Home renovations advice and asbestos

[GlockPride]

No way would I seek an attorney for $2-3k in damages. For $20-30k, yes probably. But you have to think about collecting. Is there any $ that the renters have that you can get? Probably not.
This will be Wildly unpopular, but I would NOT throw money at a house I didn’t/don’t have ownership in. If this is her house and you have no legal claims to benefits like rent $ or sale proceeds, then in no way would I be throwing in any more than I could stand to lose. I’ve been biting my tongue here on this for awhile but feel it should be said. If y’all are equal partners legally, still very risky but you’d at least have some legal protections under the law. But, you do you. If you put a ton of $ or sweat equity into and one person walks away, you could be out of luck and I’d hate to see that for you.

Good luck to you. Remember, for rentals you want good value items, not cheap. I think “institutional” when I think renters. Basic, tough, will hold up.

 

[Neanderthal]

I'm going through the EXACT same thing right now. Renters had dogs and kids who tore up carpet in our rental house, but I believe to the extent of around $1K. Normally, I would do the work and fix it myself but I can't at the moment. So, I'm eating the losses, calling someone in to fix it and just chalking it up to losses.

As far as upgrades to the house, little things mean a lot. You can find a lot of nice items at bargain places like Kla-Mart in Pryor. Change all locks, any old lights, and get rid of that popcorn ceiling! Like Swampratt said, tile as much as you can (especially bathrooms and kitchen).

 

[Shoot Summ]

I'm with others, get rid of popcorn, forget the damages, that should have been covered by a security deposit.

Don't go overboard on carpet/padding, and consider other alternatives to carpet, tile, wood, etc.

Also don't go overboard on what you do, make it nice, and live able, it isn't your forever house, don't spend like it is.

 

[bigfug]

Just eat the cost. 10 rentals, thankfully, only been in this situation once. But it was closer to $25k. IF you get judgement, they wont have the money. You'll get a garnishment. To garnish their wages, they have to have a job. They'll either work just enough they cant be garnished, not work at all, or constantly switch jobs to where it takes years for you to get the money. Not worth the work for $2-3k.

 

[HoLeChit]

Are you going to keep renting or are you moving into it? I would suggest not putting carpet back down. Is there old hardwood floors under the carpet and padding by chance. If so, have those redone. Carpet is a mess and takes so much upkeep to keep clean. On the popcorn ceiling, have it tested as you are doing. If asbestos, that;s a tough one. I probably woud PPE up and use a hudson sprayer with water and wet the ceiling and do a test scrap to see how easily it come off. Use visqueen on the floors and up the walls a couple feet and start scraping. keep every thing moist and don't let dry out on the ground. Go in sections and clean up as you go.

Most of what we did in our remodel would probably not apply to you, we remodeled our primary residence, not a rent house and probably splurged in some areas that I wouldn't have on a rent house.... The only thing I'd probably do differently is I'd have bit the bullet and had all the drain plumbing replaced before putting down new floors but that may not apply to you.

Our house was built in about 1972 and had popcorn ceilings, and no one tested for asbestos or suggested that it might be asbestos, or that it needed to be tested. The general contractor and a couple of his guys just removed it just as someone described above. I have a short video of them doing a little of it, if you'd like to see it.

I would also agree with FullAuto, you'll likely have more in attorney fees, energy invested in trying to collect, and frustration than you'll ever get back. I know how hard it is to just let people get away with stuff like that, but as a pragmatic matter you'll almost certainly just be spinning your wheels so I would give that a lot of thought first.

We’re just replacing the carpet in the bedrooms, 568 sqft of it to be exact. The rest of the house is laminate and horrible tile. We plan on replacing all hard floor surfaces with porcelain wood grain style tiles that should hold up to anything. I do think that we’ll be selling the house after the renovation, as we will have 2-3 more years of appreciation and payments on it. Gonna live in the house for a few years, saving my newfound surplus cash to put towards some land.
@Aries i would like to see that video for sure.

 

[montesa]

Sorry I should have specified. We’re going to be moving into this house and living in it for a few years while fixing it up and saving for our land/home to build. After this last dealing with renters, the girlfriend (who owns the house) is leaning towards selling the home. She got a screaming deal for it several years back, and the equity in it after renovation is going to be hard to say no to.

There are paints that are great for changing color or cabinets. You could consider keeping them to save money if they’re not destroyed. You can have someone put on new fronts and hinges.

No way would I seek an attorney for $2-3k in damages. For $20-30k, yes probably. But you have to think about collecting. Is there any $ that the renters have that you can get? Probably not.
This will be Wildly unpopular, but I would NOT throw money at a house I didn’t/don’t have ownership in. If this is her house and you have no legal claims to benefits like rent $ or sale proceeds, then in no way would I be throwing in any more than I could stand to lose. I’ve been biting my tongue here on this for awhile but feel it should be said. If y’all are equal partners legally, still very risky but you’d at least have some legal protections under the law. But, you do you. If you put a ton of $ or sweat equity into and one person walks away, you could be out of luck and I’d hate to see that for you.

Good luck to you. Remember, for rentals you want good value items, not cheap. I think “institutional” when I think renters. Basic, tough, will hold up.

There are many times that I could have used advice like this.

 

[HoLeChit]

No way would I seek an attorney for $2-3k in damages. For $20-30k, yes probably. But you have to think about collecting. Is there any $ that the renters have that you can get? Probably not.
This will be Wildly unpopular, but I would NOT throw money at a house I didn’t/don’t have ownership in. If this is her house and you have no legal claims to benefits like rent $ or sale proceeds, then in no way would I be throwing in any more than I could stand to lose. I’ve been biting my tongue here on this for awhile but feel it should be said. If y’all are equal partners legally, still very risky but you’d at least have some legal protections under the law. But, you do you. If you put a ton of $ or sweat equity into and one person walks away, you could be out of luck and I’d hate to see that for you.

Good luck to you. Remember, for rentals you want good value items, not cheap. I think “institutional” when I think renters. Basic, tough, will hold up.

My only investments into this house are being paid back through recording/adding up my expenditures and her paying them back by stretching them out across reduced rent payments. I’m not charging her interest. I understand the reservations about us not being married, but we would have made that happen already if I hadn’t lost my job 14 months ago. My choice to not move forward in our relationship, not hers. If for some reason I end up getting screwed out of a couple thousand dollars (or a couple hundred) with these decisions I’m ok with it. I would rather be seen as the man who was willing to invest my time and money into a relationship and our future, as opposed to the guy who refused to do anything because we didn’t have a piece of paper affording the governments legal protection if I was wronged.

 

[Aries]

We’re just replacing the carpet in the bedrooms, 568 sqft of it to be exact. The rest of the house is laminate and horrible tile. We plan on replacing all hard floor surfaces with porcelain wood grain style tiles that should hold up to anything. I do think that we’ll be selling the house after the renovation, as we will have 2-3 more years of appreciation and payments on it. Gonna live in the house for a few years, saving my newfound surplus cash to put towards some land.
@Aries i would like to see that video for sure.

No problem, got a couple of appointments but sometime today I'll find it and PM you a link

 

[Aries]

Your contractor should have known better.

I want to strongly disagree with you about that.

I WANT to.... but I really can't.

 

[El Pablo]

Totally factual of course. But according to my research even in 72 it had been tapered down in use. That doesn’t mean much, I know.

Many if not most guys will take down popcorn without hesitation. There are other things that are toxic also. Remodeling is actually a dangerous business from the dust stand point and it’s really hard to avoid it all.

Yeah, no idea the % in 1972, the consequence is high enough I’d just test it.