I don't know if it makes any difference, but our 1031 adventures have all been within a separate trust that was established by my late mother, of which I am trustee with power to appoint. The trust sold one property. The trust bought a second property using 1031 exchange laws. The value of the property is now more than 12 times the base cost -- a very hefty capital gain even at the current 15% rate. I know we could sell and reinvest only a portion, and pay taxes on the rest. I know I could appoint this property out of the trust to, say, our DS and DIL or our DGS (age 2). What I'm wondering is if it isn't best to let them "inherit" the trust holdings. What I don't know is if they will also inherit the tax base or if the 1031 property resets to date of inheritance.

IMHO, the reason for the failure was the system age. It was original Bryant equipment from when the condo was built 29+ years ago. Out of 200+ condos, mine was the last survivor of the bunch as far as I could tell, and most definitely in the immediate area. It was actually one of the last remaining in 1998 when I bought the place, so it owed me nothing. The tech said that there was several issues including a compressor isssue that was tripping the breaker, evaporator coil leaking, and blower wheel bearing. As for linesets, I poised the question and the dealer said that they did not need to be replaced, but they were going to flush them and reuse them. To replace them I would need substantial drywall removed for access (heat pump on lower level, air handler on upper level). He did not believe that we needed to go to that expense. Finally, from what I read, you do indeed still need to register the units within 90 days with Trane for the extended warranty.

Have you considered the Applad white cabs? They are nicer than the cheaper white option and are slab fronts, so you get the contemporary look. They are still very well priced. We actually chose them ahead of the Abstrakt, which were $2k more, because there are fewer seams. IKEA is offering 40% off counters when you buy a kitchen there until the 28th, so check it out. A slab front white will always be a slab front white. If you need to replace doors on a run or even the whole kitchen 10 years from now, it is still ahead of the game from having to redo a whole kitchen. if a door needs replacing and the styles have changed some, you could also try putting a glass front on it if it is in a nice spot for that as the glass will minimize the differences. If not, you may be able to switch it with one that is in a nice spot for glass... Because they were more reasonable upfront, you can't go far wrong.

I would like to thank Mtn for asking two owners here a question regarding what owners expect/want from their guests. That is a very rare thing. There is a lot of pressure on owners to deliver, including perfection, for people who have very different standards, so one guest might find a dust bunny and be horrified and write a negative review while another isn't fazed by little things. I think it is important for both sides to have an attitude that, this is a relationship, it is not a one-way thing: Guests are not simply wallets for owners; owners have a responsibility to provide a clean, safe, accurately described rental; and owners are not programmable robots who can predict and meet every expectation of guests. We deal with A LOT of different personalities, ranging from totally cool and wonderful to profoundly difficult. I constantly ask myself what I can do to make my guests' vacation more pleasant, easier, etc. We appreciate it when guests ask us what they can do to make our job easier as well. I'm amazed at how so many renters nod when warned of something or asked to refrain from something...and then go and do it anyway. We have serious and often legal reasons for capacity limits, in my case asking that guests NOT launder the linens and towels (or at least not put them in the dryer to dry, thereby setting stains. I work really hard at keeping my linens and towels sanitary and spotless. Only way to do that is to line dry them), etc. I had a difficult guest tell me after the fact that 'the kitchen was cluttered'. For one thing, that is nonsense. My kitchen is very well organized. The counters are clear of everything but the coffee maker and dish drain and the container next to the stove holding cooking utensils when guests arrive. How is that cluttered? What the kitchen is is small, which is why I have TWO pictures of the kitchen on the Web site, so that people can see that it is small, from both angles, and be very aware of that fact. So you can see, no matter what you do out of consideration, there are always some people you just cannot make happy and always have to gripe. What in have been told in reading reviews is to look for patterns. That makes sense to me. If one person has a gripe, I wouldn't put much credence into it. But if five have the same complaint, that would indicate that it is an issue. Same with positives. One person saying the place is awesome is rather meaningless. Look for patterns, and look for comments having to do with how the owner/PM was to deal with, how responsive they were to issues that arise, etc. But guests also need to be responsive and care about how they are impacting someone else's property.