All Forum Posts by: Sylvia B.

That was my first thought on reading the OP.

@Brian Wilson
My first suggestion is to delete this post. You have admitted to tax evasion in a public forum. Not smart.
Next, work on your ethics. You are still a teenager, and that's a time for mistakes - we've all been there. Learn from those mistakes. Think about the kind of businessman you want to be. Do you want a reputation as an honest, trustworthy person, or are you just concerned about making money without considering anyone else? Set a standard for yourself, and then measure your actions against that standard.

Why in the world would anyone make fun of someone for using a seeing eye dog? I would expect better behavior from a five year-old. 

It seems to me that Tessa has more problems than just being a newbie landlord.

That kind of insurance makes no sense. If I buy hazard insurance, then set a fire in the house or take a sledge hammer to the pipes, no insurance company is going to pay because I caused the damage intentionally. You aren't going to transfer ownership accidentally, it's always intentional. So why would an insurance company cover a loss that I intentionally caused?

If your tenants are busting holes in the drywall you have bigger problems than asbestos to worry about.

A hole in the drywall that "exposes insulation that contains asbestos" is not going to make anyone sick. Maybe, just maybe, if the tenant pulls the insulation out of the wall, spreads it throughout the house, and blows fans across piles of it regularly for several months, maybe someone would be affected.

From a consumer's point of view:
Don't get so caught up with wondering about air fryers and waffle irons that you forget the basics. Provide plenty of dishes, glasses, mugs, and flatware. Measuring cups & spoons, spatulas, large spoons, ladles, colander, large pitchers, serving bowls, etc, are all more important than a variety of spices.

In September Hubby and I stayed in a nice house in Gulf Shores that was advertised to sleep 11. There were 6 each of dinner and salad plates, 5 bowls, 6 mugs, and 10 glasses. There were about 20 wine glasses, though. :-D

Basic salt & pepper and a can of non-stick spray would be nice. Also, more than one dish towel would be helpful.

I suppose it is, but I don't really think of it that way. It is my home.

But if you look strictly at the numbers, I guess it is. In 2003 we built our current home on 80 acres (did about 90% of the work ourselves). Including the land (bought in 92), we have maybe $150k actually invested in it, but it has, of course, appreciated considerably. It is currently worth much more than any one of our rentals, as we won't buy a house as a rental unless we can be all in at well under $100k.

Actually, now that I think about it, we no longer own what I would consider our largest life investment. We spent 20 years of our lives building a business from nothing, which we sold in 2017. That is definitely our largest investment, though the initial cost was only $1000 - all we could scrape together.

First of all, nothing in the house is "made of asbestos". It is simply an ingredient in some building materials.

Second, asbestos is harmless unless it becomes airborne. In most cases, as long as you don't disturb it -- sand, scrape, cut, tear, remove, etc. -- then you don't need to worry about it. 

Just saying, "the house has asbestos" means nothing. You need to know what materials in the house contain the asbestos. It could be floor tiles, ceiling tiles, wall board, insulation, hvac insulation, siding, popcorn on the ceiling, or others. What you need to do about it depends on the type of material, its condition, and its location. Are we talking about siding that's in good condition, but just ugly? Paint it or cover it. 9x9 floor tiles? Cover them up with a different flooring. Popcorn ceiling? Just paint it, don't scrape it off. However, I would have ceiling tiles or hvac insulation professionally removed because of the likelihood of particles becoming airborne from those materials.

So look a little deeper into the issues you'll be dealing with, and learn the regulations for your area.

I find it interesting that of the four examples of ugliness Jim gave, only the one about skin color pushed anyone's buttons . . .

How many of you really have a problem with calls at 3am? 

I've never received a call later than 9pm, and it's very unusual for a tenant to call later than 6pm. If you're getting non-emergency calls in the middle of the night, maybe you need a better class of rentals.

Are we talking $70k profit on a sale of $150k or $750k? It makes a difference!