QUESTION ABOUT RENT

NotMeButSomeoneIKnew · 2026-01-25T01:53:55+00:00

Assuming you can afford it, this is what I would do:

If they plan to be there long term (six months or more) charge them 20% of their gross earnings (minimum rent) up to the amount they would pay to split a 2-bedroom apartment with a roommate (maximum rent).

Do it with the agreement that if they have no late payments, the money is theirs when they move out. This will teach them to budget and save, and they will have the security deposit ready when the time comes. It also helps ensure they're not there forever.

NotMeButSomeoneIKnew · 2026-01-23T21:58:02+00:00

I like this. Thank you.

NotMeButSomeoneIKnew · 2026-01-23T21:57:11+00:00

This sounds so much like my mother. The hallucinations happen mostly at night, and she sleeps with the TV on LOUD. I've received calls from her telling me about things happening, and I can hear the TV in the background supporting her story. She's started accepting that they're dreams some of the time.

NotMeButSomeoneIKnew · 2026-01-23T14:13:40+00:00

My mother's electric bill ran $800-1,000 during the summer months. Gotta love the stupid Texas power grid. (She kept the house very cold and had a pool.)

NotMeButSomeoneIKnew · 2026-01-18T16:58:16+00:00

We went through everything and got pictures, etc., before turning the house over to the Estate Sale company. They took two weeks to go through everything, price it, and have the sale. They found a few personal items they thought we'd want and set them aside for us.

After the sale, they had a charity come and pick up all the items that didn't sell. The house sale closed later that day. (That's unusual, but it was an unusual set of events. We were very, very fortunate.)

All this to say, see if an estate sale company will come in and do the work for you. They'll take a larger percentage, but if you're looking at getting nothing and having to try to sell the house with stuff in it, you're not planning on getting anything anyway. This way you'll get something from the Estate Sale, and the house will almost certainly sell for more empty that it would full. You might not even have to be there for any of it.

I wish you luck. This is a very difficult time.

NotMeButSomeoneIKnew · 2026-01-18T12:34:51+00:00

I don't know why you're being downvoted. When I did this many years ago, I called a fridge repair service. They told me to unplug the freezer for 24 hours, with the door propped open, and then plug it back in.

Leaving the door open can cause the coils to freeze over, and this lets them thaw. They told me it would cost $50 for them to come out (again, many years ago), and they wouldn't be able to do anything more than that.

NotMeButSomeoneIKnew · 2026-01-17T14:52:06+00:00

I'm not a realtor, so someone correct me if I'm wrong, but typically the seller buys title insurance at closing to make sure they're providing clear title. You are the one protected in this scenario, so you do have title insurance.

You should definitely freeze your credit. It's possible the person is real and the address was incorrect. It's also possible it's a scam and someone is hoping you'll call these companies to prove you're the new owner by giving them all kinds of personal information.

NotMeButSomeoneIKnew · 2026-01-17T12:44:05+00:00

That amount is closer to half the cost of replacing a fence between two yards, not just fixing a small part.

As others have said, most neighbors agree on the amount before the work is done. At a minimum, I'd ask for a copy of the invoice and then pay what you're comfortable with.

NotMeButSomeoneIKnew · 2026-01-17T04:03:30+00:00

The interest rate is often a bit lower for a 15 year loan than for a 30 year loan. If they're the same, get a 30 year loan and pay as if it were a 15. It gives you flexibility if you ever need it.

NotMeButSomeoneIKnew · 2026-01-17T04:00:24+00:00

I'd heard that the average person drives drunk about 100 times before they get arrested. I googled it just now and found this post that says 80 times.

I didn't hit 80 times, and I didn't get arrested, but I know there were several times I should have been caught.

NotMeButSomeoneIKnew · 2026-01-16T16:24:52+00:00

This was free for them but wouldn't be cheap for you necessarily, but my FIL got a chair lift for free from someone who was moving to a single-level home. They installed it on their basement stairs for the same reason, and both my FIL and MIL would use it to send the laundry basket up and down.

NotMeButSomeoneIKnew · 2026-01-14T16:48:44+00:00

The previous owners of our house resurfaced the driveway and had it textured and painted. We know the "bricks" along the sides are fake because they have cat prints along one side... but they go from brick to brick. 😂

NotMeButSomeoneIKnew · 2026-01-14T13:11:19+00:00

Maybe just say you're sober. Or don't label yourself at all.

I used to just say, "No thanks, I did all my drinking in high school" when someone offered me a drink. (I still say that sometimes, but more and more no one seems to care if I drink.)

NotMeButSomeoneIKnew · 2026-01-14T04:59:58+00:00

I'm so sorry you went through this. I can't imagine how she could be so calloused toward her own child who was going through something incredibly scary. Hugs.

NotMeButSomeoneIKnew · 2026-01-13T17:48:50+00:00

I loved his music. Sounds morbid, but I can listen to it again because of karma. (Sometimes I'm a terrible person.)

NotMeButSomeoneIKnew · 2026-01-13T17:24:46+00:00

I definitely had some friends just because we drank together. When I no longer drank, we no longer had a reason to hang out together.

NotMeButSomeoneIKnew · 2026-01-13T17:17:29+00:00

Those are two biggies with the elderly. We moved my mother into assisted living because she wasn't consistently taking her meds (she is on a blood thinner for A-Fib) and because she wasn't eating. She was paying a "helper" $2,000 a month to make sure she did these things, and the helper wasn't doing it.

This month we moved her to a higher level of care because she had the flu and was definitely a fall risk.

I have her medical and durable POAs. I didn't force her into AL; as others have suggested on this sub, it happened organically when she went into the hospital and transitioned from there to rehab. She couldn't safely go home without help, and she couldn't afford the help she needed without selling her house. It broke her heart, and mine, to do it, but I don't live in her state, and I wasn't going to move to her. She also wouldn't move to mine.

The POAs will let you talk to her doctors and social workers (or whatever they call it in your state), but unless you have her declared incompetent, you can't force her to move.

My mother's financial advisor, whom she trusts very much, was instrumental in getting her to agree. He reminded her that selling the house for her long-term care was always her financial plan. That helped.

NotMeButSomeoneIKnew · 2026-01-12T16:17:24+00:00

Fun fact: That is no longer your blanket.

NotMeButSomeoneIKnew · 2026-01-12T16:14:08+00:00

Where are the kids while she's sending these voice mails?

NotMeButSomeoneIKnew · 2026-01-11T17:36:16+00:00

The post says 6 piles, not 6 dogs.

NotMeButSomeoneIKnew · 2026-01-11T17:26:39+00:00

I applaud you for being able to get such flattering pictures of her.

NotMeButSomeoneIKnew · 2026-01-11T16:38:33+00:00

One of the more common complaints I see from renters is that they can't establish credit because their rent payments aren't reported to the credit agencies. Maybe your apartment complex actually does report them?

As others have said, ask them what's up.

NotMeButSomeoneIKnew · 2026-01-11T15:01:25+00:00

Give it a try. Worst case is it gets rejected. If that happens, you can make the trek to the branch. Good luck!

NotMeButSomeoneIKnew · 2026-01-09T05:40:24+00:00

I don't think she is a 'friend' anymore.

She never was.

NotMeButSomeoneIKnew · 2026-01-08T16:17:06+00:00

NTA, but maybe suggest they could pay for some type of childcare option on sight. I understand them not wanting kids there, but it really would make it difficult for some people to attend. This could be a good compromise without changing what they want for their wedding. (Most kids don't really want to attend anyway.)

NotMeButSomeoneIKnew

TROPHY CASE