Comments on: Attic Adventures- part I: An attic with NO insulation http://www.iboughtaduplex.com/maintenance-and-improvements/attic-adventures-part-i-an-attic-with-no-insulation.php "Are you sure you can handle managing something like that?" Well, there's one sure way to find out... Thu, 01 Jul 2010 01:38:07 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Repair Air Conditioning http://www.iboughtaduplex.com/maintenance-and-improvements/attic-adventures-part-i-an-attic-with-no-insulation.php/comment-page-1#comment-29997 Repair Air Conditioning Fri, 16 May 2008 08:50:46 +0000 http://www.iboughtaduplex.com/maintenance-and-improvements/attic-adventures-part-i-an-attic-with-no-insulation.php#comment-29997 That is so weird to see no insulation at all in 03! Well at least it corrected now. That is so weird to see no insulation at all in 03! Well at least it corrected now.

]]> By: landlady http://www.iboughtaduplex.com/maintenance-and-improvements/attic-adventures-part-i-an-attic-with-no-insulation.php/comment-page-1#comment-213 landlady Mon, 18 Sep 2006 20:01:23 +0000 http://www.iboughtaduplex.com/maintenance-and-improvements/attic-adventures-part-i-an-attic-with-no-insulation.php#comment-213 Tom, Very nice of you to send me your lengthy comment calling me a slumlord. First of all, did you even read the whole article? It is clearly written in past tense. This all happened in the fall of 2003, which is three years ago. The tenants that lived in the duplex that year are long gone by now. Had they asked for some monetary compensation for their heating bills (which they did not) I most likely would have worked something out with them. Second of all, this duplex was built in the year 1900. People have been living in it (up and down) for one hundred and three years -- all of them without insulation. I did not purchase the house and remove the insulation, nor did I build a house without insulation. Thirdly, as I state in the last paragraph, I DID insulate the attic. In fact, I am the first person to insulate the attic of this duplex (in 103 years), and did so six months after buying it. It is now insulated at R49, which surpasses most state requirements. If anything, I am the hero in this story, not the evil slumlord. Please read the whole post next time, before getting so worked up and leaving ridiculous comments. Tom,

Very nice of you to send me your lengthy comment calling me a slumlord.

First of all, did you even read the whole article? It is clearly written in past tense. This all happened in the fall of 2003, which is three years ago. The tenants that lived in the duplex that year are long gone by now. Had they asked for some monetary compensation for their heating bills (which they did not) I most likely would have worked something out with them.

Second of all, this duplex was built in the year 1900. People have been living in it (up and down) for one hundred and three years — all of them without insulation. I did not purchase the house and remove the insulation, nor did I build a house without insulation.

Thirdly, as I state in the last paragraph, I DID insulate the attic. In fact, I am the first person to insulate the attic of this duplex (in 103 years), and did so six months after buying it. It is now insulated at R49, which surpasses most state requirements. If anything, I am the hero in this story, not the evil slumlord.

Please read the whole post next time, before getting so worked up and leaving ridiculous comments.

]]> By: Tom http://www.iboughtaduplex.com/maintenance-and-improvements/attic-adventures-part-i-an-attic-with-no-insulation.php/comment-page-1#comment-212 Tom Mon, 18 Sep 2006 12:45:31 +0000 http://www.iboughtaduplex.com/maintenance-and-improvements/attic-adventures-part-i-an-attic-with-no-insulation.php#comment-212 If I were you, I would verify that you have not been violating your state's housing codes. If you are, your tenant could (and should in my opinion) begin witholding rent until you fix the problem and could sue to get you to pay back the high utility bills. It is obvious that you rented to a tenant without disclosing the fact that the unit was un-insulated. While you may not have a legal obligation to provide insulation, you do have a moral one in my opinion. If I were a tenant and I found out that there was no insulation, I would have demanded you refund a large portion (or all) of my heating bill. Have you thought about what your tenant is going to do when they realize you are putting insulation into the attic for the first time? You, correctly, feel an obligation to repair the appliances, but just because the insulation is not as visible as the heater does not mean it is not important. I believe that you owe your tenant a portion of their heating bill back. An honest landlord would come clean and do the right thing. A slumloard would follow the letter of the law and not the spirit of it (just to save a buck) even if it caused financial damage to her tenant. If I were you, I would verify that you have not been violating your state’s housing codes. If you are, your tenant could (and should in my opinion) begin witholding rent until you fix the problem and could sue to get you to pay back the high utility bills.

It is obvious that you rented to a tenant without disclosing the fact that the unit was un-insulated. While you may not have a legal obligation to provide insulation, you do have a moral one in my opinion. If I were a tenant and I found out that there was no insulation, I would have demanded you refund a large portion (or all) of my heating bill. Have you thought about what your tenant is going to do when they realize you are putting insulation into the attic for the first time?

You, correctly, feel an obligation to repair the appliances, but just because the insulation is not as visible as the heater does not mean it is not important.

I believe that you owe your tenant a portion of their heating bill back. An honest landlord would come clean and do the right thing. A slumloard would follow the letter of the law and not the spirit of it (just to save a buck) even if it caused financial damage to her tenant.

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