Read the replies to your post earlier and felt I had nothing to add other than the T&C concerns. I had a property in another state for several years on a similar setup rent/repair credits, unfortunately it was not successful but with the right people it works, and sounds like you have the right people.
It certainly appears you have covered all the bases and then some with this couple and it's refreshing to hear of yours others success. Keep us posted on the progress.
I will give you the other side. When we were first married we bought the old gate house of an estate that was being broken up into smaller parcels and sold off. The grandson of the original owner bought the main house and was looking for a caretaker. I was teaching and had summers off and need the extra money. I did it for five years and loved every minute of it. I had full use of the property and beautiful home any time he was not there. He would come up only one weekend a month in the summer and never in the winter.
I was paid an hourly wage plus all the fringe benefits of the use of the property. I cut the grass, trimmed the trees, repaired the plumbing, painted, roofed and loved every minute of it. The checks were always on time and I always got something very special for Christmas.
I had a small house and he let us have parties in the big house and use it as we saw fit. Now this was a great house and some of my relatives thought that I must be doing something illegal to afford the land and house. It was fun until I had to tell them it was just borrowed. The house was 3/4 of a mile off the road on a private drive and my mailbox was the only one at the gate.
There was a pool and a pond so we had a picnic for some of my students. The students knew it was not my house but one of the parents demanded to know how I could afford all this on a teacher's salary. She was really angry about it. I tried to tell her that it was a friend's home but she told me no one in their right mind would lend me a house like this.
I drive by the old place once in a while and just remember how we enjoyed that first house and its fringe benefits.
Thanks for sharing your story, Tim. [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
I'd sure love for our arrangement to go down in history as a pleasant memory for this family. I figure if we can't enjoy the property as often as we'd like to, then somebody else should, as long as they treat it with respect.
<font color="blue"> I figure if we can't enjoy the property as often as we'd like to, then somebody else should, as long as they treat it with respect. </font color>
It does all come down to mutual respect. This guy had so much money but was just a nice guy. He always was concerned that I was putting down all my time. He always left a MB convertible in the garage and told me he would pay me to drive it at least once a week. Now that was a free service. [img]/forums/images/icons/cool.gif[/img]
Harv,
<font color="blue">How do you determine the value of the work performed </font color>
In my case this was handled by the rental agency. I did pay my neighbor 50 dollars a month for the first year to be on stand by in case I needed any maintenance done. Never used him so I cancelled that agreement.
When work was performed by the renter he gave me the receipt and I sent him a check. Labor was never a factor as these were small projects. The larger projects were handled by the rental agency.
<font color="blue">What about utilites?</font color>
Utilities are in the name of the renters. That includes, telephone, electric, cable, etc.
PJ
My property is neither as remote (half an hour away) nor large (eleven acres) but I still like the idea of having someone there maintaining the place. I have a guy who works for me part time (on top of his "real" job) I've had out there enough I gave him a key to the barn so he can pick up things without picking up a key from me first.
He's asked about using the place for a couple projects of his and I've always been OK with that. He's a good guy and very conscientious about things. A couple days ago he called to tell me he mowed the area around the barn with the little 20HP garden tractor "just one last time for the season" then took off the mower deck and mounted the snow blower, wheel weights and chains for any snow we might get. He also decided to mount the 8' blade on the front of the F-450 dump truck while he was there. The main reason for his call was to find out where I'd left the pins for it. [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]
He and his wife both seem to genuinely love being out there. I think she's even more enthused about doing things around there than he is. They're currently living in a tiny studio apartment and I've considered buying a used mobile home to put out there for them as the only structure there currently is a pole barn that was last used as a stable. It has ten stalls, a tack room and arena. I have no horses and no desire to have any so I need to get that all reworked to use as a shop and equipment storage and I know they could be a huge help with that.
I was wondering if anyone had ever done anything like that and might have some advice for me before I plunge headlong into it. Thanks!
Sounds like you've got the right people, Gary, so it might very well be worth pursuing.
Although I'm a big believer in trust and human chemistry myself, it seems like a necessity these days to make sure you've covered your fanny seven ways from Sunday with signed contracts and legal documents. As you may have noticed in my story, I put a great deal of effort into my own contracts. My goal was to create a mutually beneficial and friendly arrangement, while at the same time protecting both parties from any eventuality.
The biggest concern I have at the moment is that my high-energy caretaker will start "improving" my property in ways that I may not want. The contract says that he is to do nothing without my prior written approval, but human nature can be a strange and unpredictable thing. [img]/forums/images/icons/crazy.gif[/img]
I feel I'm still pretty naive at this sort of thing, but I'll keep you posted as to the successes and failures of our arrangement. Watch this space for photos. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]
Elsewhere in this thread, I made the fatal comment, "<font color="blue">it feels like this is just too good to last</font color>".
If you're just tuning in, I started this thread by raving about my good fortune at finding the perfect caretakers for my distant (120 miles) 42-acre property. A young couple with impeccable references. The fella runs his own tree and landscaping business, and her work schedule is offset from his such that one or the other of them is actually on the property more than 20 hours a day. We paid for a full background check which came back squeaky clean, and they are prominent, active members of their church. Couldn't have asked for more.
And now for the update...
The miracles continued -- brush cleared and burned, trees trimmed or removed, fences repaired, new fences installed, driveway re-graveled, plus many minor and not-so-minor home repairs. Continued until yesterday, that is. [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img]
If you actually knew who these people were, or even where my property is, I probably wouldn't be putting this out on a publc message board. But since you don't, I think it's okay to share the story.
In short, from what I'm getting over the phone from various sources, the guy just up and "snapped". Wigged out. Flipped his lid. Went 'round the bend. Pre-postal.
His wife's first reaction was that he had a nervous breakdown. No warning, no nuthin'. Abruptly went "violent". I don't have any details yet about what he did, but apparently he didn't hurt anybody. Just scared the crap out of his wife. So much so that she called the sheriff, who promptly came out and ordered him off the property. I think some kind of emergency restraining order was issued, 'cuz when he came back later to get some personal belongings, he was again confronted by the sheriff and taken off to jail for the rest of the day. [img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img]
I've spoken to both of them now (he actually called me first to tell me, "we have a problem"). Very polite and apologetic (I didn't know about the wigging out yet), and concerned that he might have a problem looking after the property for the next few days.
Like I said, there was no warning. The wife said she has never seen him go beyond raising his voice or throwing a shoe off the porch, so she is flabbergasted and dismayed about what happened. Our background check confirmed that there has never been a report of any such incident in the past.
Possible causes seem to focus on some kind of chemical imbalance. He has, from time to time, been on medication for depression/anxiety. We knew about that from the beginning, but the symptoms were mild and have been easily managed for years, with no "incidents". We had consulted several doctors and one psychologist (long-time friend) to find out if we should be concerned, and the consensus was that it is a surprisingly common condition, and is quite manageable.
So, either he stopped taking his meds for some reason, or maybe was taking too many pain killers (strained back muscles), or maybe something "recreational" sneaked into the picture. [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img]
Sadly, I just now found out that the local district attorney reviewed the story and had him picked up and put back in jail tonight for the wife's protection. I get the feeling there's more to the story than I've been privy to, so I left a message with the sheriff to give me a call in the hopes of filling in some blanks.
If the guy is going bipolar (a real condition), I'm inclined to try and help. I have 3 friends with the condition and I sympathize with the difficulties it can cause.
Worst of all is that their son just turned 3 and for the first time is totally tuned in to the Christmas thing. Some Christmas for him, huh? [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img]
Okay, folks, I invite your comments. I like these people, and I'm the kinda guy who looks for a way to help rather than turning my back, but at the same time there is suddenly a serious hole in my caretaker situation. The idea of kicking this young family out the week before Christmas is out of the question. I just won't do it. But something has to be done, and soon.
As you may recall, I mentioned earlier in this thread that I had a couple in mind for something like your set up. He was already working for me part time so it was a natural. Since I posted that he was incarcerated on a DUI and I spent four figures getting him out and saving his "real" job for him. I believe him when he tells me he's done drinking and, thus far, he's shown that to be true.
While I can't tell you what to do in your situation, I would probably go the extra mile as I did with my guy and do whatever I reasonably felt I could to help him through this and make your deal work.
As I reread your original post it seems as though the wife can cover some of the tasks herself like taking care of the animals and just being there to oversee the property. If you can, you might want to contact the church you mentioned as one in which they were quite active and well regarded to see what can be found out there regarding options to help him.
I wish you the best of luck with this. I know situations such as this are fraught with anxiety.
A whole lot of the people I've known that have the kind of energy you describe this guy of having use a little "help" to maintain it. Crank (Methamphetamine) is prevalent in the area your property is in. You use the help too long in a stretch and it can cause you to undergo abrupt personality changes. Maybe?
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote