All Forum Posts by: Vinson Lee

Thanks for the helpful advice Scott.  In this case, it seems like it will most likely come out of my own insurance.  At least now I know what to expect.  Thanks again!!

Hi Everyone,

Wanted to see if anyone had any advice to share on how I should be handling this.  My rental property, which is a condo, recently had a water leak from the pipes under the kitchen sink.  The water seeped down and caused some ceiling damage to the unit below mine.  So far the bottom unit hasn't asked for payment or anything, but I'm sure it's a matter of time until they do.  My renters in my unit are supposed to have Renters Insurance based on my rental agreement, but I never verified if they got it or not.  Would something like this come out of their renter's insurance or is this something that would come from my own insurance?  So far I haven't contacted any insurance company yet, should I be contacting mine now, or should I wait.  Thank ahead oftime for your helpful advice!!

Hi I have a thermador gas cooktop model# sgcs365rs that does not spark at any of the igniters. This happened all of a sudden where the night before they were working to now none of them spark. I did notice that one of the knobs was not turned all the way to the off position. Luckily it Seems it was turned just far enough to not leak gas but not any further. Could this be the cause of what made all my igniters to all stop sparking? What is most likely the issue here in your opinion?

@Daryl Luc

Thanks for pointing out the tax implications. Had never even thought about that. This is why BP forums is so awesome.

Hi all, looking to get some advice from the collective wisdom of the group. I have a SIngle family rental in the San Francisco bay area. More precisely in the East Bay where the temperatures and weather are pretty moderate. It’s an older home built in the 1950’s in a working class neighborhood. It’s time for a new roof. There are no plans to sell the home and it will likely stay a rental forever. Any advice on what sort of a new roof I should get for the best value and what brands of roof you recommend. It’s currently an asphalt shingle roof. Is sticking with asphalt the best from a cost/durabilty standpoint. What sort of warranty length should I consider? Whats a good reliable brand? This is a rental so just want something that makes good financial sense.

Thanks!!

Thanks everyone for the very useful info you’ve shared.  The itemization list you have @wesley w. Is great and your explanation @kyle j. Makes complete sense. This gives me more confidence in knowing what I can do. Yes there are just some times that it would be just as much hassle to hire someone to do something than to just do it yourself.  I’ll make sure it’s all very reasonable. I’m not trying to make money this way but actually see it as benefitting both me and my past renter. 

Hi, My tenant has moved out and there is a lot of little things that need to be done to ready the place for the new tenant.  Ie replace bulbs, clean, paint, fix broken cabinets, patch holes, repair broken appliances.  If I were to hire someone to do the work then I would deduct some of that labor from the deposit, but what if I did the work myself.  Could I deduct for my own labor?  The rental is in California.

Thanks Jeff and Michelle!!  I feel better now knowing that this is how things are done.

So I have a question for you kind folks and was hoping you could provide advice based on your experiences. So my sister is renting her place out. She is working with a realtor to be her property manager to rent out the place. This realtor is using the standard lease agreement from the association of realtors and told my sister she doesn't need to sign it. He said the lease would just be signed between the realtor and the tenant. Is that correct. I would think the owner and tenant would still sign the lease but that's why I wanted to ask all of you to see how it is typically done. Also he told my sister that if she wanted to make any changes to the lease he would have to run it by his broker first. Can you all enlighten me as to whether this is the right way that leases should be done when working with a property manager who is a realtor?

Thanks