All Forum Posts by: Ericka G.

Quote from @Jon Martin:

Not ideal, but I wouldn't say it's a dealbreaker for guests if it's in a popular area and has everything else going for it. Plenty of California beach neighborhoods have horrendous power lines in the view line and that doesn't seem to slow it down. Those power lines are actually not too bad- I've got absolute ratnests in my beach neighborhood and the rates are still outrageous. 

Good to know, thanks for the input.  Can u share some of the beach zip codes you are referencing and I will take a look on Airbnb, etc.  that will help me get an idea of the potential impact on rates.

Quote from @Bruce Woodruff:

It is a deal breaker for sure. How much of one is the question. I think you'll either lose or annoy about 75% of your guests...but that may be just me...?

75% seems high, but who knows.  It gives me pause but my husband says it doesn’t bother me at all.  I may need to figure out a way to do a quick poll to try to get a more quantitative read.  The house is priced well below others in the area, I’m guessing the power lines in the view are contributing to that  

Quote from @Russell Brazil:

Why does it bother you?

This happened to me and it was annoying because I still had agents and investors contacting me (multiple calls a day) for weeks after the property was closed/sold.  Have no idea why the status lingered as “pending” for so long. My realtor said her brokerage got behind or something.  It also made it look like the property took longer to sell than it actually did. 

Quote from @Marshall Leipprandt:

@Ericka G. I don't think it is a deal breaker but you will also have to accept the fact that you may have a percentage of STR prospective guests who don't book because of the sight line - or the property may command a lower nightly rate as a result. As long as the property is squared away otherwise and you disclose the power lines in your listing, I will bet a lot of guests will look past it. Personally, I would run your Airbnb gross revenues on the conservative side just to be safe. At the end of the day, if the numbers work out, I wouldn't be too concerned about the lines.

Any chance at all the lines could eventually be lowered or run underground? 

Good point about being more conservative with the nightly rates, assuming this might command lower rates.  I will ask locally if they can be moved at some point.  I doubt it but doesn’t hurt to check what the process might be. 

Any idea how much I’d need to knock off for the less than perfect sight lines? 20%?

Hi all,

Are power lines a deal breaker? Under contract on what appears to be a solid deal…ocean view 2/2 home over a 1/1 apt that is already occupied by a great tenant.  The rent from the apartment will pay 60% of the mortgage and we plan to Airbnb the main house when not in town.

One catch is that most of the ocean views also include power lines that are located across the street. The house Is priced a bit below market so the numbers work for us, but curious what you think in terms of resale and STR potential given the lines messing up the views a bit. Has anyone purchased a similar property? Would this be a deal breaker for you if everything else about a property was on point?

Thanks for the advice. I will get my handyman out to replace or repair the floor. It is only peeling up a bit near base of kitchen sink so it isn’t a trip hazard but it’s a good point - if I’d put in a new floor for a new tenant, why wouldn’t I do it for one who’s been paying me (albeit late) for 2 years?

Interesting that I’ve never had a request like this in 13 years of landlording, though, nor would it ever have crossed my mind to request it when I was a tenant 🤷🏽‍♀️

Tenant of 2 years sent me pictures of kitchen flooring that is coming up around the edges (linoleum). It was in solid condition, not peeling, when they moved in but it is old. They are requesting that I replace the kitchen flooring and claim that it is attracting flies. I’ve never had a tenant request flooring be replaced during their lease, have always made those changes btwn residents.

They pay every month but always late and with a late fee. I don’t mind the lateness too much because they always pay within a week and it is an extra $100/mos

What would you do in this situation? It isn’t an expensive repair but I’ve never encountered a request for a new floor (been a landlord since 2007) or made one while I was a tenant so this feels like it is out of scope for such a short tenure.

@Daniel Lynch From a woman’s perspective, I would be offended if my partner asked me to pay him “rent” but totally ok with us having a conversation about household expenses and how best to SHARE those expenses. Tally all the expenses and then consider what she makes versus what you make, also consider what she had been paying to live solo. It’s a win/win for her and you as long as she is paying less to live with you than she was paying to live solo AND her contribution % is reflective of her income versus yours. If you make double what she makes, it wouldn’t be fair to ask her to pay half.

I’d be leery of anyone expecting a free ride.

@Eamonn McElroy yep, totally agree - I immediately updated my W4 after realizing I’d owe. It’s my responsibility BUT I’ve always carefully managed my withholdings so I’d neither owe or get back a ton and this is the first time in 15+ years as a W2 employee that I had to make such complex adjustments to my W4. It seems super specific what you have to do to make sure the correct amount is coming out (maybe that is just my situation though) and I don’t think the average W2 employee has the time, will, or knowledge to make those sorts of adjustments mid-year.

@Irina Belkofer I agree, I wasn’t complaining when my take home pay went up a bit this year and do blame myself for not checking out withholdings when the tax cuts took effect, I just didn’t realize it would have such a big impact...I take full responsibility for managing my own withholdings BUT I wish the IRS would have done a better job telling people that they WILL owe or take a hit if they don’t adjust their withholdings once the tax changes went into effect.

I heard a few people say, “it’s a good idea to take a look at your withholdings” but that is far different than “you WILL OWE if you don’t make some adjustments” now that the rules changed.

After doing the calc on the IRS website, per their reco I now have mine set up as “married, but withhold as single” and also have them taking out an additional amount each month to avoid owing again in 2020. No way I would have known to make that kind of adjustment on my own mid-year...it’s a bit confusing.