Readers speak out on rent question

This column published a letter from someone asking how rent should be apportioned when three adults and one child would be sharing a house — three bedrooms and two baths. The reader said the child would have one bedroom, and would share a bathroom but not with the mother.

I gave up trying to visualize the situation and threw the matter open to readers. Here's the very first response:

Q: First of all, clearly the mother is in the double room, or else she would have the single room that shares the bathroom with her child. So we have a couple, a single adult and a child in the three rooms. I think the rent and utilities should be split between the three adults. The mother can even things off by paying half of the grocery bill, since they are half of the people eating. It can be worked out fairly by looking at more than just the rent. — C. W., Rochester

A: Yes, but that child might not eat as much as an adult would. I've been picturing a little girl. If, on the other hand, it's a boy in his teens, he'll probably account for most of the food bill.

This one is keeping me up nights. We definitely have insufficient information.

No Offers Yet

Q: We are moving to be near our son and have found a lovely perfect house, which we put an offer on. Our house is very nice with a few drawbacks (busy street, 7,000 gallon Koi pond that takes up most of the backyard and low ceilings upstairs) and it has been on the market for months. Not one offer even though everyone loves it.

I'm a wreck and want this done. One real estate person mentioned getting a bridge loan on our fully paid house. The house we are buying is a lower price than ours. Is this a good idea? I'm a stressed out 75-year-old woman and I really need some good advice.

I tried burying St. Joseph that was mentioned by someone but it hasn't worked! If you would like to see what our house is like, here is the Web address ... — M. R., askedith.com

A: There's no use my seeing what your house looks like, or hearing about its good and bad points. Just one thing matters: You're asking too much. If you're using a real estate broker, and if your home is multiple-listed, then lots of buyers know about the house. They've had time to compare it with other properties on the market. Everyone may love it, but they don't love it enough to pay what you're asking.

There's nothing wrong with using a temporary bridge loan to buy the next house, but that won't solve the problem. Is that really your broker's only suggestion? Sooner or later, you'll have to drop your price to a level that attracts offers.

For your own peace of mind, to start enjoying your new home, and to save money in the long run, you might as well do it today.

Life Tenant's Responsibilities

Q: My 86-year-old stepfather has a life estate and I am on the deed as he quick-claimed the house to me in 2010. He is letting the house go to waste, due to lack of money and Alzheimer's. How do I get his life estate removed? —www.askedith.com

A: It's hard to advise you in what is evidently an unhappy situation. But at any rate: a life tenant is legally required to keep the taxes paid and the property in repair. I suppose you could contact a lawyer.

Newspaper Publishes Sales

Q: I have a friend who is very near to closing on a house in her hometown. Her local paper always publishes home sales, including buyer and seller names. Friend, who lives alone, does not want this transaction published because she has some serious security concerns about a couple of people who have given her major long-term grief, so she does not want them to know her new address.

Can she request at closing for this not to be published in any media format due to security and personal safety concerns? I understand that if someone really wants to know something they can always trot down to the courthouse and look it up, but that would require the knowledge that she is moving. Please advise and leave my name and initials out of this. — X.

A: It's for you friend's protection that the new deed will be entered in her county's public records. Once it's there, as you realize, everyone can view it, and the media have free access.

If anyone could block publication, then it'd be someone at that newspaper. I doubt if you friend will have much success contacting someone there. It'd be interesting to hear what answer she gets.

Edith Lank will respond personally to any question sent to www.askedith.com, to edithlank@aol.com, or to 240 Hemingway Drive, Rochester NY 14620.