All Forum Posts by: Brendan Spaar

If it is a true service dog (not just one with a vest bought online), you shouldn't have much to worry about. A pet deposit is not unusual to ask for even with a service dog. A family friend has a service dog that has been trained & has all his credentials. I would rather have this dog in my place than some people's kids. A true service dog is quiet, not destructive & housebroken. Those are the important things you want in allowing any pet. 

I would ask to meet the dog & see the paperwork before renting. Also wanting references from the vet & previous landlords familiar with the dog is not an unusual thing to ask. Some dogs are better tenants than people!

We used solid color stain on our wood deck around the poolhouse. It is more like paint in look but it does show wear a bit more obviously than normal wood stain that fades gradually. I would probably suggest using a wood stain that looks close to the color of real wood. That way as it fades it doesn't look really noticeable like solid stain or paint would. The cost should be fairly close.

I would try to honor their request. Let them know the repairs needing to be done & when you'd like to come. If they can't arrange to be there, offer to be there while the work is being done. You may have the right to go in anytime but keeping a tenant happy is important too. Respect works both ways.

My family lives in Louisiana & the sheriff came out to a neighbor's house to warn her about her garage sale signs. They are illegal & she could have been ticketed. Same with all the other random signs on public property. You might see if a business will allow you to put a sign on their property for a small fee. Consider it an investment cost. If it's a business at a busy location, it might be worth paying a small amount for the convenience. Also some people put signs in the back window of their vehicles. You never know who sees it if you're parked somewhere or driving around. I wouldn't chance wasting money by putting my signs out illegally & having them confiscated or getting a ticket.

A friend has approached me about renting a commercial location to do an antique mall type business where vendors rent spaces from you & you do all the work of running the business. I have been to places like this but never considered getting into a business like that. He is looking at a place that's about 8-10,000 sq ft. The rent is $10 a sq ft pus $2.50 sq ft NNN. They also want a 3 year lease. My concern is doing a 3 year lease on a place I'm not sure of & a business that might be risky. I've never done commercial before so all of this is new to me. Any advice? It has been vacant for several years & the area gets good traffic but the surrounding businesses are groceries, McDonald's, etc.

My family has been involved in animal rescue for years. You have had good advice so far. Definitely do the 501(c)3 ASAP. You can try things like Gofundme to raise money. Contacting local media to spread the word on your efforts is another free way to get the word out to potential supporters. Once you get your non-profit set up, make a website & apply to 1800petmeds to be included in their charity list. Non-profits get goodie boxes from them for free. Lots of great animal related products to use just for putting their link on your site. Contact local rescues in your are for their input to help you get a plan. They will want you to succeed because they are usually overloaded with animals needing help.

Good luck

What an improvement to both. I can see why they sold so quickly. Good job.

Keep your eyes open on Houston & the surrounding areas. Several large oilfield companies just had massive layoffs. Baker Hughes, Schlumberger & Haliburton all laid off thousands companywide. Many of those were in the Texas parts of their companies. That may mean homes for sale in the future if it doesn't turn around with jobs locally for those laid off. Do your homework on the Houston areas. Some areas never go up in value & there is a definite prejudice by buyers on certain locations. Harris County has higher taxes too. There's a lot to consider but it sounds like you're being smart. Good luck.

You are a brave soul ! Too bad you couldn't have gotten a reality show to pick this up & pay for the cleanup. The commentary was great. Glad you have vision because the before is a real nightmare. Great job.

This might be a case of lazy attorney with a sloppy copy & paste error. Regardless, proofing these things every time is critical to avoid this situation. Sounds like you might get lucky & Al Capone this one. Remember, they couldn't get Capone on any of the stuff they really wanted to so tax evasion was the only thing to stick. Use the illegal number of residents to get them out & then correct the lease. Be sure to do your homework so they can't say the additional people are visitors. Neighbors are usually good about telling you if the people live there most of the time & a statement from a neighbor is good for your proof.

Good luck.