It's not Monday anymore!

kvruns · March 2019

CharmedPam said:

I am polling everyone I know about taxes. So far one person I know did the same as last year. The rest have been lower than last year and a lit of people paying!!
i’m in the “lower than last year” camp.

we got a decent amount more than last year which I expected since the new tax law works in our favor since we couldn't itemize in the past

MyNameIsNot · March 2019

Our refund was just under half of last year. I'm actually surprised, because my company sent us a notice in Jan, 2018 that they were revising tables and withholding less because of tax law changes. When I saw that, I was afraid that it wouldn't stick (and I've been traumatized by a huge tax bill before), so I upped my withholding back to 2017 rates.

charlotte989875 · March 2019

We’re going to owe; possibly a lot. With changing jobs it looks like I used the old withholding calculations for my new (and higher paying) job, not the updated formula. So that’s a bummer. My goal is always to have a very small (ideally break even) refund but doesn’t look like that’s happening this year.

charlotte989875 · March 2019

Thanks everyone for the support I really appreciate it! It’s nice to have a place to talk about it anonymously since everyone in my life I would talk to knows the people involved.

All the good thoughts to you and your H @climbingwife

short+sassy · March 2019

charlotte989875 said:

We’re going to owe; possibly a lot. With changing jobs it looks like I used the old withholding calculations for my new (and higher paying) job, not the updated formula. So that’s a bummer. My goal is always to have a very small (ideally break even) refund but doesn’t look like that’s happening this year.

That's the best strategy, but sometimes life happens or it's easy to forget something that has a big impact.

If it fits more comfortably in your budget than paying what's due all at once, the IRS is surprisingly easy to work with on a payment plan. I think you can even set it up online (Form 9465). As long as a return is filed on time, they charge a pretty low interest rate plus a one-time fee of $105 or $52 if choosing a direct debit from a bank account. Here are more details:

https://legalbeagle.com/6728897-irs-agreements-interest-rate-penalties.html

short+sassy · March 2019

Y'all, I need to really snark and vent for a sec, smh.

I mentioned in my Mon. post that I couldn't get into one of the units for the duplex I'm still interested in. So, my agent has been trying to reschedule for my inspector to go back out.

But apparently nobody has the key. Except the tenant. Who won't return anybody's call and already made a point to not be there for the first inspection. Here's an idea. Instead of everyone blowing up her phone and trying to beat a dead horse, how about you all move on to a real solution.

It's really not that hard. Post a notice on the door at least 24 hours in advance that a handyperson is coming over on xyz day/time to change the locks on the door and a request for Ms. Tenant to let them know where to leave/drop off her copy of the key, if she won't be home at that time. JFC, do I really need to be giving Louisiana Landlording 101 lessons here? And, yes, I did already pass along this advice earlier today.

It's like this big hand wringing over the simplest things. Dude, seriously! You've had your listing up for two months. So put your big boy panties on and get your s**t together already before we both lose out on this deal. Because, news flash, nobody is buying your property if they can't access the interior of one unit. Or at least not anywhere near the price you want*.

*I already told my agent I'd still buy it, but would assume the worst for that unit and take another $14K off my counter-offer.

levioosa · March 2019

@short+sassy if it turns out the tenant has trashed the place, how hard is it to evict them in LA?

GBCK · March 2019

what the hell POS landlord doesn't make SURE they have a copy of the key?

I mean, I know shit gets lost, but, seriously, if there was water pouring out from under the door they'd have to break it down, and they're not in a tizzy about that? *I* would be--you figure that out BEFORE water is pouring out from under the door.

kvruns · March 2019

S+S I love your real estate stories. I mean obviously it is a pain in the ass for you but so many interesting people

climbingsingle · March 2019

That's insane to me that the LL doesn't have a key to one of the units!

banana468 · March 2019

climbingwife said:

That's insane to me that the LL doesn't have a key to one of the units!

It makes me wonder how lazy this LL is or what else is he trying to hide by claiming "I don't have a key."

Isn't that landlording 101? We own one condo and I still have a key for the JIC times that we may need to get in when the tenant is at work.

short+sassy · March 2019

levioosa said:

@short+sassy if it turns out the tenant has trashed the place, how hard is it to evict them in LA?

Louisiana is a very landlord-friendly state. Which really just means that tenants have normal protections and both sides need to follow the law and are generally treated equally and fairly in court. I know you live in CA. That state is just the opposite! It is very tenant-friendly and, even if a tenant is blatantly in the wrong, it can still potentially take months to evict them. And most people there need to hire a lawyer for at least their first few evictions.

I've done two evictions. One for non-payment of rent and one because the tenant did not comply with the 30-Day Notice to Vacate that I gave her. I was successful in both and didn't need to consult with an attorney for either one. It's pretty easy and straightforward here, as long as proper notices are served and Landlord-Tenant Law is followed.

I'm already planning to give the two sets of tenants a 30-Day Notice to Vacate after closing. They're currently paying $500/month for large 3bd/2ba units, which is completely nuts. I'm not exaggerating, that would be rents from 20-30 years ago. The market rent is $1100-$1200/month. If she doesn't comply with the notice, it would take me an additional 3-4 weeks to get a court eviction and a sheriff at her door (if she also doesn't comply with the court eviction).

I'm sure that's why this particular tenant is being difficult. I'm not even upset with her for my inconvenience. I'm upset with the seller for allowing her to inconvenience us. I'm assuming the unit is in deplorable condition, like the other ones were. But it's still a super cheap rent. I am taking a gamble she doesn't do further damage. Her $500 security deposit gets turned over to me at closing. And, as long as the unit looks the same as when I saw it, she gets it all of it back when she moves out. So it's at least some incentive.

That's actually one of the benefits for a tenant when someone else buys a building. Their slate is wiped clean for any damages they may have caused. Because the new owner doesn't know or have pictures of what the unit looked like when the tenant moved in. They're already buying the building "as is".

@GBCK, @climbingwife, yes, it IS insane that neither the owner (he supposedly lives out of town) or property manager have keys for this unit. I can tell from the condition of the properties and the crazy low rents that he is a very passive, absentee landlord. But still! Even if he lost the keys a long time ago, he should have had new ones made before putting it on the market. Because...here we are, smh.

It's not Monday anymore!

Re: It's not Monday anymore!

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