Julie R

My condo was on the market for 3 months and I never got an offer, which was odd as it was priced fairly, was staged nicely, etc.

First clue something was amiss, I get electric bill, which is more than my own house! So I go over and the bed is unmade, linens balled up and thrown in corner, towel on shower curtain rod. It looked like someone was either living there part of the time, or using as a place for a tryst. My realtor denied knowing anything and claimed they never saw the "lived in" things I just described. Now I see that the sink in bathroom is cracked, must have started as a hairline crack and w hot and cold running, crack has spread. The sheets, duvet cover, and sink all need to be replaced. Is it unreasonable to submit the expenses to my realtor? Or is it on me to check a property all the time to make sure stuff like this isn't happening.

My condo was on the market for 3 months and I never got an offer, which was odd as it was priced fairly, was staged nicely, etc.

First clue something was amiss, I get electric bill, which is more than my own house! So I go over and the bed is unmade, linens balled up and thrown in corner, towel on shower curtain rod. It looked like someone was either living there part of the time, or using as a place for a tryst. My realtor denied knowing anything and claimed they never saw the "lived in" things I just described. Now I see that the sink in bathroom is cracked, must have started as a hairline crack and w hot and cold running, crack has spread. The sheets, duvet cover, and sink all need to be replaced. Is it unreasonable to submit the expenses to my realtor? Or is it on me to check a property all the time to make sure stuff like this isn't happening.

I have a six year old Whirlpool fridge in a rental unit. The gasket on the door, there is a small section near the top that's stretched out that won't make a good seal. My last tenants closed the door from the outside using a length of duct tape from the front of the fridge door to the side.

The rest of the gasket is in perfect condition and the cheapest gasket replacement I could find was about $100. Is there a hack I can use to tamp down/push down that one 2" length of gasket so it will not be so stretched out and seal the door? Thanks!

I have a 3 year old Airtemp forced air furnace the previous owner of my condo bought. It has never worked right: there are occasions when the heating cycle starts and the main burner fails to light.

The first year it was under a homebuyer's warranty. Two HVAC guys came out and said that a part was crimped and furnace was having trouble getting gas to the burner.

Winters 1 and 2 it happened maybe a dozen times over the entire season. A bit of a pain, but manageable.

This year, it's been getting progressively worse. I have an HVAC guy; his helper came out and diagnosed it as a faulty thermostat. He also said he could find no part that was crimped or broken in any way. New thermostat didn't fix the problem. Then his boss came out and spoke to Airtemp people. They diagnosed it as a faulty circuit board. New board was installed and a day later, furnace failed to fire.

Everyone who has looked at the furnace have ruled out things like igniter. If anyone has any ideas, I'm all ears. Thanks!

I am in my early 50's; my sister is in her early 40's. She is divorced w/ 2 children; I am divorced w no children.

My sister is notoriously bad w/ money. In college she overdrew her bank account by thousands. I recently learned that prior to her marriage she had to declare bankruptcy due to her spending. Her divorce left her with debt.

In all 3 cases, my parents bailed her out. They re-funded her checking account, paid all the expenses associated with her bankruptcy, and took a home equity loan so she could pay off her divorce debt.

I, too, was saddled w/ significant debt from my divorce and lived like a monk for 3 years to pay it all off. I have lost jobs, put myself through school and faced financial hardship never thinking to ask my parents for money.

Many years ago my parents told me that they know my sister is financially reckless. Because of that, they told me that they planned to transfer title of their home to me when it was time for them to give it up and go to assisted living. My sister would be receiving money but a significantly less amount. This, due to their financial assistance over the years.

This seemed fair to me. Now my parents tell me my sister and I will split the estate. My parents are now applying pressure to set up trusts for my nephews.

My parents can do what they want w/ their estate, it's their $. I am objecting to being told to set up trusts for my nephews. How can I handle this?

I am using a COMCAST/XFINITY hot spot from my home using a lap top. The hot spot is a distance from my house so the signal ranges from fair to poor. So I have no access to the router.

I have found the optimum position in my condo to place/position the laptop which helped, but I'd still like a stronger signal. Is there an antenna or other device I can place on my laptop to boost the signal?

Over the last five years or so I've been slowly building a business. First, I ran a 3 room bed & breakfast out of my 11 room house. About 18 months ago I sold this house and bought a duplex and a one bedroom house to rent. I live in a tiny condo.

When I had my house, it was easy to host my family when they came in from out of town, even if a room or two had guests. I could even give up my bedroom and sleep in the living room.

But I don't have that property any more. If they stay at a rental, I can't get any money from that rental. And my family automatically assumes that I can host any time. It would not be unlike if you owned a hotel and your family expects every room or half the rooms are "theirs" whenever they want to stop by.

If I don't have a reservation it's no problem. I'm happy to have them. Normally I don't know until a week or so before the date if I'll have something and my family, particularly my parents, are planners.

When my family stayed at my B&B and I lost bookings because they were there, I was out maybe a hundred dollars. Now the stakes are considerably higher--to block out my entire duplex (where my family likes to stay) would mean a potential loss of about $1000-1500 each time they stayed.

I would never charge my family what I charge guests but would I be out of line to charge them something? Or would it just be easier to find them a hotel room (it would be about $150/night) and put them up there?

A friend of mine for the past 10 years got married. He moved away about 7 years ago but we've stayed in touch and I was very touched that i got invited to his small ceremony/reception. I couldn't go, as the wedding was on the opposite coast but they set up a PayPal account for gifts to go toward a down payment for their first house.

I got a thank you note and inside, a typed messaged printed on copier paper was glued to the inside. The bride and groom both signed it at the bottom but it was a very generic thank you for the money. There was no mention of the wedding which I thought was weird (e.g, we were sorry you couldn't make it to the wedding or it was great seeing you at the wedding).

Am I completely out of touch, and if so, when did it become OK to literally slap a boilerplated message onto a thank you card and call it a day?

Seven days ago, I discovered the furnace in my duplex rental property had been turned off at the thermostat (it was "off", should have been in "heat" position). I have hot water baseboard heat, the boiler is about 30-35 years old. It was 38 degrees inside and there had been no heat for 6 days in the building. Five days ago, a plumber was able to work on the furnace, identified 2 places where it was leaking and repaired the line. The overflow tank on the boiler also needed to be replaced. There were a few leaky valves for the water service that he also replaced.

Heat has been on and working for the last 4 days - thermostat set at 67 degrees. First floor radiators work great, four radiators on 2nd floor work fine. Three radiators on 2nd floor and 3rd floor radiator not working. We suspect the pipes are still partially frozen. Getting good pressure (plumber told me it was 11 PSI cold).

Three days ago, my plumber and I met the insurance adjuster at property and the heat didn't kick on and it was 53 inside. My plumber switched thermostat from heat to off, waited a minute, then turned it back to "heat". Boiler and pump both came on.

I've been at rental last two days. When thermostat clicks on, pump goes, but boiler is not firing. Am doing my plumber's trick, turning off heat @ thermostat, then turning it back to heat mode.

Not sure if this is a thermocouple problem or water level problem - either in lines, or in the boiler itself. Seems to me to be an electrical/sensing problem if boiler is not firing correctly, but wanted to check with the 'pros'.

Resetting the thermostat once or twice a day isn't a big deal, but I do need to get this problem fixed. Finally the non-working radiators are still not working; one is showing signs of life (vibration on the line). Been directing 2 space heaters at area where the pipes run up wall (part of wall is exposed, as it's a dropped ceiling. Wondering if having 4 non-working radiators are causing the boiler to misfire/not fire.

Thanks for any help you can provide.

I bought a condo eight months ago. It's a 800 square foot unit. It has a forced air Airtemp furnace and also has an add-on a/c unit. I have a one year home warranty w/ a $75 co-pay. I live in Pittsburgh, PA.

The a/c unit works, but does not blow cold so I didn't run it this summer. I was told it may be freon that needs to be replaced.

The metal bar that connects the gas intake valve to feed the burners (I've heard it referred to as a bar or bridge line) is dented/slightly crimped and in November it periodically made my furnace to not fire because not enough base was getting to the burners. This bar/bridge also had a build up inside that they cleaned out (I'm assuming w/ some kind of solvent).

The furnace people who came in November said "Boy, we don't even know where you could get parts for that."

Now the furnace is doing the same thing it did in November. The furnace fails to light/ignite the burners about every 2-4 days but flipping the master switch off then on re-sets it and works fine.

So I'm wondering if I even want to put any more $ into this furnace, the furnace guys who came here in November said it was probably 10 years old but it may be older.

I'm thinking since I'm having problems w/ the furnace and a/c it may be more cost efficient to replace the entire furnace a/c with a new unit. The replacement part (you can't just buy the bar, you have to buy the entire burner unit) is nearly $200 plus labor. Then I'll have to get the a/c fixed in the Spring. Even w/ a home warranty, those copays add up.

Any advice would be great and if you recommend replacing the whole thing, what brand of furnaces you recommend. Thanks!

I owned a property that was considered a single family but had two separate gas and electric meters so it could be used as an "up and down" duplex. For the past 4 years I have lived on the first floor and rented the second and third floors. My only income for these 4 years is the rental income I derive from this property as well as a one bedroom house I also rent out.

Business is good and I can't keep up with demand. So this year I sold this property for $234k. I bought a legal duplex for my business for $164K. I bought a condo to serve as my residence for $51K. I sold the property and purchased the two new properties on the same day - it was May of this year.

Is the duplex I purchased eligible for the 1031 exemption? Or if not, another type of exemption from capital gains? i do not plan to sell the duplex - it's a long-term investment and will always be used as a rental property.

Thanks for any help or advice you can provide-really appreciated!

I rent apartments and houses to people visiting the area for a month or two (it's like corporate housing).

I rented an apartment to a person named Sara for the month of September. On the night of September 26 or early September 27th, someone entered the apartment through an unlocked (and possibly open) window and took a laptop computer. The morning of September 26th Sara discovered the theft and immediately packed her belongings and moved to a hotel.

I called the police and met them at the property. There was no sign of forced entry and the police concluded that the window was unlocked and likely open.

Since September 26th I've been communicating with Sara's department coordinator, her name is Lisa. Both work at a large hospital.

On or about October 7th, Lisa emailed me and told me the police apprehended the person who took the laptop, but that by the time he was caught/confessed, he had sold it. She also asked me to reimburse the hospital the four nights that Sara didn't stay at the apartment.

My response was that I provide a secure apartment with windows and doors that lock, but that it is the tenant's responsibility to properly use them. If the window had been locked, the entire incident could have been prevented. However, as a gesture of goodwill I provided them with a partial refund.

Today I receive an email from Lisa. She now wants reimbursement of the entire balance from me. She also wants me to send her a check for $850 to reimburse her for the stolen laptop. They've started pointing the finger at me, saying that I was the last person in the apartment (to do housekeeping) and who's to say I didn't open/unlock the window?

I told her that I unequivocally did not unlock the window and had no reason to. I told her that if she seeks restitution of the stolen computer, to go after the person who took the computer and confessed to the crime, not me. Her employee caused this entire thing to happen, and they are looking for ways to shift the blame onto me.

From a legal perspective, do they have a case? I can't imagine any small claims court asking me to pay for this laptop, but wanted to get some advice before I made this assumption. Thanks for your help!

I rent apartments and houses to people visiting the area for a month or two (it's like corporate housing).

I rented an apartment to a person named Sara for the month of September. On the night of September 26 or early September 27th, someone entered the apartment through an unlocked (and possibly open) window and took a laptop computer. The morning of September 26th Sara discovered the theft and immediately packed her belongings and moved to a hotel.

I called the police and met them at the property. There was no sign of forced entry and the police concluded that the window was unlocked and likely open.

Since September 26th I've been communicating with Sara's department coordinator, her name is Lisa. Both work at a large hospital.

On or about October 7th, Lisa emailed me and told me the police apprehended the person who took the laptop, but that by the time he was caught/confessed, he had sold it. She also asked me to reimburse the hospital the four nights that Sara didn't stay at the apartment.

My response was that I provide a secure apartment with windows and doors that lock, but that it is the tenant's responsibility to properly use them. If the window had been locked, the entire incident could have been prevented. However, as a gesture of goodwill I provided them with a partial refund.

Today I receive an email from Lisa. She now wants reimbursement of the entire balance from me. She also wants me to send her a check for $850 to reimburse her for the stolen laptop. They've started pointing the finger at me, saying that I was the last person in the apartment (to do housekeeping) and who's to say I didn't open/unlock the window?

I told her that I unequivocally did not unlock the window and had no reason to. I told her that if she seeks restitution of the stolen computer, to go after the person who took the computer and confessed to the crime, not me. Her employee caused this entire thing to happen, and they are looking for ways to shift the blame onto me.

From a legal perspective, do they have a case? I can't imagine any small claims court asking me to pay for this laptop, but wanted to get some advice before I made this assumption. Thanks for your help!

I lived in Maryland for a few months in 2005, then moved back to Pennsylvania, where I've lived since. I just learned that Maryland placed a tax lien against my credit report. I failed to file a state tax return in Maryland and Maryland claimed my PA income as MD income. Maryland claims that they contacted me "numerous times" via mail before they placed a lien. I never got anything about this until a collection agency sent me notice.

I submitted a state return for 2005 to Maryland. As it turns out they owe ME money. Prior to the lien being placed on my credit rating, my credit score was 765. Now it is 680.

How long will it take for Maryland to remove this lien? I've asked this question point blank to my contacts at the Comptroller's office in Maryland and they will not give me an answer. Thanks!

About 8 years ago, I worked for 5 months in Maryland. A few months ago, I applied for a home equity line of credit and discovered my credit score went from 765 to 688. When I looked into it, the local municipality where I worked in Maryland 8 years ago placed a tax lien against me. Since my return to Pennsylvania 8 years ago, I've been at the same address, filed my all my tax returns w/ same address. I never received any notification from Maryland that I owed taxes. I didn't realize my employer didn't take out the correct amount from my pay. If I had realized I owed them money, I would have paid it. But I never heard word one from them (still haven't) and it was like out of the blue they added this tax lien to my credit score.

From what I understand, even if you pay an outstanding tax lien, it will remain on our credit report and still show as a "negative", ie. your score will not rebound even if you satisfy the lien.

I'm wondering what the benefit is of even paying this lien, if they won't restore my credit rating to where it was. Any advice would be great!