All Forum Posts by: Tom Shi

I did a search and don't see much discussion about this.  Do people put exercise equipment like treadmill or stationary bike in their mid term rentals? Or is the liability concern too great?   In the house that I hope to rent out to mid-term travelers there is a treadmill and I am thinking whether to keep it there.  It seems like people who stays for several months would be interested in a hassle free to exercise.  For liability issues I feel like people can injury themselves in a number of ways like take a tumble down the stairs or burn their hand on stovetop so a simple treadmill doesn't seem too dangerous to me? 

A thorny problem: 

My relative has been renting out a commercial property to a tenant for some years. The signed lease states that tenant is responsible for all utilities including sewer fee.  Unbeknownist to my relative, the tenant has failed to pay the sewer fee to the city for a number of years, finally accumulating a bill of >$20k including fines.  My relative was finally notified of the situation earlier this year.  Over the last few months, he tried to talk to the tenant about the situation and urged her to pay the bill but was met with stalling and lies (unfortunately nothing in writing, emails or texts, just phone calls).  The city set a deadline to pay the bill or the owner of the property would face special tax assessment, so my relative felt he had no option but to pay the bill himself first.  

My relatives would like to serve the tenant with notice of termination for cause due to breach of the lease (failure to pay utilities). In the termination form, my relative wrote that the tenant has the right cure the violation by paying back the money my relative paid the city.  

I feel a lot of things could go wrong in this situation and have urged my relative to seek proper legal counsel.  He is reluctant due to past experience with the cost of such things.  He was going to just run it through one of those online $50 a pop legal questions website.  I am not sure if that's the greatest idea.  If any of you have recommendation a decent tenant law lawyer for landlords in the Portland OR, please share.  

I also feel that this tenant has exhibited many untrustworthy signs and it's best just to cut ties to protect oneself.  What if the tenant agree to the "cure" by just proposing to pay extra $100 a months for years until the full amount? I doubt my relative can stipulate a lump-sum payment? Then my relative is stuck with this very untrustworthy individual for long term.  My relative prefer to get this tenant out due to this and past behaviors but also has some ambivalence as he feel this particularly property is hard to rent out; this tenant despite some periodic delays, has not been past due in rent all this time. 

My relative also is planning to meet with this tenant today to serve this termination notice. I urged him to hold off until he has a clearer sense of all the legal ramifications.

I am kind at a loss at what's the best course here.   Any advice, past experience with similar issues would be appreciated.  

I am the buyer under contract of this house (built in 1991), during inspection we find that in the crawlspace there was evidence of past water flooding up to 1/2 foot deep. There is already a trench and sump-pump installed in the past.  Inspector (whom I hired based on past good experience with him) also noted that the grounds around the house is sloped towards the house and suggest regrading maybe needed.  "Moderate" undermining of the foundation was also found, perhaps due to water and/or trench construction.  

This is a estate sell so the seller states that they don't know anything about past water issues so nothing on the disclosures.

On FloodFactor.com this house has 1/10 "minimal" flood risk.  I have asked the neighbors who have lived there for >30 years and they never had issues with flooding so it's doesn't sound like a general problem for the neighborhood but more specific to that house .

Since the past owner had installed sump pump and dug trench in the crawlspace, I feel that water entry must had been a recurrent problem to to have required such a set up.  This is in Portland Oregon so we do get a lot of rain but a sump pump is still somewhat rare thing around here I feel.  

The inspector seems to feel that these are not necessarily a huge deal; he says foundations "can handle" some unsupported areas and maybe pour some concrete at the area of undermining, regrade the slopes, monitor water entry, and potentially add French drain.  When I asked whether this need the attention of structural engineer, he provided some contacts but says he personally feel it doesn't warrant having an engineer to come out to see it. 

A family member of mine who have multiple houses and who I consult for real estate advice is in the other extreme and feels I should just exit the deal. Maybe this is due to her never having to deal with sump pump situation before. 

So I don't know what to think.  But I would like to get other people's perspectives on this.  

My offer to purchase a house has been accepted, but as more information have emerged about the house and its occupants, I have major concerns now.  This is a tenants occupied house that I intent to use as my primary residence.  

There are multiple unrelated adult people living in the house but only one person is on the "lease." Quotations marks is there because I am not sure if there is an official lease contract or just a informal arrangement between the seller and that individual.  The people occupying the house has been there for years, and it is my understanding that would qualify them as tenants legally even if there are no paper contracts.

The offer contract I signed states that the seller is responsible for vacating the property before closing and there is specific language there indicating that closing is dependent on proof of an vacant property.  

In Portland, Oregon where the house is located, there needs to be 90 days notice of termination to tenants when there is a sale of the house. In order to meet the closing date, we heard through the listing agent that the seller is planning to offer cash-for-keys to the occupants of the house to ensure early move out.

Now I am finding out that the people that live there maybe reluctant to leave and it is unclear whether they would be receptive to cash-for-key. Also the inspection is scheduled in a few days, and I heard that some of them may refuses access to their bedrooms despite 48 hours advance notice.  

The more I learn about the situation the more messy it is.  My question is that if some of the occupants refuses inspection access to parts of the house, is this ground for terminating the contract due to inability to perform full inspection?  I know that there is a good chance that the seller would be unable to vacate the property before the closing and honestly if that's the case I am comfortable just let the house go.  The only reason I made an offer is that is a cheap place in a good neighborhood and I have been trying to buy in a red hot housing market for almost a year. I am exhausted and just want the process to be over with.  

Anything else I should be aware of to protect myself in this situation? 

Thanks

Just an update. I ended up fixing the sewer and negotiated to pay $2.5k of closing cost to buyer.  I am not super confident about my house and don't want to drag this too long.  I received 1 offer after 4 days on the market. Certainly no bidding wars here. If I held firm, perhaps I would lost this buyer and get another one in the future, but I rather have the certainty of this sell and move on with my life.  

Steve Morris, this is in SE in Cherry Park neighborhood near the Adventist Hospital.  

I am selling my house in Portland Oregon. Housing inventory in the city is scarce, so still a seller's market.   Asking price was $410,000 and a few days after listing I received 1 offer, at asking price.  So far so good. 

After inspection, it was found that sewer is in need of major repair (bellies in the line). The sewer inspector labelled a failing system.  Estimated cost to repair is around $10k. 

There are also lot of minor things on the inspection report such as missing paint, a leaking faucet, minor concrete cracks, old vermin droppings in attic, minor mildew, etc.  It's a older house, so no surprise there a lot of stuff going on.  

The buyer is asking me to cover $6k of their closing cost, in addition to requesting me to fix the the sewer line.  
I am willing to pay to fix the ailing sewer.  But the $6k they are asking me takes me aback.  There is no way the total cost of fixing all the minor stuff mentioned on the inspection report even approach that amount.  My realtor doesn't see it as outrageous demand and seems to subtly suggesting me to accept this deal.

So my question for you guys is that does is it common to have buyer ask for so much in closing cost credit from seller?  Am I just out of line to think $6k is a crazy amount to ask the seller?  
  

I am in Oregon and looking for a electrician to replace an old electric panel.  Most electrician in town are very busy and scheduling estimates 2-3 weeks out.  So I had someone based further away to come and give estimate.  Estimate is about $2100, which seems slightly cheaper than the going rate.  I was ready to hire this person when he asked for a 50% cash deposit."Nothing personal," he said, they have been scammed by bounced checks too many times.  I can't feel a bit insulted as I never had to pay CASH for contractor deposit before.  I looked up this guy's license number and it seems clean.  The materials he listed as needed on the estimate (some breakers and a new electric panel) should cost a few hundred dollars, not over a thousand.  I am conflicted, as I like to get this job done soon as I want to sell the house this summer, but there is yellow alert going off in my mind about the situation.  I don't have much experience with hiring electricians and so wanted to see what people here thinks of this situation.  THanks