while the economy resets.  That being said, most people I know that were laid off have been able to find other employment.