All Forum Posts by: Patrick LeTourneau

@Matt K. sorry I didn't explain it well.  I was planning on getting the payment up front, but was unsure if just getting a lump payment up front would constitute a "partnership" of some sort like @Chuy Gonzalez mentions or if, god forbid, something goes south with the renter, a judge might say she is entitled to here money back or something.  I was not planning on building a garage until she said she'd pay half.  

@Matt K. The water was not leaking from a pipe.  It was leaking from the outside, through the rock foundation wall and into the basement.  That's why she called the contractor.

@Mike Cumbie I'm guessing the tenant paid the contractor to do the test after he probably brought up the radon issue when looking at the basement (she has paid out of pocket to have other contractors do things...mostly landscaping upgrades).  I asked who the contractor was and she told me the name...they are a mid to higher end home builder that also does remodeling (and apparently radon mitigation)

 @Andrew Syrios - I was thinking the same thing.    

I have a tenant who lives in a nice single family house in Wisconsin wi th no garage.  She wants a garage and so she offered to pay half the cost if I would get one built.  Business wise, it seems like a no brainer.  I pay half the cost, but get the full value if I ever sell or can increase rent for a future renter.  I guess I'm wondering what other investors think of this?  How would you structure this with the tenant (I obviously need a contract with her of some sort outlining things)?  Can I just take a lump sum payment for her half or should I re do the lease and raise her rent considerably over the next 12 months in order to pay for her half.  After the 12 months, I could reduce the rent back to market level. What caveats or problems can you think of?

I am definitely going to get a lawyer involved at some point, but I'm trying to make sure I think through everything before approaching one.

Hello-

I rented out an old single family house that was recently remodeled in Wisconsin this spring on 1 year lease.  Tenant noticed some water leaking into the unfinished basement (which I was unaware of)  so rather than calling me (she says she didn't want to bother me), she called a contractor to get an idea of what could be done before letting me know.  While the contractor was there, he also did a radon test.  My tenant called last night concerned because the radon test came back "high".  I have not yet seen the results myself to know what "high" is, but I'm taking her word for it.  Assuming it is high, I will install a radon mitigation system as I believe it is the right thing to do...I wouldn't want to live in a house with high radon with my family.  She and her family seem to be good renters (paying early, upgrading landscaping, etc).  Even though I plan on putting a radon mitigation system in if it is high, i was curious and it got me thinking....Would I be required (as the landlord) to install a mitigation system even though I did not authorize the test? wi