All Forum Posts by: Aaron Hurst

I had a very poor experience with Home365.

* They have a vendor bidding system for all maintenance. It sounds like a tech capitalist dream, but in practice you get screwed. I would only ever get 1 bid from some vendor I never heard of, two towns over. Having a handyman is essential. Example bids: $400 to snake a drain, $250 to lay an insect trap.

* No proactive maintenance, and even the turnovers were inconsistent. If I'm not onsite, I really rely on hearing "hey, consider replacing this carpet". I never got that, ever. Just a really random list of items. In fact, it was even worse because they overlooked a ton of code violations (missing smoke detectors, etc.)

* Accounting system is f-ed. I rejected a hare-brained project proposal, and a -$14k charge stayed on my account forever. No one was able to clear it, even after multiple attempts, and it caused Home365 to stopped paying my bills (pending owner contribution). And no one was empowered to get out a checkbook and just deal with it. They were all trapped in their glorious tech and couldn't manage the basic functions of property management.

Anyway, avoid.

Anyone have a recommendation for a licensed asbestos-removal contractor in the Lebanon, Lancaster, Reading PA area?

I've got some asbestos pipe lagging in a (tenant-inaccessible) basement.  However, it's become a problem in the way of finishing a bathroom remodel.   The workers ran into a wrapped pipe when they opened up the floor and want it abated before continuing.

They got me a quote of $16k to remove all the lagging in the basement, maybe a hundred feet or two... which seems high for what should be a relatively straightforward job.  I thought this would be more in the small thousands range.  Should I adjust my expectations?  Any points of comparison here?  I wonder if this abatement firm might be focused on commercial and not small-time residential like me.

@Christian Bors @Shayne Brescia Lebanon city.  I'm having a lead-certified contractor inspect the unit (while the tenants are still there) to plot out any potential short-term or long-term course of action, but no news otherwise.  I'll check back.

@Steve Babiak My rentals are in central PA, not in the city.  It wouldn't surprise me if regulation eventually moves in the same direction as Philadelphia (or here in California)... but it's not there... yet.

@Nathan Gesner  That's a good point.  And I see that most of the regulatory information deals with safety during renovations.  Fortunately, no work was done on the unit or in the common areas.

@Thomas S. @Sean Cassidy Good to hear.  Thanks!

@Robert Melcher  Thanks for confirming.  I do hope the eviction goes smoothly... although I will be keeping an eye out for other ways for a sufficiently litigious tenant to stick me with a big bill.

Hi BP,

I purchased an older (circa 1930) multi-unit building in Pennsylvania.  I inherited 3 sets of tenants under conditions that were concerning at the sale (i.e. no leases or rental history), but I understood that the former owner had basically checked out.  I knocked on doors myself and did get them all to sign an interim M2M lease, and now the building is under property management.

Fast forward almost 2 months... two tenants have never paid, and the management company filed for eviction.  (Were they confused by the management change?  Squatters?  Just short on money?  Who knows.)  Basically, no big surprise, and I'll eat the changeover costs to get some properly vetted tenants.

Surprise!  Today I received a packet containing the results of household lead paint testing, as ordered by a children's doctor and cc'd to the state and city.  As is typical for the building age, it came back positive.  I can't help but notice that the date was a few days after eviction filing.  Their lease did contain a lead paint disclosure (I had no information) and they acknowledged.

My question is: what am I in store for here?  Can anyone share a story of a similar experience?  Is this part of a legal aid strategy to block eviction?  Sue me for healthcare costs?  Or just retaliate by making the unit harder to rent?  I'm a little anxious as to what's coming down the pipe.

@Diane G.  Yup, rents in SF are definitely cooling off... at least a little... but I'd be hesitant to draw any conclusions in other areas that weren't similarly overheated.

@Brandon Battle Company newsletters?  Sounds antiquated.  None of the technology companies I've worked at would ever consider external submissions to internal communication lists.

@Diane G.

Some lenders will give a pre-approval for a dollar amount rather than a particular property.  Pick a number that is higher than anything you'd want to bid on.