All Forum Posts by: Jim K.

Temperature variation across the length of the planks is probably contributing, an inadequate moisture barrier underneath, the contractor didn't seal the ends of planks near the door, or maybe there's not enough of an expansion gap between the walls and the floating floor in that area.  When you run laminate all the way to an entry door you're asking for trouble. The temperature change between what's happening at the entryway and what's happening in the rest of the space is too much for the MDF to handle.

Of course the tenants may have tracked in some salt-laden wet and not mopped it up immediate, or left their wet books on the laminate and some moisture got into the seams, or, or, or...

Chop out the area by the back door, put in some tile in that area, transition molding to cover the gap. It's going to cost you, sadly, but not as much as replacing the whole floor.

This isn't a tenant. Her name is not on the lease. She's trespassing. She's harassing your tenant. If this is really what's going on, you can call the cops, explain that you are the landlord and she's not on the lease, and they will take her away.

Talk to the son first. Talk to your real estate lawyer. Call the police at the non-emergency number and explain the situation.

@John Colin Rogers

Ah, now it makes more sense. You're a "life finesser."

What that means in concrete terms is that you lied about having a job and you committed fraud to qualify for the car loan, which you have just admitted in a public forum attached to a photo (your "Avi") of yours truly sitting on the aforementioned car obtained through fraudulent means.

But you've done it to "overcome black suppression," so it's OK. Getting the car is really an expression of your "creativity," not your willingness to lie, cheat, and defraud those you have business relationships with.

You still have about eighteen months of finessing your, what, +/-$180/month car loan payments, unless someone comes along and hits your Camaro in such a way that the fault is blindingly and obviously theirs, in which case you will pay off the Camaro, and then it will be time to move up to a Corvette. When the Corvette is totaled, you will get yourself a Porsche 911. After that, what, a Ferrari 488 Pista?

What about the expenses related to the car? How did you feel about that jump in the insurance premium between the 300 and the Camaro? Oh, wait a minute, what was I thinking...a "life finesser" doesn't need liability car insurance, am I right? That's just another way the system keeps a good man down.

The car is an "expense." Everyone has expenses. You explicitly mention children as one of these expenses. It's all relative.

Good luck to you in all that you do, John. You're going to need an awful lot of it.

@John Colin Rogers

You're looking for a Rich Dad. I'm going to talk to you like a real estate dad, OK?

First of all, there's a bit from Rich Dad you need to get drilled straight into your head, because it clearly isn't there right now. SPEND YOUR MONEY LIKE RICH PEOPLE DO, ON NECESSITIES FIRST AND ASSETS SECOND. Do not urinate your money away on liabilities.

Second, please let this be the last time that you'll post your credit score in a public forum NEXT TO YOUR FULL NAME. That was just silly. I won't hold it against you. I've done sillier in my time.

Third, MSRP on a 2018 Camaro starts at $25,905. Did you borrow anywhere near $26,000 to buy that car? If you did, could you explain what special benefits you're getting out of that car versus, say, a $4000 paid-off s***box that gets you from Point A to Point B?

Why exactly have you needed three credit lines in the past, at the age of 21? If you don't want to tell me in an open forum, and there would be no way I would, you can send me a message and we can have this discussion elsewhere.

Finally, I am jealous of you. I wish I was 21 and starting to learn what I know now. Because when I was 21, I was fully focused on graduating at the top of my class and getting a full fellowship to grad school. I did it. I went on a full PhD ride to the Ivy League. My parents cheered. And it was among the stupidest decisions I've ever made in my life, because I too was stuck with a poor dad who knew less than nothing about money.

What is money best for? Is it best spent by an individual to make life better for himself or herself, or to help others? And in helping others, is it better to help the people in your family, who may not need additional help, or to help others who most certainly do?

My wife and I don't have children. We do have nieces and nephews. My brother and my wife's brother have provided quite adequately for their education. We don't intend to give them lots of money when we go. We believe it would be a burden.

But it is a longstanding dream of mine to endow a struggling charity that I know well, to hand over just as much money to it as I can when I go. And every five dollars, every ten dollars, would make a difference.

Isn't it ironic that a forum thread like this makes an appearance on V-E day, the day the Nazis surrendered? One point not mentioned here is that Sylvia Bloom was, in point of fact, Jewish. And so I have to ask, just how many would make Oskar Schindler's choice if faced with it? How many didn't?

"This car. Goeth would have bought this car. Why did I keep the car? Ten people right there. Ten people. Ten more people. This pin. Two people. This is gold. Two more people. He would have given me two for it, at least one. One more person. A person, Stern. For this."

@Enrico Mariani

Go over there and ask him if you could please clean up his yard. That's the best chance you have of actually getting things done.

@Mark L.

Shoulda read more carefully. Sorry about that, Mark!

@Marie Withelidua

You are getting into a conflict with irrational people with an obvious history of making very bad choices. That conflict will escalate in one way or another before it is resolved. Please recognize and be prepared for your neighbors to do stupid things during this conflict. You have no idea what stresses these people are under, what makes them tick. It's obvious you only see them as objects of contempt, parasites on the a** of humanity. I'm sure they catch a whiff of that when they deal with you. The conflict to you is about civilization winning out over barbarism. To them, it might be more about you denying them their essential humanity, treating them like troglodytes fresh from a life underground. You are not in control of their perceptions, you will not be in control of their reactions. Be prepared for them to do stupid things based in unreason, and take actions that would forestall these stupid things.

The discussion I mentioned is part of that strategy.

@Joe M.

"Do you know other companies that do similar programs or a website with a master list or anything?"

Sadly, no.

@Nikkiah Wren

Do you have a job?