All Forum Posts by: Andrew S.

For the last couple of days, the interface of the forum “front page” has changed from a list of post topics to a list of full posts.  So now, only one or two posts are visible per page without scrolling.  This is basically unusable for me on phone or iPad and at best a pain in the *** on the desktop screen.  Is there  a way to change this back?  I recall that this happened once before (maybe 6 months ago) and it was eventually reverted back.  I don’t know why BP felt it needed to try this again - it sucked back then and it still sucks now!

What is the fix for this?

Not true at all.  In most, if not all jurisdictions, fallen trees are considered “acts of God” and there is no liability on part of the owner (except, maybe in cases of grievous negligence).  Consult your insurance carrier.

6ft headroom is very annoying for a lot of people, but 5 ft is ridiculous!  Code is often 6'8' or more.  

Because with Section 8, the Housing Authority basically sets the maximum rent, so you can’t just “bake things into the rent”.

From what you describe and from what I can spot on the pics, I would agree with other responses that this is very likely a minor thing, especially if, as you say, the foundation is fine.

That said, your mortgage co may not agree with that.  I had a similar situation once where the bank required a certificate from a structural engineer in order to proceed with financing.  Structural engineers don’t come cheaply..... $800 later, everyone agreed that the cracks were ok and the closing went ahead.

The cracks are still there but haven’t given me any more problems since.

Something flagged this old post of mine, so I thought I'd update it.  This tenant continued to be a perpetual complainer for another year or so, and sure enough, ended up as my first (and so far only) eviction ever. 

I totally get the concept of self-insuring and have considered it myself.  In fact, from a damage/replacement point of view, I would probably do it.  I don't think it is a big  stretch to self-insure a 100k property - you are VERY unlikely to incur a TOTAL loss, even if it burns down.  Minimally, the land is still worth something.  

The problem is with the liability part - whilst the damage/loss part is limited to the (replacement) value of the house, THE LIABILITY part has a potentially far larger downside risk.  And given our litigious society, you are probably at least as likely to sustain a liability claim as a total property damage loss.  Yes, you have an umbrella policy right now, but the reason why that policy is cheap is that each of your properties already carries significant liability protection as part of your homeowner/landlord policy.  If you were to cancel those individual policies, the umbrella would be drastically higher.  So, you need to take that into account when crunching your numbers.

If the numbers work, do it!

Is anyone familiar with the current PPR situation? I am invested in their 12% fund and they are calling it ahead of the 3 year term. They offer to roll into their 10% fund for another 3 years, but why should I believe that they will not just turn around and call the 10% fund as well?  Are they still financially sound?  This makes me a little suspicious... @Dave Van Horn ?

Just as an aside, please be aware that your SIDRA custodian will want to see some sort of admission of default or other documentation to the effect that you won't get paid back.  If not, they will report the amount of loan as a pay-out to the IRS who will want to collect taxes and penalties on the amount.  Double-whammy!  Ask me how I know....

Best to live: C.H.> Raleigh, Durham

Best to invest: Durham>Raleigh>C.H.