All Forum Posts by: Lilith M Haas

I requested a new water meter for SFR on a vacant corner 10 acre parcel in Joshua Tree, CA (in San Bernadino Couty). A main water line runs right along a 660 foot side road frontage of the property. I was required to do everything online as their offices are still closed since pandemic & remodel. I was required to fill out forms for Water Use Questionnaire and submit plot plan requirements for installation of new service. I was not pulling a permit at this time, just requesting a water meter to be located for irrigation right now on the north 5 acres & for a future building site which I put on the site plan. I drew up an entire site plan per their specifications showing the property lines, road easements, hydrant, fence driveway etc... and the specific location of the proposed water meter in the easement ( which we marked with 2 blue stakes). It was all put together with Will Serve Letter & Fire Flow letter and approved and signed by the Joshua basin Water District Manager and me via Docuserve, then I had 30 days to pay the required $17,329.00 in fees, which I did.

It took about 10 months. With no notification they installed my meter 269 feet south of where I designated it on the plot plan I made per their request. Now they tell me the site plan is sent to the county for approval or just to make sure your not building a hotel with a 1" water line, but the water district meter location never goes off the site plan. According to them "the water meters are installed on one of the property corners, not in the center of the property". They have also told me I needed to notify the district in advance if the customer wants to discuss the location of the meter. When I told them I just sold a 2 acre parcel with a meter in the center, they said 'but now our policy is different, we put the meter in the safest place for the meter'. Of course the district has final authority of where to put the meter. This property can be divided up for future developement into 4 parcels so putting a meter on one side to serve a house 500 feet away would make it almost impossible to divide it up properly in the future. So I have submitted a request to move the meter which may be another $1500, she told me on the phone. 

I plan to go to the water board with a complaint. It makes no sense to me for them to request a site plan and then say they never follow it at all, but expect you to make a separate request to put the meter in a specific location. I think they are just making excuses, but my question to developers is was this meter a binding contract ? They say they fullfilled the contract and put in a meter.  Did I have a reasonable expectation that the meter would be placed according to the site plan? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank You 

Thank you for these answers. I never realized this actually posted. I decided not to pay him and told him if he keeps sending me the bill, I will write him a review with all his mistakes on Thumbtack where I originally found him, but I do need to file a complaint. I am not renting the property again anytime soon or working with him. The costs going to court are just too high for me even though I do believe he is in breech of our contract.

I recently went through an expensive eviction with 'tenants' that never paid a security deposit on a month to month rental from October 2021 to July 2022. I had a property manager who took a bad check and never even informed me until 2 months later after the fact of this problem with tenants who subsequently created an nusaince deliberately flushing rags and excess tampons down the drain, complaining about mold, refusing to let in the plummer, threatening my manager etc... He was paid a flat fee each month from the rent until I told him to give them a 30 day notice (which he did wrong the first time because he didn't read new real estate rules) and then I had a deposit of a few hundred $$. He referred me to an attorney who charged me almost $8,000. to evict them who was so incompetant they didn't even call and inform us of the sheriff's lockout which added an additional 2 months to get them out. I overlooked many of his mistakes and decided not to file a separate lawsuit because this was so expensive and he made mistakes. Now he has sent me a bill for almost $500. for the day of the lockout and new locks which he installed so poorly my husband replaced them as soon as he could. I feel that my manager was incompetant to not get a cash or money order for the security deposit before he presented these bad tenants to me and I am so frustrated with myself for trusting him and by things he did, I don't want to pay him any more money. I have a loss of almost $30,000. Do I have to pay his fee?  I would appreciate any input on this. Thank you.

I am looking in the Branson area for STR. Figuring out the areas where they are allowed seems to be a challenge.

Thank you that's a good idea. I should suggest this to the property manager.

Thank you for your reply. They took occupancy immediately after the previous owners the day after the walk through as they were acquainted with them and applied to my management company. They are currently on a monthly basis so the terms can be adjusted with 30 day notice. They lived there for over 2 weeks before the back up and they were provided with a move in inspection form to be filled out within 7 days to note if there was a problem when they took possession. I think I will take your advice and talk to the plumber too, then ask my manager if the terms of the tenant responsibilities need to be altered to be more specific regarding plumbing. It currently says: "You promise to keep the premises in a neat and sanitary condition and to immediately reimburse the landlord for any sums necessary to repair any item, fixture, or appurtenance that needed service due to your, or your invitee, misuse or negligence. You shall be responsible for the cleaning or repair of any plumbing fixture where a stoppage has occurred." 

I have new tenants who moved into my SF rental in Riverside County, CA October 8th. In less than 2 weeks they managed to back up the plumbing on a Saturday and I have a bill to snake out & clear the line for almost $500. I had a new main line put in 3 years ago and the bill states that the clog was near the bathrooms and the cleanout to the mainline to the street did not remove any debris or roots (there is a city tree in front that can't be removed). I have not had a chance to speak to my property manager about this yet. He seemed to imply we can tell if it is the tenants fault, but I am stuck with the bill as of now. I have had that problem with tenants before and wonder if anyone can share how they minimize these costs? 

Thank you, I will check them out.

I am not a very experienced investor, I have one rental property and have followed information on here, but this is my first post. I bought two vacant land properties in Joshua Tree in 2018 (I had friends that lived there). I was bidding on them at auction simultaneously and ended up winning both. They have probably tripled in value at least. I just sold one for a good profit and decided to develop the other possibly as a camping or maybe eventually glamping short term rental, I have almost 10 acres. I am currently just installing a fence and roads and doing off grid water and power and laying out my system. I am surrounded by short term rental houses and just wondered if there are any good resources or tips for people doing outdoor rentals. I have found hosting camp sites. Thank you for all the good content I read on here.