All Forum Posts by: Philip C.

@James Wise @Shawn Coverdell  @John Teachout  Thank you! Awesome feedback.

Hello Fellow BPers,

2 Questions for you:

(1) If a tree falls in the backyard and knocks over some electrical lines leading to the house, does homeowner's insurance cover that?

(2) Even if it does, would you recommend using homeowner's insurance to cover the cost of tree removal and rehanging the electrical?

Thank you,
Philip

Follow-up question to the update:

Assuming the tenant's decided not to pay the sewer bill, is it possible for the PM or owner to pay the unpaid sewer bills with the tenant's deposit, since they violated the terms of the lease?

Update: Thank you all for your feedback. As some of you guessed, it turns out the previous owner was being reimbursed for the monthly sewer payment separately. In essence the cost was being passed down to the tenant. The good news is we spoke to the tenant and they have agreed to pay it monthly as the lease states.

Thanks @Jon Crosby and @Jill F.

I guess I'll have to keep bugging the PM. A couple of months ago, he said he'd "pay it out of their rent," but I wasn't sure what that meant. In any case, it wasn't taken care of. Any ideas what that means? Perhaps I could remind him of that if I know what it means.

@Caleb Heimsoth - St. Louis

@Alex Schwartzman,

Can you provide an update to your situation? I'm going through a similar situation in St. Louis and this stinks.

Hello BPers,

I purchased a house with tenants in place and according to the lease they signed, the tenants are responsible for paying the sewer bill. Strangely, the month after I bought the home, the sewer bill stopped being paid. 5 months later it continues to remain unpaid and the bill continues to rise. When my PM asked them about it, he says they told him they've never paid the sewer bill.

Is it possible the former owner paid it all along, even though the lease states the tenant was supposed to?

How can I find out who paid it. Will the Water/Sewer Department tell me?

I was hoping my PM would have taken care of it by now, but for some reason it hasn't and I'm out of State. Now, a collections agency is involved.

Any suggestions?

Thank you.

Thanks @Blake Edwards!

Thank you @Carl Fischer  @Christopher Smith  @Todd Rasmussen @Michael Plaks  Yes @Michael Plaks, it's point # 3 that I was asking about.

@Joshua Thompson, According to this book here: https://store.nolo.com/products/every-landlords-ta...

personal property that can be deducted over 5-7 years includes things like stove, refrigerator, washer, etc. Based on Michael's suggestion, I think I would need to find out what the current value of each item is and either depreciate them over time or write them off all at once, I think using the De Minimis Safe Harbor Rule: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/new-irs-de...

Thank you @Carl Fischer

Do you happen to know if I can depreciate a stove, refrigerator and washing machine the previous owner installed a couple of years ago?