All Forum Posts by: Lynnette E.

I would be honest with them and tell them that you found out from the past owner in a conversation with a neighbor that the washer and dryer belonged to the past owner and upon the sell of the house to you that the washer and dryer became your property.  Tell them that since you learned this information the SAME washer and dryer should remain in the home when they leave.  Tell them that should they remove the washer or dryer then you would be obligated to explain this situation to anyone who inquired about their past rental history and you would subtract their value from the deposit you have for the rental.

I would not tell them I was going to court or going to call the police over this as really you have no 'proof' and the time to get that, and the aggravation is not worth the value of used appliances.  But maybe the reputation of your renters is worth something to them.

Rural Tennessee middle/eastern part of the state. @Jaron Walling

I bought a property on auction.com that was owned by US Bank.  They accepted the offer and it closed in less than 30 days.  No problems or issues with that process at all.  They even had a decent reserve amount on the property and posted that it had equity at the reserve prove, and it did.  They priced it right at the price they foreclosed on.  About $35k equity based on the selling prices of similar homes, but to make it top level it does need work. Its livable, just not nice, dated.  The Brady Bunch would feel very comfortable though.   Similar houses sell for about $100k.

US Bank was easy to work with.

UM, I WOULD PUT IN MY LESSON LEARNED NOTEBOOK

1.  "Keep an eye on them" as a recommendation does not mean the guys have a great body and are hot and gorgeous while they are working.  It must mean they are sneaky little bast...

2.  You get what you pay for.  Cheapest bid is not the way to go.  Best recommendations for QUALITY of work, ability to work within the bid amount, ability to follow a schedule, honesty and character are the basis of any contract.  

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Under the new action plan I would:

 1.   Breach the contract as they 'ain't gonna do the work'.  They got the money and are gone with the wind. 

2.  Hire someone based on the items listed in 2 under lessons.

3.  Follow the order's process to request the court/judge to get your money refunded since they never did any work.  And consider myself very lucky to see a penny.  Maybe search court records as they likely make a living doing this scam.  Might help you in court.

Don't stress over the little things, if you do this long enough. schedules will be delayed, extra costs will be incurred, hidden damage will be there, tenants will wreck somethings or be late in paying their rent, or disappear in the middle of the night, a deal will be lost.  Expect it and enjoy the ride.  

And never over extend yourself so that YOU are the one unable to pay your bills....because a schedule was delayed, a project had extra costs, there was hidden damage, the tenants wrecked the house and it can not be rented without repairs and downtime, the tenants are late on their rent or disappeared in the idle of the night.  

@Eric Mcginn you really need to work up a weekend expense table.  You re getting into danger zone when you just say that 2 weekends will get the $600 for the county fee.  Those weekends will result in major incurred costs to you.  AirnBn in the mountains will use your heat full blast with a window open for fresh mountain air.  They are not used to the cold weather but like the smells of the mountains.  

Consider a weekend expense spread sheet:  electric sue, gas, water, trash (do you have pick up to your door, what day of the week as you can not leave it out all week some critter will knock it over, or pay a neighbor to drag it to a curb, your guests do not want to pack up their trash to take it home or have a cleaning service do it plus this cost on top of the mandatory trash service charge prorated over the use periods),  sewer or septic?  (sewer, prorate the charge, more likely septic which will result in more pump outs--you know where the tank is?  First dig down can be costly.), county fee ( portion of that $600, maybe $25 expensed for each rental),  hotel tax, wear and tear on things like sheets, loss for things like glasses and plates, supplies such as soap.  Are you offering anything like a gift pack on arrival, snacks, dried herb pack, bottle of wine, etc., if so add that cost in.

@Eric Mcginn  Try to book the $35 a night and likely the price will jump to a higher price, no matter what day you choose to book.  Also look at the add on prices, likely there will be a cleaning fee and a service charge that is higher than the norm.

People put in very low prices so their listing is first in the sort by 'price' listing.  Generally their price will be on the lower end, but not nearly as low as they state.

You can try to book these places at the first step, not even leaving your name and see the 'real' price, and also that they are available a lot!

Still not $150 a night.  

Oh, @Eric Mcginn you might avoid the county tax if you are in Big Bear CITY (note, not all of Big Bear area is in the incorporated CITY, so be careful).  It is likely that the county tax is only for unincorporated areas.  All of the San Bernardino forest area is unincorporated except for Big Bear City.  Do not take my word on this though, check with the county/city.  Things may be different now.

Also beware that there is much more, and lots of overbuilt housing in Big Bear ad Sugarloaf area.  There is surplus housing in that area.  Crestline has a shortage.

And that many of the old cabins in Big Bear have asbestos siding, some of which was resided over rather than removed.  The Crestline loggers did not seem to get into the asbestos siding craze, they just milled their own oak siding.

@Eric Mcginn

Most of the realtors in town will give you a list of their currently available rentals, ST and LT.  Generally they ask you to drive by and look at them from the outside and see if you are interested before they will go with you and show you the inside.  Century 21 is generally considered a decent one to deal with as is Lake. Cozy is ok.   The realtor on the corner in Top Town of Crestline is generally NOT considered good.  They will rent any old mess, moldy, broken things, whatever and then charge you for it when you leave.  I won't say names on here, but avoid top town realtors.

If you are looking at weekdays or a week at a time and want furnished and can not find a STR, look at the time shares. North Bay at Lake Arrowhead Timeshare will give you lake rights for your visit, an indoor pool and hot tub, a small fitness center, hiking trails, barbeques, tennis and basketball courts, play room for little kids, and pool table for the big ones. We had membership in this timeshare when we lived in Crestline just to use the indoor pool. Members get to use the facilities all the time, even when it is not their 'week'. The timeshare also will rent out available weeks, you can do it on the internet when the owners do not want to use it. Units come is all sizes, most with kitchens that are stocked with dishes, etc. and a washer and dryer.

And if you decide you want to buy a membership week, check the maintenance fees as they vary based on unit size.  The office has a list of owners wanting to sell and you can get units for nothing to way too much, generally you will be looking at about $100-200 to buy and $75 to transfer the ownership, plus county recording.  The owner status will give you a discount on renting extra time.  I bought my unit for $100 and sold it for $140 seven years and a few hundred swimming trips later.  One bedroom unit, every other year week, about $400 a year in maintenance fees.  Sold it on a facebook page in a few days.

There are other timeshares , I just know that one specifically will rent to anyone if there is available openings and during the week there almost always is, weekends are hit an miss, holidays, never.

Also, in CA if people want a new law they can put it onto a ballot for a vote.  This process uses "propositions" on the ballot which are just numbered.  A prop that may affect rentals is going to be on the ballot for vote.  It has already qualified to be on the ballot.  It is called prop 10.  So you may want to Google "prop 10 in California"  and follow it as if it passes it could changes things for rentals a lot.