hmm, not cool of him to keep both checks in the first scenario, even if he opted to hold the 2nd one till next month, but that's just my humble .02. If he is somehow holding 'late rent' against you in attempts to keep deposit, he can't do that. That needs to be addressed directly at the time of payment (typically via charging a late fee). He can put sec deposit towards rents not paid (in my state, anyway) but not hold it as a 'nuisance' fee for late payment. As an aside, I live in the same zip as two of my tenants. They either mail or drop off check here. Typically it's one day via USPS, however if post office were consistently days late, I would simply ask tenants allow a few extra days in mail and date their check for the 1st of the month. Or drop off at my house. OK, on to deposit issue. The privacy invasion is a non-issue now and has nothing to do with security deposit. That's fall under category of issue that should have been addressed "at the time". All too often security deposits are viewed as being deservedly refunded in full because of bad blood. Laws are very clear about what deposits are to be held/used for, and in most cases even a lease cannot override a particular state's law on deposits. So you paid a $1100 deposit, he kept $1000, you provided a forwarding address with keys per his request. You did not receive anything for 90 days and then there were deductions without an accounting, correct? I checked, and Virginia law is much like my state's 45 day rule. Virginia's Landlord Tenant Handbook can be viewed here. Have to hand it to them, VA is quite clear and provides many venues for help (addresses, phone numbers) should it be needed. They are thorough. Scroll to the bottom of page 17 for Sec Dep info. "The security deposit, any accrued interest and any deductions,damages and charges shall be itemized by the landlord in a written notice given to the tenant, together with any amount due the tenant within 45 days after termination of the tenancy and delivery of possession"....If the landlord willfully fails to comply with this section, the court shall order the return of the security deposit and interest thereon to the tenant, together with actual damages and reasonable attorneys' fees, unless the tenant owes rent to the landlord, in which case, the court shall order an amount equal to the security deposit and interest thereon credited against the rent due to the landlord.....If notice is given as prescribed in this paragraph, the landlord shall have an additional 15 day period to provide an itemization of the damages and the cost of repair.....Upon request by the landlord to a tenant to vacate, or within five days after receipt of notice by the landlord of the tenant's intent to vacate, the landlord shall make reasonable efforts to advise the tenant of the tenant's right to be present at the landlord's inspection of the dwelling unit for the purpose of determining the amount of security deposit to be returned. If the tenant desires to be present when the landlord makes the inspection, he shall so advise the landlord in writing who, in turn, shall notify the tenant of the time and date of the inspection, which must be made within 72 hours of delivery of possession. Upon completion of the inspection attended by the tenant, the landlord shall furnish the tenant with an itemized list of damages to the dwelling unit known to exist at the time of the inspection. You need to take time to print that out and read it all, I have only pasted partial quotes below. There is much more on the deposit issue. Then make some calls to the numbers provided. I am not a lawyer, only a landlord who has to keep abreast of landlord/tenant laws, and it seems like your landlord has fudged on a few issues. Even if he had legitimate claims for deduction, 90 days is well beyond the time frame allotted by the State of Virginia. This can all be handled in small claims court. However, I would first send him a letter (Certified) pointing out how he failed to comply (lack of notice to you of inpsection day so you could be present, lack of notice within 45 days of what he was deducting, etc. Quote the Virginia statute that applies. It might be just enough to nudge him to rectify this rather than go to small claims court (where it's typically addressed in my state). Have to run, rental issues of my own, will check back later.

I am up to about 25K in our master bath. In these homes of a certain era the huge master bath was all the rage. It was new construction 15 years ago with the gigantic whirlpool tub with cultured marble everywhere, bright brass fixtures and CARPET in the entire space even in the water closet. We had a leaking shower which started us on this journey and one thing led to another and ended up ripping out the shower, flooring, toilet and the counter tops, lighting fixtures and taking down the old wallpaper. A franchise company who advertises heavily in our area did the travertine floor with radiant heat, new shower floor, walls, glass enclosure, set the new toilet and new tub and did all tear out and plumbing charged us $16,700. But we supplied the toilet, granite countertops, tub, faucets, sinks, paid separately for the cabinet painting and new hardware and for the wallpaper to be taken down and repainted. That is where the other 7K came in. I wish I had found GW first to see all the beautiful bathrooms before we let them have at it. I just had someone come in to frame out the mirrors which were still there from the old bathroom, another $1500. I would have much rather hired a carpenter to add trim around the mirror but just couldn't find anyone to do it. I know I paid way too much. I will be honest and say that I do get a lot of compliments on the bathroom but if I had known that in the end I was going to spend this much I would have hired a K&B that could have helped me with finishes and perhaps avoided some costly and disappointing results. I must also admit that the freestanding tub with the British type of faucet was $3200 of the 7K we paid for the fixtures and fittings and also of that $1200 was for painting the existing cabinetry and adding end panels and for crystal door/drawer knobs.

Advice you've already received about getting additional inspection/estimate is definitely the way to go. There are, however, a number of questionable parts to the sweep's pitch: As you noted, there should be no chimney fire danger in a just cleaned chimney. "Damage to the internal structure of the chimney"? Highly unlikely in a tile lined chimney. Damage to the mortar joints maybe, but also unlikely. The crown wash needs to be completely redone, but it will take a jackhammer to remove what's there? Hmmnnn... Even if a good deal of water entered the chimney it would have drained to the level of the cleanout door. I see no way it would have destroyed the "structural integrity" of the firebox unless there is no lower level cleanout door and the mxture of water and ash simply seeped into the brick. Damage to the damper assembly is possible, but usually repairable. A gallon of silicon masonry waterproofing costs about 25 to 30 dollars. This leaves 500 plus for applying it. I don't blame you for not wanting to pay for another inspection. Try checking with your local building inspector or fire department to see if they will do it for free. Should the sweep's evaluation turn out to be total or partial nonsense, don't just let it drop. Contact the local Better Business Bureau at least.

“Do you have any exposed brick?” All of the brick is covered in plaster, but I would seriously consider exposing a brick wall. “Are your stair treads and risers wood?” No; carpet. But a future project will almost certainly be removing the dark laminate floors and replacing them with a lighter hardwood. When that happens, I suspect we’ll also remove the carpet from the stairs and install hardwood rises and treads. “Do you like the mood of your current dining room? It reads dark, without much ambient lighting.” Yes and no. I like the colors in the dining room – green paint, some original red-brown wood on the door and stair rail, white trim, and black cabinet (painted white inside). We have similar colors in the living room – the same green paint, white trim, reclaimed wood shelves supported by cast iron brackets, and a new (modern-ish) stained glass transom window over the door. There is a casual slipcover couch, that is white. The former fireplace, that is now a built-in bookcase, is also white. Red-brown piano. What we don’t like: the dining room is still a little dark, although new track lighting and brigher lights in center of the room have helped a lot. In some places the space in and between the rooms flows oddly. So I guess my overall inclination is to try to embrace some of the things that seem warm or quirky about the house - but open up the space, improve lighting, etc. “Have you decided what you are doing with the opening to the DR?” The plan right now is employ Rebunky’s idea. To cut away some of the left hand entry – the deep side – and infill the right wall only as deep and high as is necessary to cover the sides of the new cabinets. That keeps the space open for light to pass through, and it prevents any new visual barriers from hampering conversations between people in the kitchen and dining area. We have also tentatively decided on the skylight, and additional lights in the kitchen. There is a single overhead light in the kitchen now, so while the ceiling is out we’ll put in a series of new lights. “If you go with timeless neutrals you'll be able to decorate with color rather than rip out a backsplash when your taste changes.” This is very good point. And it sounds like everyone agrees that in trying to match the warmth and colors of the current house, we're getting too dark. I'm going to step back from the backsplash idea and try to think about what might keep the look a little more light or open. My original idea - gray and white - would certainly have been airier. We could, of course, still chose this. Then again, my husband likes the red-brown cabinets, and they do fit the setting. So maybe what I should think about is how to complement and balance the choice, rather than trying to layer on elements that dark or rich.