All Forum Posts by: Marian Smith

@Mel S. Can you produce a copy of the advertisement used to rent the place out? Get thee before a judge and get them out! Just the harassment combined with the proximity should be cause enough.

@Benjamin Couch I don't know much about student loans but if the debt is or can be financed at a low rate just pay it off over time. Put the payment on autopilot and with inflation the payment will feel like less and less. Plus the government and some employers may step up to help. Then you'd be better off using your extra money to fund roths, etc. However, if stocks are not expected to yield much over the next decade and the interest rate is high that may change what is your best course.

@Cindy Hughes That makes sense to me. At least in the bedrooms. There us very little you can do to mitigate sound transfer from above. Home depot used to sell rugs that must have been carpet remnants for pretty low prices, so you may be able to provide a rug and just require professional cleaning at move out. and a pad would help even more.

@Alyssa K. Custom building products and mapei both offer a pre-tile primer. I believe it is designed to adhere to non porous surfaces like old tile or in your case sealed concrete and allow you to tile over the surface. Never tried it but both are top companies and I would not hesitate...custom has a tech line that I have used on multiple occasions for questions. But I also agree that lvp is an excellent choice. Beautiful options, warm and softer than tile, easy install and easy removal. Just not as bulletproof.

@Primrose Nyahwai I always thought the law was entirely different for someone renting out a part of their home. If you shared a lease with a roommate on an apartment or house you could leave at any time if the situation became intolerable, but you cannot abandon your home. The law should protect you in your home. It probably does. Do not sign any new lease of any sort. And find out your rights. If your 30 day notice was not written, you likely need to write and date it and photograph it. I might state that I am not renewing the lease as I am expecting a number of visitors in the coming months and will need a guest room and that I will give her a favorable reference as she paid her rent during her lease and kept the common areas clean...if I think she feels she cannot find a new roommate without a former roommate good reference..

@Laura Guy Where did you get the 12% statistic? Thanks.

@Robert Lei I agree, pay friend or someone to be boots on ground. I have found both pms and realtors can be pretty unknowledgeable about the workings of a house, but that is my first thought if no friends can do it. I am in Austin and got 2 licensed plumbers to bid to replace galvanized supply lines and tub install within 2 days and work starts 2 days out. And supposedly crazy here. I would be pretty upset to have permit guys show up and demand permits....even I am smart enough to keep work being done in low visibility. Plus new sewer should always be permitted unless it falls into the repair category...expensive and if the slope is wrong all kinds of bad repercussions...unless maybe you have 100% faith in plumber and much less in inspectors, maybe, but even then waiting on the sewer inspection shouldn't hold up anything else so no real drawback.

@Aaron Sallade I put one on a longish term tenant house. Crappy defiant deadbolt was wearing out and their kids were getting older so I thought it might save them some hassle if the kids could let themselves in. But I am pretty sure they still lock the handle so that didn't work out as planned. Might have been better to put a keypad on the garage door opener. But I love the one on my door. keyless car and keyless front door.

@Eli Epstein I lived in a neighborhood with houses on acreage and one was converted to asssisted living. The hoa tried to close them down but the hoa had allowed so many other deed infractions that they lost. So I was told. It was there the whole 20 years I was. Converted garage (to bedrooms I assume), chain linked fence front and back I think so no one wandered off , added a circular drive and side parking for visitors, had to upgrade the septic, 4 rolling trash bins on trash day. Not a big house, single story ranch. Not sure how many occupants, but someone told me and it was more than you'd think from the size. We'd hear ambulances go there but not weekly or anything.

@Tim Duggan Don't know about squatters but google crossland eviction for a good step by step eviction guide written by a pm in Austin. The jp for my rental house area has a form online to print out for filing. I have no experience with eviction but the process sounds pretty straight forward. You can verify the timeline by googling the landlord tenant handbook written by Texas Real Estate Research Center. I think it cites the property code. Good luck.