I recently had to address a question between one of our landlords and tenants at my property management company, WAVA Property Management. The issue is a common one and I thought you may wonder about it too. The question is:
Whose responsibility is it to make sure the HVAC filters are changed and how often?
My best advice on the subject is that if there’s a question about it the first thing you should do is to check your lease to see if it is specified there. In many (most) cases it should be. For us the answer was pretty simple as the subject is addressed in both of the most common leases that Realtors in Northern Virginia use today. Both the Commonlaw Lease and the VRLTA (Virginia Residential Landlord Tenant Act) Lease address the issue in paragragh 19 Tenant’s Responsiblities sub section C and state that:
Furnishing and replacing all light bulbs and fuses as needed and changing furnace and air conditioning filters at least every two (2) months.
If you have any questions or would like more information, don’t hesitate to contact me!
The year 2011 ended for me on November 18, 2011. On the night of November 17, my Mama, Helen B. Butler, went to sleep for the final time. She never woke up. To say that your world changes when you lose your Mama is the ultimate understatement.
Mama had been terminally ill for almost 20 years. Nevertheless, her death was surprising in it’s timing and devastating in scope. I’ve prepared myself for years and I’ve known that her death would change my life but I could never have imagined the depth of the hole left inside of me nor the amount of loss that I would feel.
The greatest legacy that my Mama left me is the ability to love people. Those I know and those who I don’t know, yet. My life is full of love. I have an incredibly beautiful (on the inside and out!) wife and daughter and a grown son who I’m so proud of though we’re not as close as I’d like. I live each day and work diligently to be a better man than yesterday. I will be an excellent husband and mate. I will be as good of a father to Emma Rose as my Mama was a mother to me. I will learn what the boundaries are and how to build a relationship with a grown man who grew up without me to support him in his life. I have a wonderful brother-in-law & sister-in-law from my wife’s side of our family that I love dearly. Lastly, I share a special and unique relationship with my sisters and their husbands and our sense of family is stronger today than ever. I will, in the not too distant future, find a way for us all to live close to each other again so we can enjoy our golden years by getting on each others’ nerves!
So as January comes to an end and we’re ready to get into February, my year is beginning and I want to wish you a Happy New Year! I look forward to the “new normal” for me and my family. I am embracing the changes in life that living with Mama’s memory and without her physical presence will bring. I will revel in the fact that I represent all of the best qualities passed down from Mama and be the man she raised me to be; a loving husband and father, a successful business owner and a man you’ll be glad to call your friend. Happy New Year, y’all!
Did you ever have one of ‘those’ days? Well I did yesterday. I was very full of myself and I’d had enough so I walked into my Broker’s office and asked if he had a couple of minutes for a a counseling session. He looked me dead in the eyes and said “You are your own worst enemy and I think you like the way things are right now.“ I’ve got to tell you. I was on the verge of livid! He took the time to listen to my thoughts and gave me a few more thoughtful & helpful observations and ended as he ALWAYS does by saying “Now Go Sell Something!“.
15802 MacKenzie Manor Drive
RE/MAX Gateway
