All Forum Posts by: Nathan Gesner

Your trick doesn't make sense. You say to hook the garden hose to the "washer hookup on the house" but that's a water supply line, meaning water comes out of it. How are you pumping water into it?

And what difference does it make if you use a garden hose or if you use the washer hose from the back of the washer machine? It's a just a hose, just like a garden hose but sometimes nicer. Why would it matter if this is inside or outside or even used at all?

The Seller is responsible for cleaning up the mess and transferring the unit to you in good condition, as advertised. If the tenant caused $3,000 in damages and you don't have time to fix it up before closing, demand the Seller provide you the funds to make the improvements after closing.

I recommend a roommate lease. It will address things specific to a roommate situation like using and cleaning shared common areas, cleaning responsibilities, quiet hours, etc.

I own a nice home and pay a mortgage every month. You know what happens when my fridge breaks? My food goes bad and I am stuck without a fridge until a technician is available to repair it.

You know what happens when a tenant's fridge breaks? The same thing.

I empathize with people that lose all their food and the ability to store food but it's happened to me as an owner and it's part of life. Your responsibility as a Landlord is to fix the problem as soon as reasonably possible, which you did. It's not your fault that the technician was a bum. I recommend asking them for a refund but that's got nothing to do with the tenant and his food loss.

You're making the mistake of letting the tenant push you around. You became aware of the problem and you fixed the problem. That's the extent of your responsibility.

I suspect something else is causing the mold but I could be wrong. I would tell them the problem didn't exist before they occupied and that you've taken steps to keep it from happening again. If they don't like it, they can move.

@Deanna Boss change your profile name so it only shows the first letter of your last name. I was trolled by a former tenant that was evicted but I changed my name and haven't had a problem since despite thousands of posts.

Real estate agents don't make as much as you think. Around 80% quit in the first two years. Of those that stick around, 80% of them only sell 20% of the homes, which means they aren't making a great living. Full-time agents can make an above-average income but it takes some time to build your clientele, learn the business, and start making a good living. You also have to be good with your money because you can go for months with no income and plenty of expenses.

The average agent makes about the average income for an American, and that's before considering the expenses of gas, dues, licensing, marketing, etc.

Count the costs. There are many REALTORS that will paint a rosy picture and talk about all the money you can make from selling a million-dollar home. True. But how many of those does the average agent sell? How many hours do they spend selling it? How much of their own money do they spend on marketing, licensing, education, gas, etc? How many hours (or days) do they spend running all over God's green earth to show houses to a buyer that can't make up their mind and then suddenly disappears and never purchases anything?

I don't know of any profession that has a greater attrition rate. Somewhere around 80% of all agents quit within two years. Of those that stick around, 80% of them only sell 20% of the homes and the average income for an agent is less than the average income in America...and that's before deducting expenses like fuel, marketing, office fees, licensing fees, board fees, etc. Most agents take 2-3 years before really learning the job and making a decent living at it.

Sit down with an honest agent and ask for the true costs and what you can expect to earn in the first 1-3 years. I think you'll be surprised.

I would love to see a site like this, similar to Angie's List but for renters. Unfortunately, nobody wants to risk the liability.

Have you considered the cost? It's not too expensive to get started but it is expensive to maintain. The vast majority of agents quit within two years because they can't handle the stress or make enough money. If the vast majority can't handle it, and their average age is 20 years older than you, the odds of you making it are extremely slim.

I hope you educate yourself on the job and the costs and that it works out for you.