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Former SD resident
Participant[quote=no_such_reality]How much did lawyering up cost your friends Svelte?
Also curious the OP said the neighbors had sprinlkers that sprayed their car and “( were there for a while before we bought home)” and “didn’t really have a good fence” Did it have a dilapidated fence? Chain linK? what’s the relationship from the fence to the sprinklers?
Also curious, the roses they cut? Were they yours or theirs? Or in the disputed zone that you now say is yours due to the property survey courtesy of sprinklers obviously, been in effect ‘theirs’.
As for the didn’t really have a good fence. Did it have any fence? Or is this an open side yard?
Really it just highlights challenges of unclear property boundaries.[/quote]
When we purchased home there was a planter approx 3 feet wide with 3 nice red rose bushed and other plants along whole drive way. The planter was bordered on one side by our drive way and the other side has a nice cement border (not cheapie Home Depot by the foot ones). We figured the planter was ours and that the cement border was the divider. After we moved in found that the sprinkler in the rose planter was neighbors. Completed a survey and found that property line went another 2ft past planter.
Initially we weren’t going to do anything but the sprinklers became a nuisance. Then one day they came out and chopped off all roses (this was before we said or did anything). Was asked if they could move or cap sprinklers. Neighbor told hubby roses were his mothers so sentimental to him (I call bs on that, they must have 10 other roses bushes in front yard, if they were so important why wouldn’t you plant them in our yard front and center, not on neighbors by driveway). Hubby said we didn’t want to really change anything and that they were welcome to leave roses bushes there. Then within a week they ripped out everything. We then planted more 3 more rose bushes and they all mysteriously died.
Several other things have happened since and we just want it to end. Now our game plan is to clear everything we can within our property line and put up a nice border white picket fence. Several other neighbors have a similar fence so it fits with neighborhood. Then wait a little for dust to settle and plant new plants.
We’ve tried the avoiding game, but it’s not working. Hope the fence puts an end to it once and for all.
ParticipantAccording to attorney, adverse possession is very difficult to support in California. And given the burden of proof surrounding the true ownership of tree. It’s possible but not probable. Who’s to say previous owners of our home didn’t plant it? Also if they really thought this was a liability wouldn’t they have taken care of it right away? It’s been about 7 months since this started and almost every time we leave they do something else to our side property.
ParticipantWe didn’t ask for any of this. I don’t think it unresonable to ask neighbors to move sprinklers that they put in our yard that were spraying our car! We should be able to park cars in drive way without getting soaked. The only other thing we asked for was access to their yard so we could hiring licensed tree trimmer to cut huge tree limbs that were hanging over power lines. Probably cost them a few hundred to trim, we offered to pay it but they have been unwilling to talk since first conversation and then when we go out of town they do something to side yard.
ParticipantBelieve me suing them is the last thing we want to do we just want to be able to use our property and for them to stay off ours. We probably would have left the whole issue alone if from the beginning they would have been reasonable and moved the sprinklers so they didn’t spray our car and not stripped flower bushes, I’m fine with sharing but they obviously didn’t want to. They have been very malicious in their actions. The plumeria was a beautiful tree that they made an eye sore for us and it was our tree! We have planted 3 different plants on that side and they’ve all mysteriously died. They have an outdoor gardening station that they set up with a drain pipe to dump into our yard. Ripped out a nice cement border, etc…. I realize all of these things on there own are trivial but we are sick of it!
ParticipantWe reviewed survey and looks like that plumeria is 100% ours! but now an eye sore to us. I hate to do it but we are going to clear everything that’s left on that side of yard and put in a good fence. We are also going to be sending them a demand letter to stay off our property or we will sue. We have taken pictures of everything they’ve done. Fingers crossed that will keep them in their own yard.
Participant[quote=bearishgurl][quote=Former SD resident]bg- I’m jealous of your bill, even on months where we haven’t run AC our bill is still close to 200! we have a pool so the pump runs everyday but I can’t imagine it takes that much electricity. must be all that laundry I’m doing all the time :). may need to switch to gas…[/quote]
Absolutely, switch to gas cooktop, gas water heater and gas dryer. And gas furnace if you can afford it and will keep your residence at least ten more years. Or whatever of those items you DON’T have as gas now. I was told this by my first LL in the seventies, when I moved here. Back then, I lived in 1920’s apts which had gas stoves where you had to light the oven first, boiler rooms for heat and gas dryers in the laundry rooms. SD has always been one of the highest-priced cities/counties in the nation for electricity and so I have NEVER had any of the above as electric in any of my homes.
Yes, pool pumps use a LOT of electricity, ESP in the winter when you try to heat an in-ground spa. Back in the mid-’90’s, we figured it cost us $7.45 for ONE TIME to heat our in-ground spa to 102 deg in the dead of winter. It took 45 mins to heat it up, only to sit in it for 20 mins to an hr. Then the next night we wanted to use it, we had to heat it up all over again (it had a plastic bubble cover cut to fit). Above-ground redwood tubs are less than half the price to heat, because they have a very thick folding cover to hold in the heat. I have no doubt that pool utilities are twice that now.
I don’t have AC and am situated only ~1 mile inland (technically, ~2 mi … from Strand State Beach). The whole house fan installed by the owner before me comes in handy about once per year … like NOW. It doesn’t use up anywhere NEAR the electricity that A/C does but you have to get used to the blower sound.
A couple of other things making my bill low (it’s been as low as the “baseline” (abt $33).
I understand the vast majority of Piggs prefer a *newer* house but you can’t insulate under a slab foundation. Many houses built prior to ~1960 have a 3-4′ crawlspace. Thick insulation can be attached right under the floor and all the way to the stemwalls, still leaving enough space to crawl around and sit up under there to work on plumbing, etc. Installing thick insulation in the walls, attic and attached to the subfloor in the crawlspace saves a LOT on utilities.
I only have about 7-10 loads of laundry per month and use a gas dryer. I only run the d/w once per week. I wash the dishes I use every day by hand.
In the past several years, I have only had 1.5 to 2 people residing in my home because my last kid stays with their dad, also. In addition, I’m not home for a few weeks per year (varies by year) and my pet-sitter(s) don’t use much utilities.
FSD, hopefully you are in an older home in the urban OC which has a crawlspace you can insulate. Besides making sure the above 4 appls/systems are gas, if you can install heavy insulation all around, I think you could see at least a ~$75 mo reduction on your utility bill.[/quote]
pretty much everything in our house is gas already with the exception of the dryer and AC of course. we even have 2 water heaters but thankfully those are on gas and i dont think our gas bill is bad (avg 28/mo). when we moved in we looked into getting a gas line installed for dryer in garage but the way our house was situated we would of had to rip out the workbench and cabinets in garage to move washer and dryer so we could get proper ventilation, and it would have been a couple grand to install. we are on a crawl space but its really low, in some places you have to crawl on your belly to move, from the front it looks like its on a slab. may have to look into getting better insulation. we have a long to-do list of upgrades to do.
Participantbg- I’m jealous of your bill, even on months where we haven’t run AC our bill is still close to 200! we have a pool so the pump runs everyday but I can’t imagine it takes that much electricity. must be all that laundry I’m doing all the time :). may need to switch to gas.
ce- yes I’m an seeing that more often, lots of new communities installing solar standard. the more we think about it the more we are leaning toward doing it especially after this long hot week and the week to come. it’s HOT here in inland OC.
what drives me crazy about all this is we moved from NC where we ran the AC 24/7, our house was mich bigger and our bill was about the same. how can it cost 4x more here?!
Participantthanks for the feedback. still trying to weigh our options, if it wasn’t for being on the front of the house we would have already done it. I’m home all day with 2small kids and while it hasn’t been especially hot this summer it has sucked not turning on the air some days, tho it is running today! and has been the last few days, think next months bill is going to be a doozy.
NSR I like your response of tacking up an electric bill.
ParticipantI’ve lived in both types of homes and can say I’m happier in a smaller home with a larger lot. We just moved back to SoCal from North Carolina and there we had a very nice 3000sqft home (which is average to small for where we were) and here we have a 1800 sqft old house and I am happier. The kids get to spend more time outside here where as in NC it was either to hot or to cold to be outside all the time. Here since we got an older smaller home our lot is large 1/3 acre and has room for pool and grass area for kids to run. Being the one who cleans and home I’m also happier to clean a smaller space, also the cost to cool the place (even our small space here) is about triple the cost of NC. I honestly don’t understand the need or desire to have a larger home unless you live in an area where you can’t spend much time outside, but that’s just me. we have 2 kids boy and girl so they each have their own room and we have a separate office, I don’t think our house feels cramped at all. The previous owners were the original owners from the 50s and they said there were 5 kids and 2 parents that lived in our 4 bd home, now that might feel a little cramped to me.
Participant[quote=UCGal]I’m a little confused by the post.
– You have a family member who is mentally disabled, who currently lives at the house in question.
– The executor wants to move this person, and rent the MM house, diverting some of the rental income to cover the displaced family persons expenses.
– You’re worried this will only be temporary, and the family member will end up in a nursing home environment.
I’m not sure how renting the house out vs selling it plays into the eventual situation for the displaced family member.
The executor is the person who decides, typically.
Does the mentally disabled person have a legal guardian? That person should be advocating for them.
I assume this MM house is an asset owned by the estate (since there’s an executor) with multiple beneficiaries… depending on what the will or trust says – the executor has to follow that. But if it’s loosely worded – the executor makes the decisions.
My husbands family has had huge drama over real estate left to multiple people to share. It can get really ugly and break families apart.
As far as property management… My husband kept his pre-marriage house as a rental when got married – he managed it himself. It wasn’t a big deal, since he kept it in good repair and had good tenants. When we moved to CA, he hired a property management firm. They managed to nickle and dime him and he ended up spending vacations doing simple repairs he’d already paid the management company to fix. So I’m not so keen on PM companies. I’m sure there are good ones… but there are a lot of bad ones too.[/quote]
thanks to everyone for responding. to answer your questions UCG. yes the person lives in the MM house, she is mentally disabled (bipolar, manic depression), they don’t have a legal guardian. I agree with getting her out into a more suitable place, but question selling the house leaving basically a pot of gold for the relative/executor to tap into for their rental property they plan to rent to her. executor has already said they they could just kick her out if the time came when they needed their property back, but then what. it’s not a huge estate, but still enough to be tempting to drain. I believe it’s written to offer the executor a lot of leeway. do beneficiaries get a say? can they become the executor?
I haven’t seen the house in several years, but she never did anything to maintain that house, she would always just bug her mother (before she passed) to fix things for her. major things have been fixed as needed through the trust, but I’m sure the cosmetic features of the house look original to the 70s and r in poor shape. and she’s had lots of animals over the years that have been allowed to take over home.
I imagine the entire house will need to be painted along with cheaper updates to kitchen/baths. Even as is I think the house could go for around 450k (fee to sell 18-22k) and rentals for comparables range from 2000-2400. I think if we spent that money that would be lost to commissions on the house we could make it a great little rental, and hopefully finding choice tenant by pricing it in the low end, which would still cover most of there living expenses.
family issues with money are never usually pleasant, I get along really well with the executor, but I also knw that they are going through a few issues and don’t want the trust to be there way out. I don’t want to damage the relationship, but I question the desire to sell. as you can imagine there are so many more details to this. I hope to talk to them this weekend to get a batter idea of plan and hope I will be satisfied.
ParticipantFound this site to help estimate solar cost and payoff. Will be interesting to see how it compares to my formal written estimates. Have someone coming out today, this Friday and another next week. Hopefully the numbers workout for us because we are big power users, pool, inland OC so need a/c too, and 2small kids so laundry seems to really add up. Will update after estimates roll in.
ParticipantI think our roof is about 20-25 years old, but according to inspectors and solar people metal roofs have a 50 year life. We have the original roof paperwork, but who knows if the guy/company is still around. I’ll look through ppwk and see.
Participantexactly ca renter. the 300 sqft was approx 15% of space and at 300/sqft that’s about 90k for a porch, seems a bit high for me. we decided against an offer on that house, don’t feel comfortable with the whole situation and what in our eyes is misrepresentation.
Participantthanks. I didn’t think you could count the porch. I was thinking the same thing ocrenter. I was just flabbergasted when the agent said that, they think they can get away with anything in this market. still like the house (well the neighborhood actually), guess all we can do is put in what we think its worth based on comps.
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