I keep forgetting to update about our wonderful little trash hole that was dug, used and buried by the former owner of our property. Hubby's lawyer sent a letter to Mr. Lance, with a copy to us, telling him in no uncertain terms that he lied on his disclosure statement about the status of the property and not only could we be awarded reparations, but also punitive damages plus having the contents of said trash dump revealed at his expense.
Since we got our copy of the letter on Friday or Saturday, Mr. Lance's copy should have gotten to him at work about the same time. Lawyer's office is supposed to e-mail a scanned copy of the certified return receipt once they get it back signed.
So... wonder if he's gonna actually heed our lawyer's warning?
Showing posts with label Jim Lance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jim Lance. Show all posts
The Owner Misrepresented This Property
Here's a copy of the e-mail I sent our real estate agent:
Mr. Lance misrepresented this property. We have found out from the neighbors several things about this property.
- that big hole towards the back of the property? We had no clue what it was? We met the owner of that tiny house next door (he finally got an offer on it) and he said that Mr. Lance let the trash pile up so much that the neighbors complained. He brought in a huge backhoe, dug a hole back there, and buried the trash. Since they had young children, we assume there's a mix of dirty diapers, household trash, plastic and other things that could possibly be poisonous. We're not sure whether to dig it up (how deep is it?!?!) and pay to have it removed, or smooth it out and plant something with shallow roots on it. Either way, it devalues the property, and WE could get in trouble with the EPA if discovered. Weren't they supposed to disclose this information ... about the trash hole?
- Some neighbors told us: when Mr. Lance purchased the property, there was a lot of beautiful landscaping done, including a terraced patio area to the south-side of the property. Mr. Lance, upon purchasing the property, starting digging out the landscaping (esp the decorative rock) and held regular garage sales to get money from it. That's why there's still a pile of it outside the garage. That's why the landscaping here looks so horrible and desolate.
- The electrical system and phone lines have been re-wrired, and most face plates are on the wrong places. There is no working phone place upstairs except for the master bedroom. There's only one in the basement that works; the rest of the plates have been painted over. It looks like anything that broke, he only placed a "band-aid" over it without actually repairing anything (i.e. the kitchen sink, and none of the bathroom sink basins hold water).
Just wanted to let you know. We keep finding more and more things wrong with this place. The neighbors really didn't like the family because of how they took care (or didn't) of this property. The Lance family supposedly even refused to let the girls out of the house to play (one neighbor family called the Lances the "witness protection family").
If the EPA comes after us for the trash hole or if something happens to our water table because of it, we will be contacting Mr. Jim Lance.
= = = =
Guess we didn't do our due diligence on this property. As this is a blog about finding and starting a self-reliant homestead, I'm writing this to hopefully help other people. Make sure you ask lots of questions about the property you are looking at, and get the answers in writing.
Anybody have any ideas about what we can plant on top of that trash hole? Nothing that produces anything edible.... maybe the bayberry plant (produces berries to become candle wax)... or lilac and lavender bushes (to scent my candles)?
= = = =
Turns out we didn't get the goats this weekend... even after all of our hard work to put the pen and exercise yard out. We plan to pick them up Saturday morning between 10 and 11. Can barely wait!
We did get some more boxes unpacked and things moved. We got the big 10-gallon container of paint re-mixed (re-stirred?) so we can (hopefully) finish painting the kitchen this week. I also unpacked a lot of kitchen things and finally found places for my pots and pans. The drawer under the oven was disgusting (did that woman ever clean?!?!) so it took me a while before I could place my cookie sheets, etc. in that drawer.
Mr. Lance misrepresented this property. We have found out from the neighbors several things about this property.
- that big hole towards the back of the property? We had no clue what it was? We met the owner of that tiny house next door (he finally got an offer on it) and he said that Mr. Lance let the trash pile up so much that the neighbors complained. He brought in a huge backhoe, dug a hole back there, and buried the trash. Since they had young children, we assume there's a mix of dirty diapers, household trash, plastic and other things that could possibly be poisonous. We're not sure whether to dig it up (how deep is it?!?!) and pay to have it removed, or smooth it out and plant something with shallow roots on it. Either way, it devalues the property, and WE could get in trouble with the EPA if discovered. Weren't they supposed to disclose this information ... about the trash hole?
- Some neighbors told us: when Mr. Lance purchased the property, there was a lot of beautiful landscaping done, including a terraced patio area to the south-side of the property. Mr. Lance, upon purchasing the property, starting digging out the landscaping (esp the decorative rock) and held regular garage sales to get money from it. That's why there's still a pile of it outside the garage. That's why the landscaping here looks so horrible and desolate.
- The electrical system and phone lines have been re-wrired, and most face plates are on the wrong places. There is no working phone place upstairs except for the master bedroom. There's only one in the basement that works; the rest of the plates have been painted over. It looks like anything that broke, he only placed a "band-aid" over it without actually repairing anything (i.e. the kitchen sink, and none of the bathroom sink basins hold water).
Just wanted to let you know. We keep finding more and more things wrong with this place. The neighbors really didn't like the family because of how they took care (or didn't) of this property. The Lance family supposedly even refused to let the girls out of the house to play (one neighbor family called the Lances the "witness protection family").
If the EPA comes after us for the trash hole or if something happens to our water table because of it, we will be contacting Mr. Jim Lance.
= = = =
Guess we didn't do our due diligence on this property. As this is a blog about finding and starting a self-reliant homestead, I'm writing this to hopefully help other people. Make sure you ask lots of questions about the property you are looking at, and get the answers in writing.
Anybody have any ideas about what we can plant on top of that trash hole? Nothing that produces anything edible.... maybe the bayberry plant (produces berries to become candle wax)... or lilac and lavender bushes (to scent my candles)?
= = = =
Turns out we didn't get the goats this weekend... even after all of our hard work to put the pen and exercise yard out. We plan to pick them up Saturday morning between 10 and 11. Can barely wait!
We did get some more boxes unpacked and things moved. We got the big 10-gallon container of paint re-mixed (re-stirred?) so we can (hopefully) finish painting the kitchen this week. I also unpacked a lot of kitchen things and finally found places for my pots and pans. The drawer under the oven was disgusting (did that woman ever clean?!?!) so it took me a while before I could place my cookie sheets, etc. in that drawer.
Had a leak under the kitchen sink this weekend. Turns out when Mr. Lance (former owner) did repairs, he just did a temporary fix that really didn't hold to people actually cleaning and doing dishes. Surprise. Not.
A little flat of mesclun-mixed-greens sprouted nicely. I think I'll advertise it on Craigslist in a week or so when others are ready too. If nobody buys... then I plant them! Yum! We're already feeding the bunny fresh greens, which she really loves.
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