All Forum Posts by: Chris MacCary

I use Rentalutions and have been pleased with it. Very easy to set up and my tenants have setup recurring payments. You get notifications when a payment is scheduled, paid, and then the funds deposited in your account. I should say I only have 1 unit right now so I don't have to pay a monthly fee. I'm not sure how their pricing stacks up across the board.

We only got one estimate at $4,500. I think it might have been a little high but we've decided to give it at least one more year before replacing. I would definitely get at least 3 estimates before moving forward. The big things that will affect your estimate are distance to street and material that they will be digging through/replacing.  Ours is about 50 feet from the street and would only be going through lawn. If they have to dig up and replace concrete it will be higher.

This property is on a corner lot and, of course, the pipe goes out the side of the house and then all the way to the front of the property instead of to the side street which is much closer.

Trevor,

Not sure I can provide insight on Richmond specifically but my SFR in Fredericksburg will need a sewer line replacement and I'm responsible for everything from the street to inside the house. In that neighborhood there is a 6ft (I think) easement between the street and what is technically my property but I'm still responsible for that whole pipe. I don't believe the city bears any responsibility for any part of these repairs, but I could be wrong.

Jeff Rabinowitz excellent suggestion and it's the exact situation I'm dealing with. The neighbor is a homeowner and we used to live in the house. I'm in contact with both the neighbor and the tenant and being empathetic to both.

Thank you everyone for your advice. I'm just going to nicely tell the tenant to keep an eye(ear) on their dog's barking to make sure he isn't barking too much.  In addition, I'm going to put up a small section of fence that should solve the issue of the neighbor trying to use the yard for their dog.

For anyone curious. I found the following county ordinance on animal noise for Stafford County, VA:

"(7) Allowing any animal or bird to create noise that it is plainly audible at least once a minute for ten (10) consecutive minutes:

a. Inside the confines of the dwelling unit, house, or apartment of another person; or

b. At a distance of fifty (50) feet or more from the animal or bird.

This subsection shall not apply to any animal or bird that is part of an active agricultural operation."

My tenant has a dog that they keep in a large pen in the large side lot to our rental property. The neighbors in the house that borders the side lot are complaining that their dog "barks all night and causes our dogs to bark as well."  Since my tenants moved in a few months ago, they have had several issues with the neighbor (all the neighbor's fault) over dog issues.  The complaints did not start until my neighbor had an argument with the tenants over said dog issues. None of the other neighbors have complained and the other neighbors I am still in contact with said they haven't noticed any excessive dog barking.

Current tenants pay the rent on time, maintain the property, and have not received any complaints from others around them. This feels like a neighbor issue moreso than a tenant issue. How would you handle this? Ask my tenants if they can keep an eye on the dog barking and leave it at that?

@Michael Ballard Thanks for the welcome. I'll reach out to you.

@Stephanie L. we are right by the reservoir. I am open to most areas but I'm primarily interested in SFHs in Midlothian/Chesterfield, but again not ruling anything out.

@Trevor Ewen thanks for the intro. Let's stay in touch.

@Tina Morris that sounds great. I'll send you a message and maybe we can set something up. 

Thanks for the advice, Adrian. I'll definitely have to look out for some meet ups around here.