All Forum Posts by: Theresa Harris

If the security gate is a gate to get into the yard, do you need a lock?  If it is a gate to a common entry into the house itself and then the entry for both of the duplexes is off of that (like a common entry to an apartment complex), they you need to replace the lock to protect the house itself.

Get some quotes to find out if it needs to be replaced and, if so, how much it would cost. 

It is a 2.5 acre lot.  It shouldn't matter if the space is on the side or back of the house as long as there is some privacy.  You can build the house so a deck goes off the back (if you want) and the stairs from the deck are off to the side yard.  You can have lots of windows on the side to look into the side yard.  You could also do the house in an L shape by carefully placing the garage off on the NE corner and then use the space to the left of the garage and back of the house house to frame in a back deck area.

My big concern would be looking into the neighbour's house.

I don't know what system they use in the complex where I own an apartment.  They changed it over to cards from coins which cut down on thefts.  The cards can be easily reloaded, so the tenants can put as much money as they want on the card and don't have to buy a new card all the time.  I don't think there are any fees with reloading the cards, it is all built into the price of the washer and dryer.

Is the access to the lot the same off both roads?  Ie is one busier than the other making it harder to get onto the road or into the driveway.  Within the house itself, where are the living spaces?  Ideally they'd have the best view.  Where are the bedrooms, do you want those next to a busy road.  If you have an attached garage, you can put it on the side of the house facing the busy road on the bottom to increase your privacy...and decrease any road noise through the outside wall.

I'd probably do the same as the neighbour pushing the house as far away from the roads as possible, but offset your house a bit (put it a bit closer to the road on the right).  This means when you are looking out the windows on the side of the house that faces the neighbour, you aren't looking into their windows. The people who built my house did the same and the two houses on either side are closer to the road, so I look into their back yards, not their house...much nicer.  It would also put the driveways along the same road, so people would be more aware of both driveways increasing safety.

Mine deposits it on the 15th of each month.  So January's rent is collected on the 1st and deposited into my bank account on Jan 15th.

How far away is the property?  Out of state could be an hour's drive or a day's drive.

If there has been a large increase in water usage and as you've said there are no obvious problems; have you had any change over in tenants?  How much would it cost to monitor the usage by floor (or section of the building) rather than by unit?  

Let all of the tenants know that the water usage has spiked and while you've checked for obvious things such as running toilets and there don't appear to be any leaks, to let you know if they see any problems.  If the increased usage is the result of a change in a tenant's behaviour, this should make them more aware of a problem...in an ideal world.  You could also let them know that you may have to monitor water usage for each unit.

My mom did this..twice actually.  We're in Canada, so somethings may be different.  

You may not have to do a complete re-wire of the house.  In both her houses, it was a single story house that was moved, she just had to connect the electricity back to the house and do wiring in the basement (which was new).

Definitely hire a professional house moving company to do the move and check them out. They will get everything sorted with the route.  Make sure permits are in place.  They will also come back once the foundation is ready and lower the house.

Think about adding a full basement.  It will cost more than a crawl space, but will also give you more space.  In her last house, she added a legal 1 bedroom apartment so she has a rental income.

When you talk to house movers, ask for names of people who have used them both for references, but also so you can ask them about the process and costs.

Even if they do evict those two tenants, would you want the wholesaler to find new tenants?  They won't care who they rent the units to and you'd be stuck with them.