All Forum Posts by: Andrew S.

I have been battling a groundhog in the backyard of one of my rental properties for quite some time now and I'm running out of things to try (very persistent groundhog...).  The fellow lives in a fairly overgrown buffer space behind my fenced backyard.  For some reason, it has decided that it wants to get into my backyard in spite of the fact that there is only grass, and not, say a vegetable garden...  The fence is a 6-foot wooden privacy fence, and the groundhog has taken to digging under the fence into the backyard.  I have been playing the game of blocking the holes with rocks, rebar, wire mesh, etc but the groundhog's patience is endless.... just digs a new hole right next to the blocked one.  While my local Lowes does seem to have a nearly endless supply of rebar, it has become apparent that a better solution to the problem is probably to evict the fellow once and for all.  Does anyone here have experience with this?  Obviously, trapping it is one option, but what do I do with him once he's trapped?  I don;t have the heart to kill him, and I assume there probably aren't any groundhog shelters where I can drop him off....  Any thoughts?

April 26, 2018

Trailwood Realty -@Dawn Brenengen

 Good idea - BUT: I'm guessing that the sidewalk and the strip of grass to the road probably belong to the city/town or at least they own the easement, so you'll have to get permission to mess with those - local authorities tend to get very grumpy if you just tear apart their infrastructure.  Those permit processes can be quite tedious and lengthy, depending on the specifics. 

 I agree!  In any event, if you do decide to cut it down, make sure you check your local ordinances for any rules against it.  You can get yourself into a heap of trouble for removing trees in some places (ask me how I know....)

 Sure, but that is an extremely high-risk proposition.  If you miss the 60 days, you'll be on the hook for taxes and penalties.  There are all sorts of delays that can occur in real estate and loan transactions and many or most, you have little or no control over.  Think long and hard before you pull the trigger on this.

 Yes, she knows the business.  I have probably done half a dozen mortgages with her - tell her I sent you!

I have been exploring this topic and running numbers for quite some time and I agree with most other posters - a tankless system almost never makes sense for a rental.  It is almost always MUCH more expensive to install (compared to just replacing an existing water heater where the plumbing already exists).  There is only one situation that I can think of where I would even consider a tankless and that is where the current water heater location is no longer suitable (i.e. you need the space, or there is some safety concern).  In fact, I am in the middle of such an analysis right now for one of my rentals.  I can easily replace an existing water heater myself for an all-in cost of less than $500 (and a couple of hours worth of work).  If I farmed out installation it would probably run around $750-800 total.  For the tankless system that I would need (I want an outdoor unit in order to re-claim as much closet space as possible inside) I have received 4 bids ranging from just a hair over 2k all the way to 3.5k.  Installation will involve a stretch of gas pipe, limited water plumbing to tap into the existing pipes, and some electric work.  Because of this, my DYI skills are insufficient for self-installation (plus I can't pull my own permit for the work anyway), so I will end up with at least TWICE the cost of a regular water heater, but really more like 3-4 times as high.  For all that, I will NOT get compensated other than hopefully with a happier tenant whose utility bill will probably decrease a good bit.  The reason why I'm still considering it is that my longer-term strategy is to convert the current water heater closet into a half bath, and THAT will result in higher rent for sure.

Try Ami Bonis 

Have you called them up and told them that this is unacceptable?  I only have limited personal experience with them (they managed one of the properties I bought some years ago and I had to keep them on as a condition of the sale).  Overall not too bad but I agree, their in house maintenance staff makes things very expensive.  I am local and so I simply walked into their office on Hillsborough Street whenever I didn't like something - typically got it resolved.  May be harder for you though if you are remote.  I assume this is a student rental?  If not, you should definitely switch because student rentals is most of what they do (and know).  What you are experiencing is fairly typical with larger PM companies.  For example, Trademark in Raleigh is the same way (sadly, I have direct experience there too...).  Try a smaller outfit - ping @Dawn Brenengen for example