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DECEMBER 2020
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I’M NOT LEAVING ‘UNTIL THE SHERIFF COMES TO TAKE ME OUT’ The Sad Results From Going With Your Gut
On the local CBS news station last month, they featured a landlord who owns and rents a single-family home near the beach in Westbrook, Connecticut. He marketed his home for rent by himself and met a lovely family that was interested. He had a good “gut” feeling about them and moved forward with the lease ... without any screening or background check done. In hindsight, the owner realizes his mistake. “That was the wrong thing to do,” he shared with the CBS reporter. This family was no regular group of tenants, and a simple screen would have revealed that fast. The family was evicted from two other homes in Westbrook in 2019 alone before they moved into their current rental about a year ago. They stopped paying in January, well before COVID-19 took off in the state, and have told the landlord point-blank that they won’t pay anymore. They also said they won’t leave ... well, not “until the sheriff comes to take me out.” And unluckily for this landlord, because of COVID-19, that could be a long time from now. Courts are opened on a very limited basis, and the governor’s extension of the eviction moratorium means most tenants cannot be evicted until the new year at the earliest. (I expect the moratorium will be extended for a fourth time and that court action won’t be possible until the spring at the earliest except for extreme cases.) Now, the landlord is at a loss. He has hired a lawyer, but they can’t move forward with an eviction yet. They just have to wait. And the
costs and lost rents keep piling up — over $40,000 as of the time the news report aired. And to add insult to injury, he has another beach home next door that he and his wife hardly used this summer because the situation is so painful and toxic. The last time he was at the rental property doing some yard maintenance, the tenant opened the window and yelled, “Get off my property!” I wish I could say this is a rarity, but this stuff happens more often than you think. My father owns and self-manages several properties. He had a tenant last year that didn’t pay, and it took ages to evict. I didn’t pry too deep, but it sounded like lack of screening was at least part of the problem there. And he is a seasoned landlord. He also recently had a lot of damage at another rental home from a tenant’s potbelly pig, but that is a story for another day. I know I am preaching to the choir about rigorous screening and the importance of high standards for tenants, but a larger point here is that success or failure with your rental property comes down to how well you manage the “shadow” costs … things like bad debts, vacancy, and more. They are the costs that you don’t see when things are working well — while they are “hiding in the shadows.” But when these monsters do show up with your rental home, they attack your peace of mind and financial peace, and boy, are they expensive! At Robert C. White & Company, we are completely focused on and committed to minimizing the shadow costs that can destroy your returns and make life as a rental property owner no fun at all. We work on
Melissa and Luke reviewing an application
it every day, and we regularly enhance our systems and processes to improve in this area and defend you better from the monster. It isn’t always an easy fight, but it is a fight that we gladly take up on your behalf.
Yours in fighting the monster in the shadows,
P.S. No one’s perfect. And neither are we. We have put tenants into properties who we thought would be good but did not uphold their lease. Typically, this is related to outlier events and was not predictable, but it still hurts when it happens. When it does, we are there to help get you through it with our “On Your Side” guarantee, “Quality Tenant” guarantee, and our protection services like eviction protection and rent loss protection. P.P.S. Evictions are not just hard on property owners. They are terribly disruptive and potentially damaging to the families being evicted, and we do everything we can to avoid them. We wish we lived in a world where they were unnecessary, but unfortunately, we don’t. But what we can control is how we treat tenants during evictions and other difficult situations. And that is always to treat them with respect.
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BUGGING OUT: COMMON PEST CONTROL WARNING SIGNS HOMEOWNERS MISS
Why Energy-Saving Windows Work Like Magic SAVE ON YOUR ELECTRICITY BILL, ADD TO YOUR COMFORT
Pests can be a problem during any time of the year, but they can be especially problematic during the winter months when they’re more likely to seek the warmth of the indoors. Stay alert and catch those pests before they become a real problem during your next holiday party! Look for these four common warning signs: No. 1: Check for dead bugs or pest droppings indoors. If you’ve discovered dead bugs or pest droppings on window ledges or in your basement, do some research to figure out what they are. If the dead bugs and/or droppings are from the same species, chances are that they live on your property. No. 2: Look for holes, gnaw marks, grease marks, or trails. Rats and mice tend to travel along the same paths and often leave evidence of their infestation through dark grease marks, urine trails, gnawed items, and prints in dusty paths into small holes. Don’t forget that evidence can be outdoors too. Pests can burrow in garbage or even piles of leaves near the property. No. 3: Pay attention to weird scents and sounds. Because we’re accustomed to the smell of our own home, we can identify odd and gross scents. Experts say that mice tend to have a musty urine smell, while rats often smell like ammonia. Any scent of garbage is a bad sign as well, because if it isn’t caused by a pest, it can attract them. Lastly, don’t dismiss odd sounds, like the patter of rodents or even large insects. You may hear scratching on the walls, gnawing, squeaking, or scurrying.
It can seem pretty mundane to change out your windows, on top of all your other expenses! However, there’s a real reward to doing so. We’ve mentioned energy-efficient (EE) windows before, but this time we take a deeper dive into just how a window can improve your family’s comfort and resources.
Wait, what’s wrong with older windows?
So long as your window doesn’t have cracks or broken glass, there’s nothing wrong necessarily. It’s just that older windows aren’t designed to perform an important function: keep hot or cold air in. Why is this? First, older frames are normally made of aluminum. This is problematic because air can more easily pass from one side to the other. You want frames made of materials like vinyl or fiberglass, which are poor conductors of heat and therefore better insulators. Also, most older windows have single-pane glass, which is terrible for keeping heat inside your house (your cool air, too). Lastly, your windows might not have been properly installed by experts who understand how to minimize your utility bill.
Why energy-efficient (EE) windows are magic.
You might’ve guessed by now that EE windows are designed to insulate your home better, but how do you install insulation in glass? Inert gas. Placing argon or krypton in between glass panes, for example, can improve your home insulation and protect your furniture and photos from sun damage. With vinyl or fiberglass frames and two, or even three, glass panes, EE windows are designed better in every way — all while saving you hundreds a year. The U.S. Department of Energy predicts that replacing your single-pane windows with EE ones can save you anywhere between $126–$465 annually. Also, according to the Glass Doctor, most homeowners report a 60%–75% reduction in exterior noise once insulated EE windows are installed. We love EE windows because they’re a win for everyone. Bump up the value of your home today and save money on your utility bill — and help the planet while you’re at it!
No. 4: Check for signs of nesting. Some pests, like termites, will build homes with natural materials like mud. You can detect termite activity through sagging wood or mud tubes created along the surface of your doors or walls. However, mice and rats may take things from your home to create their nest, including shreds from furniture and other fabric, insulation, pillow stuffing, or anything else they can find.
To protect your family’s health, don’t miss these common pest signs!
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BE THE HOST WITH THE MOST At This Year’s Virtual Holiday Party
This year, you’ve probably celebrated Halloween and Thanksgiving a little differently in order to keep your gatherings safe. But ‘tis the season for holiday parties, so if your annual get-together is one you just can’t go without, consider creating the perfect virtual party this year. Keep invites classic. Just because your partygoers won’t be attending in person doesn’t mean they should be any less excited when their invitation arrives! Create a fun and festive invite and send it to your guests in the mail, complete with date, time, attire, and exact instructions for how to access your virtual party. This physical reminder will keep your event top of mind and bring some familiarity to the process. Overdo your atmosphere. Just as you would decorate and set up before guests arrive in person, you should do the same for your virtual party if you want to create a truly festive spirit. Because people will see you and your home through a camera, you should ramp things up a bit. Pick a corner of your home where you can hang plenty of lights and decorations, crank up some tunes, dress in your holiday best, and have a glass of eggnog and some classic hors d’oeuvres nearby. Treat your virtual party like a real party, and it’ll be one to remember. Get in the spirit of giving. Sometimes, a lull in conversation during a video call can feel agonizingly awkward. But this is a party, and you want to keep festivities lively, so avoid potential lapses by providing plenty of things to do. Games are always a great option, and if
you want to keep with the spirit of holiday parties, send your guests party favors before the party that they can open during the call. Mail wrapped gifts with strict instructions to wait until the party. Fun food items, gag gifts, and ugly Christmas sweaters make for great conversation starters, and taking turns opening gifts on camera gets everyone involved. There’s no reason to cancel the holiday party you’ve been looking forward to hosting all year. Virtual parties present an opportunity to get creative, start new traditions, and provide loved ones with the holiday cheer they’ve been needing.
FESTIVE APPLE CIDER
TAKE A BREAK
Inspired by BoulderLocavore.com
Ingredients
• 1 lemon • 1 gallon pure apple cider • 1 large orange, thinly sliced crosswise • 2 tsp whole cloves
• 2 tsp allspice berries • 1 inch fresh ginger, thinly sliced • 2 tbsp honey • 3 cinnamon sticks
Directions
1. Using a paring knife, shave the lemon peel off in curls. Reserve the curls and save the lemon for use in a different recipe. 2. In a large slow cooker, combine the lemon peel with all other ingredients. Cook on low for 3–4 hours. 3. If desired, use a sieve to strain the spices. Serve and enjoy!
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INSIDE
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I’m Not Leaving ‘Until the Sheriff Comes to Take Me Out’ Why Energy-Saving Windows Work Like Magic Common Pest Control Warning Signs Homeowners Miss
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How to Throw the Perfect Virtual Holiday Party Festive Apple Cider What Christmas Trees Look Like Worldwide
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WHAT CHRISTMAS TREES LOOK LIKE WORLDWIDE
Whether it’s floating on the canal or pictured in lights on a mountainside, the tradition of the Christmas tree is beloved worldwide, and its iterations might surprise you! For example, the Galeries Lafayette in Paris (similar to Macy’s in the U.S.) does a dazzling Christmas tree display in their main store. In 2019, they did an incredible upside-down Christmas tree that hung from the ceiling and had a light show every hour. In Rio de Janeiro, they have the world’s largest floating Christmas tree, which is over 85 meters tall and weighs 542 tons! It was revealed with a huge firework show and floated over the gorgeous Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon.
In Gubbio, Italy, they can see their city’s official “tree” from a hundred miles away — because it’s a massive light fixture along a mountainside. Every year, it’s switched on by a notable figure. In 2014, it was turned on by the Pope, and, last year, it was switched on from space!
We hope you enjoyed discovering these international traditions as much as we did. Merry Christmas!
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