Monday!

mrsconn23 · December 2017

UPS is a goddamned mess. My Sephora order has been in town since Friday, but got sorted wrong. I don't know when it's going to show up, if at all.

In the meantime, two orders I made on Saturday showed up today...delivered by UPS. Those fuckers need to get it together.

CharmedPam · December 2017

Also, I have a question about surgeries.

When do you find out the price of the surgery? After it? I have been googling my sleeve costs and 99.9% of the sites ballpark the surgery at $20,000.00 nationwide.

I called the nurse and asked her about the cost. Because insurance pays a portion, but not all and I think I should know going in how much out of pocket is. The nurse said the same thing "I think it's roughly around $20,000 but you'd have to ask Rachel and here's her number"

Rachel called me back. I asked her the question, and I realize the answer online is for surgery alone so I wanted her take on it. She said "oh no, not $20,000.00 Don't quote me on this, I don't know the exact number - but it's more like $100,000." So I know she's adding the hospital stay, facility fee, anesthetic fees and all that but that delta is $80,000.00. Is that right? I never had surgery in the states so I have no idea when you find out how much you pay out of pocket but I'd think she'd tell me "oh you'll find out on such and such day" not a "you really don't know until after you come out of it what it costs".....

kvruns · December 2017

@charmedpam can you ask for the billing codes for the surgery and then have insurance quote you on that since it would be the negotiated discount price.

Also if you have a company EAP they may have a service that can help too

CharmedPam · December 2017

yeah I have the code, I was going to ask my insurance about it, but decided to wait till Jan 2nd in case changes were made. I'll look into an EAP, I dont use the insurance much. Only had it for a year!

charlotte989875 · December 2017

short+sassy said:

@mrsconn23, oh no! That staph infection sounds horrible, I hope it clears up and you have more comfort soon.
@charlotte989875, that's great news!!! I hope everything goes smoothly to closing and you all end up better off than you would have been with the previous seller. Do you have a copy of the previous inspection report? If so, I'd have your agent forward that to the new buyers. I'd consider that a gift, if I was a buyer. Other than checking out to make sure the inspector was legit, I wouldn't even bother paying money to do my own. Which would be one less thing you all would have to worry about also.
@CharmedPam, I like the idea of one map. But still a map where each person and "together" could be marked off. Is it possible to "color" or put a colored sticker dot on the map? The two of you would each have a color and then a third color for "together".
@lyndausvi, congrats on your race! That is a huge improvement over last year. Yikes, I hope you all get snow soon. I'm sure it's been a big drop in everyone's bottom line, both people and businesses.
@sparklepants41, yay Babypants!!! I was cracking up at the thought of her staring at your pizza and chewing at the air. I'll assume that is a baby move that means, "Hey! Put some of that in my mouth."

It was a pretty mellow weekend, as expected. Friday and Saturday were too cold (at least for us) to do anything but hunker down at home. There was even ice sitting on top of my windshield wipers when I left work on Friday. Though we did have to run out briefly on Saturday for our p/t hotel pic job. Sunday was watching football and movies.
With the exception of a couple days, we're back into highs in the 60's this week. Much more comfortable.

We do have the latest inspection report, the one we had done when we bought it plus the documentation of what we did and the sellers did, the inspection we had done of the basements supports when we put it on the market, and the most recent electrician report. We're giving them everything. Fingers crossed.

Thanks everyone! We're trying to not get excited about it in case it also falls through.

sparklepants41 · December 2017

mrsconn23 said:

UPS is a goddamned mess. My Sephora order has been in town since Friday, but got sorted wrong. I don't know when it's going to show up, if at all.

In the meantime, two orders I made on Saturday showed up today...delivered by UPS. Those fuckers need to get it together.

That exact same thing happened to me, but it was LaserShip, their third party crap-ass courier who sorted it wrong. Right after I asked Sephora for a refund it finally showed up on my doorstep - over two weeks after I placed the order!!

short+sassy · December 2017

CharmedPam said:

Also, I have a question about surgeries.

When do you find out the price of the surgery? After it? I have been googling my sleeve costs and 99.9% of the sites ballpark the surgery at $20,000.00 nationwide.

I called the nurse and asked her about the cost. Because insurance pays a portion, but not all and I think I should know going in how much out of pocket is. The nurse said the same thing "I think it's roughly around $20,000 but you'd have to ask Rachel and here's her number"

Rachel called me back. I asked her the question, and I realize the answer online is for surgery alone so I wanted her take on it. She said "oh no, not $20,000.00 Don't quote me on this, I don't know the exact number - but it's more like $100,000." So I know she's adding the hospital stay, facility fee, anesthetic fees and all that but that delta is $80,000.00. Is that right? I never had surgery in the states so I have no idea when you find out how much you pay out of pocket but I'd think she'd tell me "oh you'll find out on such and such day" not a "you really don't know until after you come out of it what it costs".....

Oh, Pam. Tsk, tsk, you are letting your foreign-ness show.

Wouldn't it make so much more sense for medical pricing, with and without insurance, to be clear and open?

Because, like yourself, I like to know the full cost of anything I am paying for. Up front. I'd also like to be able to price-shop. Like I do for all my other large purchases/services.

But, haha, that is not in the best interest of insurance carriers or hospitals. So the whole thing has to be confusing and shrouded in secrecy. I understand there are variables into the cost that may not be known until after the fact, but an estimate range isn't unreasonable.

I'm not saying don't try. But don't be surprised if everything stays "fuzzy". It's really pathetic.

I don't know if there is anything you can do about this ahead of time, but some of the horror stories I've heard on billing are...the doctor and hospital are "in-network"...but the anesthesiologist isn't.

After the procedure, scour all your bills also. Verify each line item happened and wasn't double-billed. The medical industry is well known for their rampant billing errors.

MissKittyDanger · December 2017

@sparklepants41 hahaha I missed about Babypants pretending to chew

That's hilarious/cute

Yay for sleep!

STARMOON44 · December 2017

short+sassy said:

CharmedPam said:

Also, I have a question about surgeries.

When do you find out the price of the surgery? After it? I have been googling my sleeve costs and 99.9% of the sites ballpark the surgery at $20,000.00 nationwide.

I called the nurse and asked her about the cost. Because insurance pays a portion, but not all and I think I should know going in how much out of pocket is. The nurse said the same thing "I think it's roughly around $20,000 but you'd have to ask Rachel and here's her number"

Rachel called me back. I asked her the question, and I realize the answer online is for surgery alone so I wanted her take on it. She said "oh no, not $20,000.00 Don't quote me on this, I don't know the exact number - but it's more like $100,000." So I know she's adding the hospital stay, facility fee, anesthetic fees and all that but that delta is $80,000.00. Is that right? I never had surgery in the states so I have no idea when you find out how much you pay out of pocket but I'd think she'd tell me "oh you'll find out on such and such day" not a "you really don't know until after you come out of it what it costs".....

Oh, Pam. Tsk, tsk, you are letting your foreign-ness show.
Wouldn't it make so much more sense for medical pricing, with and without insurance, to be clear and open?
Because, like yourself, I like to know the full cost of anything I am paying for. Up front. I'd also like to be able to price-shop. Like I do for all my other large purchases/services.
But, haha, that is not in the best interest of insurance carriers or hospitals. So the whole thing has to be confusing and shrouded in secrecy. I understand there are variables into the cost that may not be known until after the fact, but an estimate range isn't unreasonable.
I'm not saying don't try. But don't be surprised if everything stays "fuzzy". It's really pathetic.
I don't know if there is anything you can do about this ahead of time, but some of the horror stories I've heard on billing are...the doctor and hospital are "in-network"...but the anesthesiologist isn't.
After the procedure, scour all your bills also. Verify each line item happened and wasn't double-billed. The medical industry is well known for their rampant billing errors.

I’ve usually been able to sit down with a billing coordinator before any “elective” surgery and get the actual costs of the faculty, anesthesiologist, surgeon, medications, etc before signing up.

CharmedPam · December 2017

@starmoon44, right? that's why I thought by asking her about costs, she'd be able to tell me when and where that would all happen! (like, is it during my physician consult? she is the physician assistant!) She obviously knows I'm concerned about the bill.

@short+sassy, exactly that! I mean I wouldn't take my car into the shop and say "work on it" without getting the price quote from them first. My insurance provides a % for both "in network and out of network" and when I called and asked, they said I could use whomever I wanted, as the in network and out were the same, I didn't think about the anesthesiologist!

CharmedPam · December 2017

you guys and your sephora nightmares got me thinking! I did a Karity purchase over the Thanksgiving weekend and just realized now I don't have it. I tracked the shipment and it said delivered Dec 6th. So I have a pile of what I *think* are DH's gifts so I didn't open them, laying on my dining room table ready to wrap. I have to check to see if I thought it was amazon when it was really karity. I've never had a problem with people lifting packages off my front step but 'tis the season! Plus, DH is home most of the day now since his hours have been cut. Even so, he's not looking out the window for thieves either.

MissKittyDanger · December 2017

I think I found something I need to buy M :')

Image: https://static.microcosmpublishing.com/catimages/howtotalktoyourcataboutgunsafetybook_lg.jpg

6fsn · December 2017

This makes me cranky...
mil (in November): what ideas do you have for the kids' Christmas?
dh: you know they loving going to cosi. How about a membership?
mil: perfect done.

Mil: I see your membership isn't up until march. Will they piggy back?
me: I don't really know this is our first year as members. For the zoo and the pool people just write me a check then give a small thing to open related to it or just a little toy. I renew it when we go.

Mil (at thanksgiving): any ideas for gifts to go with the membership?
I think hard and find a lttle fidget toy (not a spinner) that runs under $5 and send her a link.

I have now given every other person ideas for Christmas, several of whom shop at that price point. TODAY she says she just giving them the toy and $50 cash because the membership is too much work. Too much work to write me a check.........now they're going to want to spend the money on shit they won't play with or convince them to save it for a Disney trip two years from now.

Eta: and it means I have to take 3 kids to a toy store to pick out something in that budget. THAT'S the real issue.

short+sassy · December 2017

Now that work has slowed down to a dull roar. I need to vent about a situation I've been having with one of my tenants. Sorry it's long.

Some background. Before October of this year, Section 8 (housing assistance) had been paying most or all of her rent. But starting in Oct., it was a total switch. She still gets some assistance, but now she is responsible for 75% of the rent. No one has ever told me for sure, but I think she became responsible for more of it because one of her dependents aged out and she went from p/t to f/t at her job.

To an extent, I try to be a bit flexible with all my tenants. And I especially tried with her, because it was such a big change. But I am just getting nowhere fast and her attitude is pissing me off. Previously, we've mostly had a good relationship

First off, for whatever reason I do no remotely understand, the only way she will pay the rent is to mail me a money order. Which would be okay with me, if she mailed it no later than the 1st. And even that is an accommodation. Because it is supposed to be in my hand or bank account no later than the 1st.

However, this has been her pattern. After a few days and I don't have the rent, I text her about it. Her excuse is always she hasn't sent it yet because she's been "too busy working". WTF?!? Are you kidding me? She gets paid mid- month and the end of the month. The last two months, I've gone to pick it up from her. Because I didn't trust her to mail it. Previously, she's always had it ready, so I don't think it's the money. I think she just has an attitude of "she'll send it when she feels like it." And, though I am the one being hugely inconvenienced, it was like pulling teeth to even arrange a meet-up for me to pick it up.

Fast forward to this month and the straw that broke the camel's back. Same routine. No contact initiated until I did it. She replies to my text on Dec. 6th. Says she only has $460 (more than half of her portion), but can pay the rest on the 14th. I tell her that's fine, but this needs to stay the exception and not the rule. I also add, since it is so late, I really need her to either drop the $460 money order off at my house or pay it at my bank.

She restates the "exception and not the rule" phrase and asks me what I mean. I'm assuming she hasn't heard that phrase, which seemed weird but okay, and...call me crazy...I tell her what the phrase means. Because she asked. She verifies she knows the rent is due on the 1st. I reply back something like, "Good deal, I just wanted to make sure we are on the same page." Meaning, that this was an exception.

She FLIPS OUT!!! Says that she doesn't appreciate my sarcasm. That she doesn't appreciate me thinking she is too stupid to not know what "exception, not the rule" means. That she had just asked a "yes or no" question, but I went way off topic. She then adds that she will send the MO and will send the remainder on the 14th. Hmmm...so, she's already late AF and is going to be even later by insisting on mailing it. What a peach. But applause for the manipulative dodge. At first though, I was really stunned. I read and re-read the entire text conversation to see if I'd said something that could have been misinterpreted.

Y'all, seriously. I treat all my tenants with respect and professionalism, and take extra pains to do so when I know I'm irritated. The entire extent of our text conversation was paraphrased exactly like I just described it. Obviously without my snarky commentary. I suppose maybe she read the "Good deal..." line as sarcasm? At any rate, I tell her that I'm sorry she had that impression from our conversation. I assure her I was not being sarcastic in anything I said. I also mention that I certainly wasn't trying to insult her intelligence. And pointed out that she had asked me what I meant by that phrase, which was why I explained it.

My plan: Once I get the money orders for this month, I am going to send her an e-mail. Outlining the "mailing rent that is already late" problem and make some suggestions. Ask for her input if she has other solutions. If that fails, my last resort is to talk to her case worker at Section 8. Mainly, I want to see if I can add an addendum to her lease to add late fees. It's kind of weird because the lease between her and I is a month-to-month lease. Normally, I could add whatever addendums I wanted with 30 days notice. But then, there is also a lease between us and Section 8. Which goes year to year in August.

As an aside, this is the same tenant who screams bloody murder if she calls me with a problem (not an emergency) on Saturday, but I can't get a repair person out until Monday. Oh, but screw me and no hurry at all when it's time for her responsibilities.

short+sassy · December 2017

MissKittyDanger said:

I think I found something I need to buy M :')

Awesome! It's funny AND has the cutest fluffy kitten.

CharmedPam · December 2017

I'm starting to believe being a landlord is more work than it's worth, @short+sassy, at least with ours anyway. We have a late fee put in our lease too, have we ever got rent on time? never. My coworker actually bought two rental units to get more income and sold within 2 years of doing that since she couldn't keep up either!
This woman seems like it's all about her. She'll pay you when it's convenient for her (14 days leeway is GOOD imo) but you better stand on your toes when she wants something from you!

MissKittyDanger · December 2017

@short+sassy I wish I had more help, but jeez this lady just sounds like a friggen landlord nightmare! Is it possible to bring the situation up with Section 8? Idk much about it, but could she pay them and they pay you like a third party? That way you get money on time and they can fight with her?

banana468 · December 2017

@short+sassy , can you start eviction proceedings or threaten with them or do you think that she's far more intelligent than her texts would have you believe and she KNOWS that she's getting away with this shit because she knows how to play.

short+sassy · December 2017

@CharmedPam, in my albeit limited experience, most tenants are good tenants. Overall, most of my rent money just rolls in and there isn't any hassle at all about it. But, yes, you'll occasionally have a bad and/or difficult tenant. She's a tenant I've had the longest time...but the shortest time for having to pay a chunk of rent. Because of her tenancy length, I made the mistake of giving her too much slack and I need to rein that back in. Most of my leases already have late fees. Hers doesn't because, when I first bought the house, she was already a tenant there. I had her sign a new lease with my company at that time, but the terms had to stay the same as the lease she was already under. I never bothered changing it because, for the last 2+ years, her rent portion was either $0 or $100.

@MissKittyDanger, I can bring the situation up with Section 8, but I prefer to leave that as my last resort. She and I should be able to work this out, without their intervention. To me, it's such a simple problem with a myriad of solutions. But, if she insists on being stubborn, she'll force me to start taking more drastic measures.

@banana468, For example, the first step of an eviction is posting a 5-Day Pay or Quit notice. I haven't done that yet with her. It's a baby step anyway, that's moot when someone pays in that time frame. But it's still a time consuming and unpleasant step. Plus, she has a job and I know she'll pay me. Not paying me and/or an eviction would cause her to be dropped from the S8 program. And it's a 5-year waiting list where I live to "maybe" be allowed back on. It's the "when" part that has been a problem.

I'd love a situation like MKD mentioned, but S8 is a big national, government program. As such, there are a lot of rigid rules and procedures. They don't do anything like what you are describing.

banana468 · December 2017

What a pain @short+sassy.

We have one rental property and it's the condo we couldn't sell. In CT I believe you have until the 10th to pay so we've been lenient that as long as we have her check by the 10th, no harm no foul. We live in the same town as the property so meeting up with her is not a big pain.

Compare that to our friends who bought a duplex and have had nothing but problems with it. Some tenants had to be evicted, some trashed the place themselves (including the plumbing!) and they also think one tenant may have been using based on the kicked in doors they found.

Fingers crossed that this is a case of someone who is spending money in the holiday season and calling your bluff knowing you'll eventually get paid.

short+sassy · December 2017

banana468 said:

What a pain @short+sassy.

We have one rental property and it's the condo we couldn't sell. In CT I believe you have until the 10th to pay so we've been lenient that as long as we have her check by the 10th, no harm no foul. We live in the same town as the property so meeting up with her is not a big pain.

Compare that to our friends who bought a duplex and have had nothing but problems with it. Some tenants had to be evicted, some trashed the place themselves (including the plumbing!) and they also think one tenant may have been using based on the kicked in doors they found.

Fingers crossed that this is a case of someone who is spending money in the holiday season and calling your bluff knowing you'll eventually get paid.

This tenant does live in the same city I do, but in a totally different part. So she's still a good 20-30 minutes away from me, one way. I'm actually not even upset about the part where she wanted to split the rent up for this month. That's one of those things I don't mind occasionally doing for tenants. It's the complete disregard on making no effort to get the rent to me asap, every month. Especially in a month when she was looking for a favor.

As for your friends with the duplex, I'll pass along a few pieces of advice. Screen, screen, screen applicants. It's better to have a longer vacancy and wait for the right tenant, than it is to move the wrong tenant in. I made this mistake earlier on in my RE career. Be fair, but firm with expectations. Obviously, I'm still learning to navigate that last part! But I'm a lot better than I was. A website called Bigger Pockets has been a great place for me to learn the highs and lows of landlording and the best way to handle various situations that may arise.

As a comparison, here is a similar story of another tenant who wanted to break her rent up this month because of the holidays. She contacted us a few days BEFORE her rent was due and asked if she could pay half on the 1st and the other half a week later. We told her that was fine and to just include the $25 late fee with the second half. Her response? "Thank you so much!"

She dropped the first check off on Nov. 30th (one day early) and the second one off a week later. Exactly like she said she would. So far, she's been a great tenant and always pays on time. As such, we had no issue giving her a little extra time this month. That's the kind of "give and take" that is a win-win for everyone.

levioosa · December 2017

@short+sassy that sucks about your tenant. You’ve been more than generous with her.

@mrsconn23 I was asking because if its been several days and the area is still the same size/redness/as painful, I would go back in.

Work has been crazy. I have a student today and they are slowing me down. Plus they don’t seem to be absorbing what I’m telling them so it’s frustrating. And the other student keeps coming up out of no where and telling her what to do, as I’m already saying it. Dude, stay in your lane. You are a student. Maybe graduate first before you start talking over me.

Jen4948 · December 2017

Quiet weekend. I did some volunteering.

ILoveBeachMusic · December 2017

We had a fun weekend in Chicago. H and I both loved Wicked. We got there early enough to go to the Christkindle Market. I bought a couple of gifts and some new ornaments. We met DD and SIL for dinner before the show. My lord it was cold there this weekend. We walked from the hotel to the restaurant and then to the theater - I couldn't feel my fingers! Sunday we went to church and had brunch with DD before heading home.

Today I had to pick up the doggies, had a meeting then spent the afternoon wrapping Christmas presents. I still need to put bows on them but I'm mostly done. I'm exhausted though. Standing and wrapping for several hours does a number on my back.

Great job on the PR @lyndausvi . Good to see you back @thefanciestbeckler ! @mrsconn23 I hope the antibiotics work quickly - that sounds awful!

charlotte989875 · December 2017

levioosa said:

@short+sassy that sucks about your tenant. You’ve been more than generous with her.

@mrsconn23 I was asking because if its been several days and the area is still the same size/redness/as painful, I would go back in.

Work has been crazy. I have a student today and they are slowing me down. Plus they don’t seem to be absorbing what I’m telling them so it’s frustrating. And the other student keeps coming up out of no where and telling her what to do, as I’m already saying it. Dude, stay in your lane. You are a student. Maybe graduate first before you start talking over me.

This is super annoying and something I’ll never be okay with

ernursej · December 2017

@short+sassy can you get her to do an electronic transfer instead of money order? No one has to go anywhere and she can set up an auto payment option. That is how I get all the money from our rentals. Everything plops into my account on 1st and I just double check.

6 more work days and I’m on vacation until Jan 9. Getting excited. I need a break.

Spending Christmas with my parents, sister and her hubby/kids and my Gramps. My sister emails today asking if we can move it all to her house so her in laws and brother in law can join in. They did Christmas with them last year and still get to see them in the morning. I told my Mom over my dead body. It is weird in general but especially for my H. My sister would be furious if I pulled that out to try and switch things to my house to include my in laws ... don’t know why she thinks it is acceptable to do it on her end.

Having a a glass of port because I can.

short+sassy · December 2017

ernursej said:

@short+sassy can you get her to do an electronic transfer instead of money order? No one has to go anywhere and she can set up an auto payment option. That is how I get all the money from our rentals. Everything plops into my account on 1st and I just double check.

6 more work days and I’m on vacation until Jan 9. Getting excited. I need a break.

Spending Christmas with my parents, sister and her hubby/kids and my Gramps. My sister emails today asking if we can move it all to her house so her in laws and brother in law can join in. They did Christmas with them last year and still get to see them in the morning. I told my Mom over my dead body. It is weird in general but especially for my H. My sister would be furious if I pulled that out to try and switch things to my house to include my in laws ... don’t know why she thinks it is acceptable to do it on her end.

Having a a glass of port because I can.

This is one of the options I was going to offer her.

I'm in the process of setting up a business account with Cozy. They're a highly recommended website from my Bigger Pockets board that facilitates bank transfers between renters and landlords. Not just for her, but for any of my tenants who would like to do that.

One of the big pluses for the tenant side is that Cozy will also post as a "payment made" each month on a person's credit history.

Normally, rent never shows up on a person's credit history. At least not as a positive, lol! Which is a real travesty because it is most people's largest monthly expense and they SHOULD get a positive impact on their credit report for paying it. Cozy solves that issue.

Monday!

Re: Monday!

Choose Another Board

Search Boards