All Forum Posts by: Oren K.

Digital measurements of an inherently analog resource is nearly always 'lumpy'. The meters use rational numbers to describe irrational numbers; you can get really really close but very difficult to be absolutely precise (always going to have a +/- tolerance).

As others have pointed out, if the meter ticked over ever time 'any' water moved through the system, every hand wash, glass of water, tooth brushing would get dinged. Rather it measures until 7.5 G are used and then 'ticks.

Take a look at this article to get a better idea of how things work inside a water meter;

http://www.balkanplumbing.com/how-a-water-meter-wo...

Oren

Kevin,

There are products out there that do what you want (Automatic Meter Reading; AMR) but the question is the cost;

Aside from the cost of splitting the line, installing 2 sub-meters there is the cost of reading. There are meters that send a signal using cell phone towers (note that now you will need either battery or power at the meter) and others that use other wireless spectrum for reading. Some need the reader to be 'nearby'.

Is it worth it, I don't think so. I would still split the line and install sub-meters but then build some $ amount into the lease to cover the expected usage. You can then adjust annually based on actual usage.

Oren

Wakes,

Its not just about financial responsibility it is also about doing a background check. If you did not do so when the brother moved in, get one done as soon as possible. On the one hand, you now have a few months history with him and presumably there have been no problems but you should check. In the extream, would you be OK with a sex offender? a drug dealer?

Assuming he clears (or not and you are OK with it), the financal responsibility can be either way.

In my opinion, the more financial security you have the better, so I would put him on as a co-signer / co-tenant.

Oren

Hi Cathy,

Not sure and but you may have a bigger issue which definitely needs Canadian tax advice on. As a Canadian citizen, I think you are required to file returns annually regardless of where you live. If this is correct (again I am not sure) then you should already have filed current ownership of property which would make past and any planned 1031 exchanges invalid from a Canadian perspective. Better safe then sorry... run don't walk to a CA that specializes in this kind of thing.

Oren

Tracy,

Sorry to hear you are going through this. Agree with other posters that if you have lost trust in this contractor, even if cost more, you need to cut your losses and find a new one.

As to what to do with the existing contact; depends on a number of different factors having to do with the size of the contractor, how big the contract is and emotionally just how upset you are about things.

If this is a small contractor then there are likely few if any assets in his company and it is generally very easy to shutdown one LLC and start another one with a similar name so suing them is just a money pit; its not fair but very common. This why vetting upfront is so important.

On the other hand, a larger contractor may have real assets in the company or even a reputation that they want to protect so they want to find away to avoid getting into legals which waste time and money for them.

With respect to contract size, in reality anything under 100K is not worth a full blown lawsuit as the legals will eat you alive even if you win; small claims court may be your best bet if you are OK managing the process or maybe using a paralegal.

On the emotional side, I strongly urge you to put that aside. This should be a business decision and a 'learning opportunity' about what to watch out for and what kind of people you want to deal with moving forward.

Oren

A light well is a vertical penetration from the roof to the ground floor allowing light into the interior. Think of a skylight but with walls and no cover.

You have created additional 'exterior' wall space in the middle of the structure and now you can put windows from what would have been interior units so they get light.

They will not get as much light as outside units but some.

When you talk to a designer / architect they should be able to explain it better or show you pictures.

Oren

Hi Ryan,

I looked into this once and leaving aside all the permitting / zoning / construction costs etc. the one take away I got was that only certain kinds of structures are preferred for converstion. There is a reason that apartment buildings are generally long and narrow. You don't want to have rooms (bedrooms, living rooms) with no windows (bathroom as a possible exception). If you accept that as a premis, then the bedrooms and living room have to be strung out along the exteriror wall.

Most units are no more then 20 ft deep so if a warehouse is 100 ft x 100 ft (that's only 10,000 sq ft! per plate), you have a problem with the core. One possible option is to drive light wells in various places (you loose space but gain units) to provide the core units with both some light and alternative egress / exit (fire code in many places).

Make sure you have a good architect / designer who knows local code before you go to far. Hopefully you can arrange a meeting with one and they should be able to educate you on what to look for and what to avoid.

Oren

Second @Roy N. advice / comments. I have crossed the border literally dozens of times over the past few years (with passport) for the same purposes. As long as you are NOT planning to swing a hammer / do work, there should NOT be any problem.

Having said that, I remember the days when even going to a business meeting required you to have a 'formal invite' (email was usually enough). But that was working for large corporate and they did not want the visitor to do any 'consulting' while in the US. A pain in the pa-toot but a formality easily accommodated.

Oren

I can't speak for Chicago specifically and not a lawyer but in most juristrictions, the fence IS placed on the propety line and there IS joint responsibility for it. If there is no fence and one owner wants one, the courst will even order shared cost or if an old fence becomes a hazard (e.g. leaning and ready to fall), boths sides pay for repair / replacement. Hopefully it doesn't come to that but in the extream. 

The issue that usually comes up is where exactly is the property line and if they two parties can't agree, a survayor is brought in. Having said that, a lot of people don't want to go to court or bother with a survayor so do put the fence 'just' on their side and pay the full costs. In effect they are giving up some of their land that in eventually (40 years?) becomes part of the other property.

I do agree that a tree falling the owner of the tree is fully responsible for all cleanup / repairs. Assuming they have insurance, it should cover this (less the deductable).

Oren

No - If you wire transfer (recommended for large sums) from one account to another, they are not 'tied' together. You could also write a check but the bank will likely put a hold on it until it clears. Check with the receiving end bank regarding any policies they may have.

There is a record of it but does not raise flags. One quick note - Move the funds from your HELOC to your personal account and then do 1 transfer to the business acount to save the fees / charges.