All Forum Posts by: Lee L.

I did all of that. 

The thing is they aren't arguing too hard about what I with held for, although they dispute it, but they are arguing lack of timely return and that it was willful, which is a bit of a gray area. Burden of proof on willfullness falls to the accuser and the post mark on the envelope I sent to her shows that response was timely.

So, long story short, I am confident that my with holding of a portion of the security deposit was correct and accurate, and that it was done in the lawful time frame. 

I get this letter saying really a bunch of nothing, asserting that I willfully with held the security so now I owe them double security and if I don't pay them by X date they are authorized to file suit in Vermont SUPERIOR court.

So, can they actually take this to the superior court as even if they were to tack on lawyers fees I can't imagine it would make it past 5k?

As it is a letter, and there is literally no way in hell I am giving that awful person 2800 dollars, I am thinking I will just ignore it, if they actually file suit I will just answer that, unless someone has a good idea otherwise.

I think it would have to be small claims and they wouldn't be entitled to lawyers fees and this is just a big scary lawyer lie, but I am interested in what other more experienced people think.

Well, to be fair, you haven't gotten to the point where an agent would actually need to do anything else. There is more to it than unlocking doors and mls access, but that all happens after an offer is accepted.

I don't live in Alabama, I live in one of the highest cost of living states, and I have had time to see how things shake out. So, in the old days, when people were really poor and there was no government assistance, most folks stuck together, families lived together often in a multigenerational way and shared expenses. In this way they were able to keep costs down. In fact you will still see asian families doing this, and asians seem to get ahead at higher rates than other minorities. 

I find also that in my state there are pockets of affordable housing, but when people start crowing about the lack of affordable housing what they really mean is that they want affordable housing in a wealthy town. 

The market unchecked would drop prices as the housing stock aged, just apartments not houses, I remember this happening in the towns around where I grew up. They built new apartments and charged top dollar, but then 10 years later the rent came down drastically. The key is you need to let the building process happen, regulations and zoning need to be less intense. None of this applies to NYC or San Fran, because of the high demand to live in those places rent will stay high, however I personally don't feel entitled to live wherever I want, I have to live where I can afford toand it aint NYC.

I guess what I am saying is that on a personal level, if individuals want to live in a certain area, they have the ability to pool resources in order to get ahead. I don't think you can make the market bend to your will, which is what this big press for affordable housing is pressing for.

Recently I heard about an anti poverty group that was actually making some progress with a small group. They had stepped in and helped these lower income single parent households to create a community among themselves, getting involved in school activities for the kids, stepping in to watch each others children when necessary, and a lot of other things.

Then there is "the missing middle" issue in single family housing which is that builders can't/won't build houses that are what are now considered starter homes. In my town there is the old housing stock which is stuff built before the mcmansion craze took hold. Literally all the houses now are behemoths, which I guess started because with the housing boom my town became a trendy small town with good schools. However this had the effect of being unwelcoming to middle income folks. In fact there isn't much for them these days because the mcmansions have driven up the price of the old housing stock. The house next door to me just went on the market for310k and it is just a cute little cape built in 53. 

Sorry for the ramble, I guess my main point is that there are so many factors I don't see there ever being a solution

How much would it cost to seperate the metering? Just curious as I have never run into this.

First, just to be clear, that the tenant wants a new stove is not a clear indication she is a neat freak, sometimes slobs are also entitled PITA's. I wouldn't let that possibly incorrect assumption guide a decision.

I would consider getting a new stove if the old one was super beaten up, if it didn't work, or it was old enough that it was outdated with regard to energy efficiency. If it functioned as it should, and looked ok but used as often is the case in rentals, then no.

I am of the opinion that if your new tenant is such a diva that she would complain about a slight physical imperfection you should probably brace yourself because the unreasonable requests are going to be coming hard and fast.

I looked into Vacasa and decided it wasn't worth it. The area sales guy gave me a quick market snapshot of what he excitedly dtermined would net me 800 dollars a month after their fee. So I pointed out that we had taxes and insurance at 500 per month, then we would need to pay for electric and gas, so if 800 per month was it then we would be operating at a loss every month. 

Even the official market eval done by the corporate office came in with a margin of profit that wasn't going to cut it. We don't even have a mortgage on the place because it has been in the family forever. I think you have to be pretty high end to make a 35 percent fee work.

 That is where I am at a bit of a disadvantage, because we don't really know yet what to expect.

It is a large house that can accomodate 8 to 10 people, 5 miles from Mount Snow in Dover VT.  The house is nice but not high end, mid range is how I would describe it. I am inclined to think that there probably isn't much last minute demand in this market.

Some great ideas here, I am going to think about it more.

So for perspective, tree trimming entails a qualified tree trimmer to climb up into the tree with a chainsaw, and because of insurance and risk, this type of work gets pricey. We got a quote from a tree service for trimming one of our trees at the rental at 500 dollars.

Assuming you can confirm that was was listed on the bill was actually done, I would pay it, but with this caveat- In the future find out exactly what the work is that needs to be completed, and make your PM get 3 quotes for it. 

Also, trimming in some states is a regulated activity, as opposed to just chopping a tree down which anyone can do. Trimming in my state must be done by a licensed arborist. Which means the guy has a BA in trees. 

Wondering what I should establish as a fair policy. As this is all new to me I don't have past statistics upon which I can rely.