All Forum Posts by: Johann Jells

All proactive government solutions like public housing and S-8 are ridiculous to discuss until we do away with the exclusionary zoning that drives up housing costs where people want to live and give the free market a chance to build us a way out of our housing crisis. Where I live and own in the 6ths densest county in the nation, there's 25 x 100 lots with pre-war walkup buildings of 8 or even 10 units. They could not be built in the current default zoning, only a 2 family with huge expensive apartments. All over the nation most municipalities prohibit multifamily development. Until we take this on, arguing about S-8 is ignoring the elephant in the room. 

My S-8 story: not long after purchasing a 4U property and installing a new boiler I get a call from the legacy S-8 tenant that it's freezing. I run up there and she answers the door in a tank top and shorts. It's February in NJ and it's 71 degrees in the apartment. I suggest she put on some clothes and she screeches at me "that's bullsh*t!!!"  Not long after, but not before an incident where her adult daughter somehow scalds her baby in the tub and 'family protection' is called, they depart for a new construction also with included utilities. Glad that 'Professional Tenant' moved on. I rent mostly to young educated upwardly mobile people who don't see me as "The Man". There's no class struggle to our relationship, many of them will go on to earn more than I do if they don't already.

No idea, but I can't see how you can go wrong with the aluminum nosing. FWIW, I'll update the 7 year old questions in this thread! I did my stairs and halls using 5mm click plank from Lumber Liquidators and the stair nosing. I ran the flooring from the stringer to an inch short of the balusters. Came out great, but I have some seam separations in the longest run. If you look around, this is not uncommon with vinyl click plank. I found the 5mm difficult to work with, and I've installed a LOT of laminate. I recently did a kitchen with an 8mm product from them, and it was much easier.

Here you go: https://www.nolo.com/legal-enc...

This issue is traditionally a brain exploder.  A 'repair' is expensable, but if it increases the value of the property is must be depreciated. But what repair doesn't increase the value!!! 

I have not heard of special changes regarding deposits. As @Theresa Harris says, ask her to provide you with said rules.  

It's funny, I just had to explain to a leaving tenant yesterday that 'month to month' means just that, and not week to week. She wants to be prorated because she told me she was leaving the 22nd. 

My preferred vendor of flatpack cabs Fabuwood has 23 door styles, only like 3 of them stained finish, all of those are dark. Light oak is so passe!  I may have to give up my refusal to use pressboard and go with Ikea. At least if the doors get damaged I can simply buy replacements rather than needing to buy the whole cabinet.

I meant buying new painted cabinets not painting old ones. It seems that most new kitchens these days are painted cabinets.

My gut says this is just designers trying to justify their existence. Just like they've now downgraded granite to lowbrow and to be cool you need synthetic quartz or some other countertop. Remember Corian? A completely stupid material for a counter that could scratch, stain and burn.

Best value I've found over the years is Costco's laminate, currently $1.57/ft for 10mm. Much better quality than some other products at that price. Drawback is you can only choose from 2 or 3 finishes.  The latest stuff is supposedly 24 hr spill proof.

Redoing a couple of small kitchens. 20 years ago there was nothing wrong with basic light oak cabinets. Now everyone is doing painted, but I'm unconvinced that in 10 or 20 years it won't seem odd, and I'm also dubious how it will hold up. Wear and slight distresses on natural wood seems less shabby to me than chipped, flaking and discoloring paint. I have 12 year old semi-custom white thermofoil cabs in my own bath that the white painted carcasses are totally yellowed and disgusting.

So what do people think? These units rent ~$1700. If it were up to me I'd do middle tone natural shaker.

'No' to the prorating. NJ law is specific that notice is relative to the pay period, not any random 30 or 60 day period. No to letting her pay the rent with deposit. That's not what it's for. Period. 

@Jonathan Greene  Don't know about Montclaire, but I've seen a dramatic drop here, I had to reduce rents up to 17% to get units moving.  The hi rises have been giving up to 3 months free.  This rent drop makes the OP's situation different from usual, holding out for the previous rent in a depressed rent economy may be unrealistic, and trying to extract it from the lease breaker may also be unrealistic in the current situation. 

Thanks, that's pretty clear. So they saw no value in buying Cozy other than eliminating competition. It's hard for someone in our business not to believe in capitalism, but crap like this sure gives me doubts about the American corporate version.

 I've seen this for many years, my favorite maker of sports sandal was bought by Teva and they stopped making that type of sandal after some brief lip service.  Capitalism should bring us more choices not less! At least in theory...