got my loan today

[Sassy]

I've had to deal with renters who are anywhere from 1-3 months late - they've been renting the house for 7 yrs now.  I've been burned by people in the past - I was always trying to help them out, letting them live with me, giving them furniture, money, food & then they would take advantage of the situation... so it makes me a little nervous - but they always end up paying, although we have had to barter (he's a roofing contractor & he re-roofed the house, painted our house in Kerman, worked with Glenn some in lew of rent.  Now, I just try to make them feel guilty - we are self-employed & so is he - so I just tell him that it is just as tough for us as it is for him... then every so often I tell them I'm going to sell the place, that it isn't worth the hassle - I usually get some money fairly quick then.  But that is a little different situation than yours... of course, I would never get in a fight... although as a kid I guess I was a pretty good scrapper with my brothers & sister!  

[glenn kangiser]

In this case, Peter, I would take it to small claims court.  Let the law handle it.  If the judge rules in favor of you, he will give you a judgement, but you still have to work ot collect your money - then you take the ruling to the Sheriff and have his bank account attached or any other asset you may be able to find that he has.  They can go after cash - rents or other assets.

Sometimes if I figure it isn't worth my time I just write it off the taxes and don't bother -- depends on how much time you have to devote to it.  I got a judgement one time -- never did go to collect it though.  To pursue things like this would usually require enough time that I would need office staff so it's sort of a wash.  I commonly advertise to everyone for the rest of my life about the deadbeats though.

Giving a good beating while it seems like the right thing to do, isn't going to work.  The laws are pretty well set up to victimize the victim again if he beats the criminal.  So -- small claims it is.

[benevolance]

Glenn

I thought about small claims court...But how do you get blood from a rock...The guy rents so he owns no property...And if I get a judgement the guy can use his girlfriends bank account...

I have spent time and money chasing guys before..It costs several hundred dollars  just to file the papers....So I guess I have to eat this one...

Laying a beating on a deadbeat might not be the politically correct thing to do....But I swear it is appealing sometimes...

[PEG688]

be down to lick my arse....

Peter you are wierd , I'd just let um lick away For $600.00 that would be lots of lickin

But seriously $600.00 is to small a amt. to chase after, the court syst. will cost you more in time. They'll get "theres" I'd move on . And like Glenn said kick thier arse might seem like a good thing but in the end  >:(is all it is. ( = mad)

Some times not doing the work for ah unsaviorie types is the answer. Difficult to judge americans EH!  

[glenn kangiser]

Knowing what you know about the guy, then that's probably the thing to do.  Seems a shame the wonderful system doesn't have a way to deal with it though.

[PEG688]

Knowing what you know about the guy, then that's probably the thing to do.  Seems a shame the wonderful system doesn't have a way to deal with it though.

Sure they do ,the system that is , but as noted the only ones getting richer are the LIERS , opps I mean lawyers    You can and would spend thousands to collect hundreds, jessh Glenn a conspirecy guy like you should see that

Welcome to the American dream Peter,, the land of lawyers  

[glenn kangiser]

That's exactly what I was talking about, PEG - just blocked that out of my mind as not feasable. :-/  An attorney once told me the same thing- no one comes out in those situastions except the liar lawyers.

[Sassy]

We had some pretty big losses 4 years in a row with Glenn's business - $25,000 each year - & these contracts were with big, "reliable" companies... one even had a relative in high places working there... Glenn would bid on the contracts - these were several month contracts - do all the work, pay his guys & all expenses - the companies paid ok for the 1st parts of the job - one company where Glenn was remodeling an old church for a hospital which was converting it to a business office - the general contractor had gotten the project on the reputation of his ex-father-in-law... turns out he was doing coke & so were all his buddies - he kept hiring his friends as foremen, they were all buying new trucks, etc - the bank finally put a hold on the money until things were completed - but he never paid us, although we signed legal agreements , etc.  Another one was with a huge company - Glenn had bid 2 contracts - these lasted a year in total, it wasn't until he was into his 2nd job that they kept asking for more & more documentation of the work he had done - he spent hours, days on documenting the change orders on the extras, etc that they had asked him to do - of course he had paid his workers, expenses & all - they finally told him that they had already filed a notice of completion & continued to "flim flam" him for the 30 days notice & then told him it was too late.  Oh, another one - he didn't get paid $14,000+ on a job building a casino in the Bay Area - they paid real good up to the last few weeks & then refused to pay anymore...

These were all reputable, large companies - Glenn does all his own bidding, billing & paperwork for the business (I do a little of the bookkeeping), he does most of the repairs on his equipment, he's even slept in his ruck when he's been on a job away from home by himself rather than pay for a hotel.  He tries to deal with good companies - now he works with 3 steel companies & doesn't have any problems but the time it takes for paperwork, filing, attorney's fees & on & on - it wasn't worth going after - he would have spent what he lost.

He's doing several small remodel jobs, building a large house for friends, does some dirt moving occasionally, septic systems & other things around the Mariposa area - they have all been good in paying so far... you just figure that you win some & lose some - hopefully you make enough to cover expenses without borrowing too much to live on.  This year has been a pretty good year so far - that's why Glenn is trying to upgrade some of his ancient equipment - helps to make the jobs go faster & easier.  

[benevolance]

Sassy,

I get the run around all the time...I take deposits for cars and hold them and wait and never get paid... I work on someone's car and it sits here and I do not get paid....I have people try to show up at night and get their cars with spare keys....I had to build a fenced area to put cars in under lock and gate to prevent non paying customers from driving their cars away at night...

The more I do business with people the more time I spend just to make sure I do not get ripped off. It is very frustrating. I have been burned a few times...Badly...Bought some classic cars out west a couple years back and the guywas great...Bought another load and it was the houdini routine...The guy, my money and the 2 cars vanished into thin air....

I am a small operation of one...When I lose $600 or $6000 it really hurts...It keeps me up at night wondering what I could have done differently, what I can do to get my money back...Thinking about ways to get revenge and not go to jail.

I have a great paperwork system taught to me by an amazing man....But I have little time for it and less patience....So clutter and disorganization rules supreme.

I know about living on the cheap...I take the tent with me at swap meets and car shows and sleep in my parking space beside the car....Coleman stove and cooler with food...I refuse to go to Hotels that cost $100 a night and  eat three hots at the Outback.

I don't know what a modern truck or piece of equipment is either...My tire changer is 50-60 years old...My compressor is at least 40 years old off a military base..My tow truck is 35 years old...My delivery truck is 41 years old..

I do love old cars and trucks...That is half of it...The other half is I cannot afford a $40,000 quad cab dually Diesel

As you get larger in business You have to do what the gas stations and walmart does....They factor the price of drive offs and shoplifting into the price of all items...So their business plans work out and they meet or beat expected profit margins...

If Glenn has trouble a couple times a year he needs to calculate the average cost for each mishap and divide it by his total income and the number of jobs he does get a percentage...Increase the cost of all jobs by this percentage and apply it universally

I guess I need to do the same sort of thing. :-/...I hate to charge an honest person the theft fee....But I have a family to think about and a house to pay for...

[glenn kangiser]

Do like I do, Peter-- get a good used 1 Ton dually diesel 4x4 -- $16999 --- and the dealer replaced the fuel pump - did 2500.00 work  - charged me 400 for a few extras he did. He already dropped the price from 19999 so it was quite a bargain.  

I'd rather drive a good used truck than pay all that depreciation the minute I sit in the drivers seat.

[benevolance]

Glenn

17,000 for a truck....man...Wow that is a lot of money for me. I would need to sell 5-6 cars to come up with that kind of bread....

It is frustrating..I have usually around 35 cars...I can sell off 6-8 and buy a nice work truck...But then I am hurting for inventory of parts and cars to sell. I keep trying to get by with vehicles I have no money tied up in....My 72 GMC tow truck I paid $750 for it...And spent about $400 on it and it works like brand new!

I need a bigger truck...Something I can hook a 3-4 car trailer to and make runs to the desert...I would like a 4 door dually...1 ton diesel..Maybe a 2 ton diesel.. The internationals have great diesel motors...They are not the most powerful, but they are bulletproof and decent on fuel...

For years the ford large trucks used the international engines..

If I can find a 20 year old 4 door 2-3 ton diesel truck I will try to get it...And then get a 4 car trailer and I will be able to make a huge leap forward with my business.

But it seems every time I get a little money built up and a few extra cars I have to spend a bunch of money...I will have to renovate the new house now...It needs a heat pump and central ac installed and it will cost me About $4-5000 to do it myself...I also have to buy a washer, dryer, kitchen table and chairs...a new bed.... My wife and I talked about it and we are not going to rob anything from our current home to furnish the new one...

So in the next few months I will spend 10-15k easy on the new place renovating and furnishing the place.

There goes all the extra money for a better truck that would make my life easier. :-/

I should not complain my wife and I started with very little and it has been less than 3 years....But we work very hard and it is frustrating that there always seems to be something else that pops up and we are always broke no matter how much we try to save or how hard we both work.

[glenn kangiser]

and so goes life-- if you make more you will spend more and need more.

Just knowing how to make things go with very little is worth a lot -- I hardly ever get anything new any more and even this truck is cheap relative to what I could have spent for the same thing.  I put a dump bed on it -- Hire it done $5000 to 6000 bought the parts kit for $1800 and did it ourselves-- manifold cracked - parts were $400 - Fred and I put it in --but 4 wheel drive is pretty well required to get home in the winter - dually with dump bed is necessary for fixing our roads and work and better fuel mileage will help make the payments.  I made everything in modules so it can be anything I want it to be.

It's pretty tough no matter how you do it.  I know people who don't know anything about mechanical things and boy do they get ripped off.

[Sassy]

Benevolance, Glenn & I are quite a bit older than you are so have worked a few more years to get where we are at.  Believe me, we've done without... in fact, I've never owned a new car in my life - always had used ones, usually at least 10 years or more old.  I spent a few weeks one winter in Washington state, in the snow, tying raspberry vines, pulling a plastic skiff by a rope where my 6 mo & 3 yr old sons could sit wrapped in blankets while I worked.  I couldn't afford a babysitter.  And they say that only illegal aliens will do work like that... I've raked almonds by hand during almond harvest in 110 degree heat, changed irrigation pipe, done flood irrigation, packed peaches during the day & afterwards worked at Sears in the credit department in the evening... I could go on, but you probably get the picture... we all pay our dues one way or the other & hopefully one day we get to start enjoying some of the fruits of our labor before we get too decrepit!   :-/      

You are way ahead of the game - you are able to do a lot of things yourself that most people have never learned or aren't resourceful enough to learn how; you think about life & what impact you have on others & the earth, you have goals & are achieving them - you should feel pretty good about that!    End of sermon.

Sassy

[benevolance]

Sassy

I dunno about my impact on anyone...I am way to busy to go there... And yeah a lot of us work really hard I know...I have been pretty fortunate to have decent health and to meet someone that works with me in life instead of against me.

So I do feel fortunate mostly. I have made plenty of sacrifices and worked terrible jobs though....And lived on Grass and water literally.

I get mad at myself because it took me several years to get any momentum built up being self employed...I could and should be a lot farther along in the game.

I guess there is always just tomorrow and never yesterday...

-Peter

[Amanda_931]

Had a friend in the auto salvage business (imports for the most part, but he did have a couple of King Midgets around) back in the days when it was possible to drive from Tennessee to Detroit every couple of weeks and come back with two cars--one towed, one on the back of the car-hauler.  Oh, yes, and do it profitably.  What he got were good mechanicals, salt-riddled bodies.

But his car-hauler had been created out of a large handful of car makes--probably the frame from a Datsun truck, MG engine (IIRC slightly larger bore or stroke but otherwise similar to the one Nissan was building under license), somebody else's front end bodywork, and then the car-hauler bit.

Well, it got good gas mileage!  

But if you want to haul several somethings, all bigger than, say, 128 Fiats or TR-4's, you might want a bigger truck.

[benevolance]

Amanda

I used to haul out of Los Angeles...Take a $100 car from my fathers auto salvage and drive it to L.A. Find 2 classic cars...Dump the beater at the auto salvage...Drive one vehicle tow the other behind with a tow bar...Make a few trips a year when I could scrape time for extra cash..

And if I get serious about going west again I will want to bring 4 at a time...So a 2-3 ton truck would be needed.

I currently send a lot of stuff to New England and Canada from Georgia and the Carolinas...But anything  older than 1970 is getting rusty here...So you have to get west of New Mexico for really nice stuff...

I prefer to work on and restore 50's cars so West is where i have to go if I want to get really nice stuff.

[Amanda_931]

I expect.  But Ron (the name of the salvage yard guy) stories are often kind of fun--if somewhat bizarre.  He turned up a water pump for some 50's Citroen for some poor guy who had driven it to some convention in Nashville.  I hung out there a lot, didn't even know he had one buried in the back.  I knew where the King Midgets were, rusting quietly away.  But he told stories of some times when one was the only thing he had that ran well enough to get him downtown and back home.  On the freeway.  In a thunderstorm.

He was looking for engines and transmissions in Detroit (also had family there, so he could stay with them overnight), not sound auto bodies.  His car hauler (called the abortion) did get fine gas mileage, though.

And I think what he did really was better suited to the 70's than now.  Although I've been out of auto parts for so long now I've lost touch with all the people I used to know.

King Midgets?  no relation to the MG.  Except that they were convertibles.

http://www.kingmidgetcarclub.org/

[benevolance]

I am into the other end of the spectrum...Big and heavy american Steele

[Amanda_931]

Yep.  I can tell.  

Bear in mind, though....

a) King Midgets were illegal on the interstate--what was it, an 18 hp Kohler engine in the later ones?

b) but at the height of rush hour in a downpour the average speed may have been low enough that it didn't matter--much.

c) The top leaked.  Or was possibly nonexistent.  He wouldn't have had it if it hadn't come in as salvage.

So I'm not sure if he ever drove it again.

A lot of Ron stories went this way.

[benevolance]

I think most interstates are either 40 0r 45 miles per hour....So I am betting that mopeds, those mini motor cycles and a whole bunch of other vehicles are illegal as well.

[Amanda_931]

Yes indeedy.

[benevolance]

Here in SC no license is needed for mopeds or anything that goes under 45 miles per hour....They call those mopeds drunkencycles.... or the DU-Icycle

Amazing thing is that a dozen blat past my house every afternoon on their way home from work....there are tons on the road

[Amanda_931]

I'm not sure around here--regular mopeds do not need a license, but, IIRC, something like the old Honda 50's (top speed around 45, on a good day) and certainly the 70's (newer, but probably not much faster) do.


But we get the 4-wheelers around all the time--ridden by groups of men, I've always assumed that they were drunk.  Be nice if I were wrong, though.

[glenn kangiser]

In Oregon, the drunks used to ride lawnmowers to the bar when they lost their license, but I heard they were even getting ticketed on them once. :-/

[benevolance]

In canada you lose your license and go to jail for paddling a canoe after a couple of beer....It is considered a motorized vehicle...you being the motor of course.

you would not get away with the lawn mower in Canada...Off to jail you would go...likely do something like 90 days for driving while suspended and repeat drunken driving offense...Lose your license for another 4-5 years to boot with $5,000 in fines because the lawn mower was not insured..Insurance fine is $1500 and 2 years minimum no license...The drunken driving is minimum 1 year and the driving while suspended is minimum 1 year

Get caught driving the lawn mower drunk in Canada and you might want to ask the cop to do you a favour and shoot you!