Farmerjan's journal - Weather

Mike CHS

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It's too bad you have a bit of drama going on during a period that should be a happy adjustment time.

If you need to bag grass you can do it with a riding mower. I have a two bag attachment that I put on my Cub Cadet that I use to feed the sheep when grass is short in the paddocks. The bags hold about 40 pounds or so and I have fed my ewes that way for weeks at a time. The only problem with them is that if the grass has much moisture they will gill up the exhaust chute which then needs to be cleared out.
 

farmerjan

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Thanks @Mike CHS . That is basically what I have, 2 bags on the back under a "hood", that feed from the side output up into the catcher bags. And yes, if it is wet it will get all stopped up at the bottom.... I wanted to remow all the stuff that is out there dry, and what little it cuts off, and put it where I am going to have the garden next year to start killing off the grass.... plus I wanted to put some around some of the plants to just kill off some of the weeds and make less weed eating necessary..... The thing is it isn't straight and I am not sure why since it is supposed to be right off the other mower..... I have another friend that I might call to just come and see if he can get it to working..... instead of all the BS from my son and to not have to put up with jim up there anymore. I know that I told him that he could do the mowing because it is not my favorite thing... but he is making a major project out of it and I really am tired of it. Just do it myself.... It is cooler out, so won't get too overheated, and I can just make time to do it.
 

Mini Horses

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I have both the chute/bag system for my riding mower AND a sweeper type. Both have pro/con. Wet grass in chute is one. Then, the pull sweeper isn't too fond of the fresh cut if it is wet and extremely heavy. While it takes another drive over, I have found the sweeper does better when grass is a little dry. It picks up well but won't dig down for been there a while & settled in stuff. I have a little thing -- looks like tines -- called a dethatcher....that does a good job at pulling stuff "up". I bought really cheap at a Habitat store....nothing I'd pay what they ask normally.

I actually used this dethatcher in the garden this year raking grass from fresh tilled ground. Worked well except that I had to stop often and lift to remove the buildup. Sure would have liked hydraulics to lift... 😁

I've cut and fed grass areas to my goats & pigs (when I had them). Some areas I just used for that purpose, cutting a strip each day, etc. Works well and they loved it. Wasn't a lot of extra work considering I'd have had to carry hay. Sure cost less.

I'm getting ready to buy a "pine straw rake" for the tractor as it has spring loaded tines, lighter weight and taller than the landscape rakes they have....that do more drag than rake thru. Then I can rake the garden stuff.....and the old crap I cut on the fields into piles to remove. And rake up the tall, cut grass to feed...since I don't get to hay it. 🙄 Cost 30% less than the landscape ones, too. Plus -- hydraulics on tractor to lift when full....come over pile & go. I can cut and take a loader full to dump to the goats now but, hand raking 100' to put in the loader is a pain!

Maybe I'll do haystacks. :lol:
 
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Mini Horses

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As to DS -- yes, the balls are connected to their brain, it seems.

It may be a good time to review what you two have "together". Both assets and obligations -- especially financial obligations -- and have it available for the day when you will have to have "the talk". Yeah, you know it's coming! Just be ready and calm, prepared to "do business". Then it will all work out. You'll be ready to deal. Even then, suggest he get a separate ins policy for his SO. It will maintain privacy for all.

If you don't have any written agreements for the farm enterprises, you may want to be ready for one. Trust me, bad as my own DS can be, if he ever married this gf....I'd be extremely unhappy. More distance than now! Fortunately we have only bloodlines together.
 

Baymule

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Cut your ties with Jim. If just getting the grass cut and bagged brings out all this drama, then do it yourself. Get everything nailed down for the winter, get your knees done and look forward to spring. That's good advice from @Mini Horses . You may need to separate things from your son. The GF is steadily encroaching on the arrangement you and your son have, so the time is coming. Don't wait for it to fester up like a pimple and pop, spewing anger and ill will all over. You have a lot on your plate right now, get the important things done. you will have time to reflect and think things out this winter when there is no grass to cut. LOL

Getting this place fixed up and looking for another place is good thinking. Renting this place for extra income is another good idea. You might want to look into a realtor to handle renting it out for you. They can check credit, references, they have the contracts and could take the hassle off you. Always lease, not rent month to month.
 

Ridgetop

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Before converting this property to a rental, discuss this with your tax accountant. Once you convert the home place to a rental (investment property) it drastically changes the tax consequences if you sell. When you sell primary residence property you have certain exemptions to capital gains tax. With investment property (rentals) you pay a high capital gains tax on everything over the original purchase price. If you depreciate the rental property, you get hit with the total amount you depreciated being taken off the purchase price giving you a higher amount on which to pay capital gains tax. If you ant to sell your investment property, you have to roll t over in a 1031 which means that you buy an investment property of the same or higher value than what you sell. You don't get access to ANY of the money which must be held in a special trust account by a trustee (there are special firms that only do this). This means that you have to have additional up front money for the new purchase since the 1031 funds won't be available until close of escrow. When we sold the apartment building our equity was so high that we refinanced so we would have additional cash to pay the up front cost on the new 1031 purchase.

Once you have either rented the property out (converting it to investment property) or successfully 1031ed the rental investment property property (establishing the new property as investment property) you need to hold it as investment property for 24 months to avoid capital gains tax being assessed on it. If you want to sell it after the 24 month period without capital gains tax consequences, you need to convert it back to a residence. To do this you need to move back into it for 24 months as your primary residence. Then you can sell it and take advantage of the primary residence tax exemption advantages.

There can be advantages and disadvantages to renting out your property. If you are handy and can do a lot of repair work yourself, go for it. Since you have to hire people to do everything, you will want to employ a management company with access to handymen. The management fee can be 10% of rentals collected or more. The contract might also specify that any late charges for unpaid rent are kept by the management company. You will have to have a large back up fund in case the tenant does not pay and you have to evict through the courts. You will have to keep up the payments with no income for either mortgage, insurance, or taxes. The tenant will eventually move out (not now during Covid with these pandemic rules allowing tenants to remain without paying rent but with no help for landlords). However, you will not get the back rent and the deposit is never enough to repair the damages. In addition, if you are in a liberal state, the courts usually side with the tenant. The tenant will often claim mold issues, prior damages, etc. to avoid paying any damages and will often get their deposit back.

Our usual budget for repairs and painting after a tenant has been evicted has ranged from $15,000 - $55,000. Good tenants that leave these apartment in decent shape still cost about $5,000 to repaint, repair floor damage, clean carpets (don't put in carpets), replace light fixtures, fans, etc. We found that wood look self stick vinyl was the best floor since I laid it myself. I could remove damaged pieces and replace them easily. I always kept a box of 20 pieces of the same stuff stored for repairs. Paint is not cheap but as you discovered you can find mismatch paint and i used to buy it whenever I found similar colors. I would store these gallons or 5 gallon buckets for repainting the apartments. I mixed it all together into a neutral beige. This was some years ago when everything was beige walls - now everything is gray. I learned lots of tricks for redoing apartments cheaply and we had a complete shop of wood working tools to do all this with. I laid tens of thousands of square feet of vinyl floors, installed new trim, installed counter tops and sinks, light fixtures and fans, installed tile backsplashes and shower surrounds, changed out all the electric outlets and switches that had been painted over, replaced windows and doors, gutted, replumbed and installed 8 full kitchens, and 12 bathrooms. Then when the entire place was completely renovated and rented to better tenants (no section 8) we sold the building and got our rentals the heck out of California!

We were able to save huge amounts of money by doing all the work ourselves. We also did all the upkeep repairs ourselves. Otherwise, we would have been paying out too much up keep. We took over the upkeep of repairs after our manager charged us $150 for a handyman to replace a light bulb in one of the tenant's apartments!!! Needless to say, we had that charge immediately removed from our bill! Tenants are responsible for their own light bulb replacements.

While people think that rental units are good money, you need to figure up the amount you spend on mortgage, taxes, insurance, and add 10%. Then divide by 12c+ per month expense of the place vacant. Next, figure out what the market rents are in the area and deduct 12% from that for the management company. That will b your net BUT you will still have repairs during the year to deal with. Can you afford replacement of the HVAC? How are the pipes in the house? Good condition? Fair condition? Will you have to pay for yard maintenance? Tenants usually don't maintain the property very well. Will they have pets? Most tenants renting houses have dogs, often large destructive dogs, but often small even more destructive dogs. One of our tenants had a cat that clawed a new door so badly it had to be replaced. We couldn't claim damages because the tenant got her doctor to sign a paper saying it was a "comfort" animal. We couldn't even charge her the additional deposit and rent we charged for pets!!!

Sorry for being so depressing, but after getting no rent from our tenant in Yelm since March 1, no possibility of eviction due to Covid, I am not sympathetic at all to tenants. Particularly since most of them now are not making any attempt to pay even a portion of rent. I am now in the hole over $4000 just in carrying costs on the property and I don't have a mortgage! In order to get rid of the tenant i have to sell the property. Even if i wanted to move in or put my sister in I can't evict the tenant! I am seriously considering just selling, paying the capital gains taxes, and putting my money under my mattress! The problem is that if I sell while living in California I have to pay capital gains to California even though the property is located in Washington! :he
 

Bruce

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If you depreciate the rental property, you get hit with the total amount you depreciated being taken off the purchase price giving you a higher amount on which to pay capital gains tax.
And if you don't depreciate it you STILL get to pay as if you had depreciated it. That was a real surprise when the accountant told me that. So you HAVE to depreciate it even if you don't want to. Well, you don't HAVE to but it will cost the same no matter what.

To do this you need to move back into it for 24 months as your primary residence.
I believe that number is 3 of the last 5 years to skip capital gains tax when you sell. Thus if you convert your primary to a rental but sell at the end of the second year you can skip the capital gains tax.
 

Ridgetop

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You are right about the depreciation. Either way, converting to a rental can be tricky if you decide to sell later without doing a 1031 exchange. Before converting primary residence to a rental, talk to your tax accountant. If you haven't owned the house for a long time, you would probably be better off just selling and rebuying. Very little tax would have to be paid on the capital gains. You would have the original base price of the home plus any capital improvements done that are not considered maintenance as your base price. Then add in the standard exemption on a primary residence which might wipe out any capital gains. Then you are allowed to deduct all costs of sale, brokers' fees and escrow, and any other repairs or upgrades such as paint, etc. done in the year before selling from the amount that would be taxed. If your capital gain is low enough these costs would probably wipe out any capital gains entirely, eliminating any capital gains tax. If you convert the primary residence to a rental/income property, you have no primary residence exemption. While all repairs (or at least part of them depending on what they were) would have been deducted as expenses on your investment property return during the time of rental it might not be worth the trouble and eventual capital gains tax.
 

farmerjan

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@Ridgetop ; I think that you have "convinced me" to not rent....... I know that having a property mgt company is the better way to go as far as getting "better tenants" in there.... and not having to deal with the day to day stuff....especially if I decide to take a hike for "greener pastures" and less traffic areas....
The idea of renting would be to give me a possible "out"(or "in") ( a place to come back to) if I decided to come back to this area.... I know that you have had your set of major problems with the tenants in the property that you are talking about selling in order to get them out and give you the chance to get out from their not paying anything and taking advantage of the situation.... it is something to seriously think about. I was sorta just spouting off, but there is some thoughts to what the future might bring, and I am thinking possible equity in this to tap into to buy something else....

Yeah, jim is done as far as I am concerned with the house and lawn situation. I am trying to not make enemies out of it in case there is a situation that my son may want or need him to help some.... but he is taking advantage of some things with my son too and ds is starting to get a little aggravated....lives at the barn property with no rent or anything, supposed to work for the priviledge to keep the camper there and he has electricity from the barn; plus gets paid some along too, cash money; he works good for a couple days, then "doesn't feel good" and then has to go to the doctors or something... and he is driving one of DS's farm vehicles.... he was going to fix up one of the small pickups, that was mine, needs a transmission rebuilt.... and work it off, but haven't seen any more effort to do that.... and I am not going to mention it anymore. One of my farmers husband, just bought one for next to nothing, but I think he might be interested in this one for parts..... going to talk to him the next trip to the farm. I'll sell it for a couple hundred and get it gone and that will end the other situation.

I think that the different states may have different rules for capital gains taxes???? If I get serious about this I will talk to an accountant to see what I could/should/can do. Obvious I need to get in it first....

The millenium sanding guy called me today, said that he had some time if I was near the house, to come look at it. I had texted him back to a text he sent me this morning, that I would probably be available after 1 or 2 p.m....
Surprised me... so I said I could be up to the house in 10 minutes and he said he would come on and he did about 10-15 minutes after I got there......Gave me a price that I thought was a little high.... but I don't know.... but it will include sanding, fixing some of the knotholes that are showing, a little repair in one board in the entry way... 3 coats of an industrial polyurethane..... 3.50 sq ft. So about $850 for the LR and the hallway. Includes taking up the piece of vinyl that is in front of the front door that I hate.... does not include if there is major damage to the boards under it....

The other guy that the previous owner gave me the number said he could come Thursday morning.... but he said "I will be up front with you and I am booking jobs for November" ....OUCH :th :hit:idunno:ep:th:th. He has a really good reputation though, been doing some checking.....he did say that he sometimes will get someone that has to put theirs off for a bit, due to a job not being ready and could maybe fit it in.... but he wouldn't make any promises....
So let's see what he says... what kind of a price. I explained that I had just bought the house and didn't want to get anything moved in because of the mess from the dust and all and he said he well understood that... but that I was hoping to get moved in, in November, and that meant being able to get stuff moved up there along once the sanding dust was done and all.... Let's see how Thursday morning goes... what the price is.
The guy that came today seemed pretty decent too, not what I was expecting after the lack of returned phone call over the weekend... talked like he knew what he was doing and inadvertantly gave me a couple of references, since he knew the dairy farmer that I was talking about and said that he had done some work for his brother in his new house several years ago.... so I called him and said I wanted to talk to his brother and see what they thought about this guy.... can't hurt to check out previously done jobs. If he didn't do a very good job then NIX him.... he did say he could get me worked in within a couple of weeks so a real plus on that.....I hope to hear back from my farmer's brother tomorrow maybe... although they are probably in hay since we have a 3-4 day dry window.

Guess my son took off work as he got the discbine bearing put in, and cut 3 or 4 smaller fields right here close. Now they are saying that we might get some showers from this "hurricane Sally" on Thursday.... watching the track it takes. If it looks to get up here, it will get raked Wed morning and baled wed aft. One place has never been cut this year and has alot of weeds in it... the other 3 little fields are right near it so makes sense to do them all at the same time. They will all get rolled.... I will rake with the Farmall H since they are small and it is more maneuverable.... He is going to tedd them out tomorrow after work since he said he didn't give me any heads up and I said that I was scheduled to test....I can rake them Wed morning as soon as the dew is off and they will have the better part of the day to dry if they have to get baled wed aft. Will know more by tomorrow eve after looking at the track the storm takes after it hits land; I think is going to happen this evening....
They are saying we are even going to see some of the haze and cloudiness from the fires out west as the smoke and all is going high up and will drift in this direction so as to blunt some of the sun.... and we might see nights down in the low 50's.... or lower???? then back to sunnier days... But I did see that there were several other named storms in the Atlantic... although one or 2 should stay way out to sea in the east....

Got the samples packed and finally dropped off this afternoon. Had to make a few phone calls related to work. Stopped at the P.O. and got the new house "address" officially on the mail delivery route... so that if anything comes to that address they will put it in the box. Got to get numbers on the box, luckily there is a mailbox there. Going to start getting what mail comes to this house changed over to the new address... some magazines come to the house address, but I am trying to get some of them changed back to the P.O. Box I have had forever.... Some things like the couple of credit cards, asked for a physical address and then they seem to ignore the "mailing address" and send stuff to the house address... I do most all the bill paying online now so that I don't have to depend on the mail delivery.... and can schedule for the due day so that payments are never late... but that I can keep my money in my account earning interest until I have to pay them..... It's not alot, but $2-3.00 a month interest adds up over the course of the year.... and I am never late with a payment if I do it electronically..... I can schedule them according to the date my deposits get made into my checking with my paycheck and SS and such....

I did go to Lowe's and get the white rustoleum paint for the baseboard heater panels in the DR that I just got sanded. Looked at the "barn door" sliding kits and all. Unfortunately, they stick out farther than there is room behind the toilet tank... There is barely 1 1/2 inches behind the tank and I don't think there is much "wiggle room" to move it more forward.... Really don't want it on the bedroom side.... I am looking at bifold doors.... as a possibility. They would stick out into the bathroom less than a wider door... want to try to get a 30" or even a little bigger in on the bedroom side.... have enough room to maybe get a 36" to get up almost against the toilet.....so considering that. They have some decent wood ones... don't want louvres but some solid ones in wood that can be stained to match.... with "panels" in them so would match better than a solid piece of wood.
Oh, and I did measure the doors myself, and they are 23+" inches so are probably what they call a 24" door.... not 20". Still very narrow in general.
Also looked at the lawn sweepers they had, but they were more expensive than TSC for the same brand. Then went to TSC as they have 3 brands listed in their web site; to see one that they had listed as being in store that had very good reviews.... on sale for $259.... different company than the other one; from Ohio Steel, that is all american made.... but of course the one that was listed as being in stock... is damaged and missing the bag.... said I could order another on line and have it shipped to store... I have to go back by there tomorrow when I get out of the dentist... so am going to ask the manager to order me another one and I will pay for it right there.... rain check style... as for some reason I can't get "logged in" and it might qualify for our farm tax exempt status... No reason for me to have to do it.... not my fault they have one listed that is not intact in the box. I had stopped at the lawn tractor place after PT, but they didn't keep any in stock and the guy working there said he had gotten one for his mother at Lowe's a couple years ago and that it worked pretty good. That will solve the lawn clippings problems. I know that they aren't perfect... but this one has really good reviews and is the brushes are a little different made than the other 2 brands that have some negative reviews. Certainly I don't expect it to pick up wet crap.... but it also can be offset on the mower to be used to pick up grass as it is discharged.... and the other 2 don't have that option except in their more expensive models...
Went to Advance Auto that is right down the hill from TSC and got the oil filter, the relay for the fuse box, the blinker bulb that is blown out and the PB Blaster.... Had a couple of rewards coupons so got a total of $15 off that stuff.
So, I pretty much got all the errands done then got home, met the sanding guy, then got the samples finished packing, went by the barn where my son was actually working on the drawbar on the one tractor... talked to him a little. He apologized for not getting up to the house to do the faucets and I said well, I get that you can't fix the discbine and mow and go to the house and that it was not life or death right this minute.... Maybe on a day that isn't too nice out when we aren't in hay. He has to get the couple of wagons unloaded so we have something to put the next bunch of sq bales in.... I can do the laundry when I am there and turn off the faucets when I am done with the leaks until he gets to it...
Have sample bottles ready for the farm tomorrow, got to get the samples from the farmer who is only milking the 3 and running his cows through the other farm on my way to the dentist... then checkup, then TSC, then to the farm to test at 3pm... have to set up there.... then home. Nothing will get done at the house tomorrow at all. Got to get the clothes off the line Wed after I rake... that ought to take 2-3 hours at most...
Thursday morning is floor sanding guy at 8 and PT at 9.... Friday is testing at a 200 cow herd that is an hour away and will have to leave at 4:30 to be there and ready to milk at 6a.m.... slower there so won't get done and get home until 1-2 p.m. Long day there....
I look at the calendar some days and just take a deep breath and say.... OH WELL......

The new pullet is already looking perkier. I am glad. The 3 meat birds are not getting so aggressive with her now that the feeder was filled and they all got their fill. I imagine she will eat like crazy for a few weeks....
Should be time for more meat birds too, got to text him and see. Time to test that farm too....

Time for a shower and bed....
 
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Ridgetop

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The idea of renting would be to give me a possible "out"(or "in") ( a place to come back to) if I decided to come back to this area....

Actually renting the house is a good idea if you think you might want to or have to return to the area. Wait and see what you want to do when the time comes. I was pretty happy with renting the Washington house until rents stopped coming in and the government told tenants they didn't have to pay rent. We were happy to give the tenant a break for the first 3 months, it is just now that he is not even bothering to try to pay anything that we are angry. After all the government didn't give us a break on no property taxes. I wonder if being a landlord would qualify as self employed for unemployment based on the loss of rents?

You are going so much that I am not surprised your knees are giving out! You never stop! I had an idea about widening the bathroom door. If that doorway s adjacent to the wooden floors you are going to refinish, should you do the tear out of the door so the floor guy can put in some new boards where the old doorway was? If removing the wall a few inches to make the doorway wider leaves a vacant place where the floorboards should go I mean.
 
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