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Landlord wants a copy of electric bill...
- Thread starter ganjapool
- Start date
and get a big fucking mean ass Dog
yes sir, my dog has saved me a few times pre- med card. put the dog in the grow room & the landlord wont go in even with an invite. "ya, he's usually cool. go on in..."
to the op. I think you handled it right, but you really gotta keep your ear to the ground. if nothing else they seem too active in the property, another situation will probably pop up in the future. renting is tough w/o a med card. good luck.
Nadicus_Maximus
Member
Sounds like the "landlord" is just a middleman-type property manager and is not the one that actually owns the property you are renting. But I'll tell you this. If the actual owner cares about his property, and if he feels he is being stonewalled by you, he will simply tell you he wants to come by for a property inspection. He has no reason to beat around the bush with a phony excuse like electric bills. He will simply say he wants to inspect his property and hopefully set up a time to do so, instead of just showing up. In any case I would be on high alert if I were renting under any circumstance. Not trying to scare you here...it's just reality.
T
Tumpuh
Don't look under your bed! (Because that's where your land lord is!)
fredcdobbs
Member
i rented for 7 years and finally saved enough for down payment on somethin i could afford..when i rented there wasnt a day went by that i didnt think about landlord or whatever knockin on my door. home insurance guy came out one day,etc... THAT WAS LIVING FKN HELL......i paid for my little house in 3 yrs and is it a different world...you seem like a smart guy so save every penny for down payment on any kind of house...calls from landlord,emails,letters stickin their nose into yer bidness.........fk all that shit......hang in there
you may not even need photoshop
just a reg copy machine, ive snipped dates and amounts from one source and put it in to reflect what I want....
a nasty divorce makes you creative
Yes, say the landlord uses this electric bill to qualify for some State or Federal program, then what? They aren't all dummies at that level and it would be legal for them to call the electric company to verify without needing a search warrant. It's called fraud.
please keep us updated, it will be very interesting to see how this plays out. Good luck.
Hey guys, all is well. I heard back from the landlord is a day later and he said he respects my privacy and if I could let him know what my highest electric bill was. I just sent him a text and told him highest bill was 180, which i think is pretty low for a house this size. Hopefully the owner does not qualify for any deductions which will lead to people coming into the house.
Last I heard from my landlord was a week ago give or take I doubt I'll hear from him again for a few months.
BlueBadger
New member
Wow! This topic sure generated a lot of buzz. While we're on the utility issue I have a question I hope somebody can answer.
I've been building a small house way out in the country but haven't installed wiring yet. These days, the utility company is using the so-called "smart" electric meters which use WiFi that sends out a signal so the company doesn't have to send a person onto the property to read the meter on the house.
Couple of important problems here: 1) The smart meters track your usage 24/7 and can show any spikes in usage. Every electrical device you use has its own start-up signature which can be detected. HID lamps aren't "instant on," they have to warm up to reach full output but will show a sharp increase/decrease whenever they are starting or shutting down. 2) WiFi emits EMF (electro-magnetic field) and the smart meters will bombard my house every second of the day. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe EMF has been proven to cause cancer in animals which is why we are told not to keep the cell phone right up to your ear or put a laptop in your lap.
I haven't asked the utility company yet but am wondering if I could use the EMF/cancer argument to get them to install one of the older "dumb" meters that has to be read from a meter on the house and only shows how much juice used for the month and nothing more.
I would greatly appreciate any informed suggestions.
I've been building a small house way out in the country but haven't installed wiring yet. These days, the utility company is using the so-called "smart" electric meters which use WiFi that sends out a signal so the company doesn't have to send a person onto the property to read the meter on the house.
Couple of important problems here: 1) The smart meters track your usage 24/7 and can show any spikes in usage. Every electrical device you use has its own start-up signature which can be detected. HID lamps aren't "instant on," they have to warm up to reach full output but will show a sharp increase/decrease whenever they are starting or shutting down. 2) WiFi emits EMF (electro-magnetic field) and the smart meters will bombard my house every second of the day. Correct me if I'm wrong but I believe EMF has been proven to cause cancer in animals which is why we are told not to keep the cell phone right up to your ear or put a laptop in your lap.
I haven't asked the utility company yet but am wondering if I could use the EMF/cancer argument to get them to install one of the older "dumb" meters that has to be read from a meter on the house and only shows how much juice used for the month and nothing more.
I would greatly appreciate any informed suggestions.
great to hear all's well ganjapool
in my state like others you can't call and ask for a single iota of info about the elec if your names not on the acct regardless if you own the house or not.
they won't even talk to you.
when i call about a power outage on my acct. i have to give the last 4 of my ssn#
ganja pool *owns the acct*
he pays the elec bill, its in his name with his deposit on the acct.
owner owns the house, not the electricity that is paid for by ganja.
if you mean by "they---dummies" the owner
that's not any kind of prosecutable fraud to give him an inaccurate photocopy of a bill he has no legal tie with anymore than if ganjapool showed him a doctored photocopy of a toaster oven bought at wally world
it would look bad if he caught on....and thats it
if you meant the state/federal program?
they can't call any get any info anymore than the owner could with out a warrant.
and if you think the state or feds are going to get a warrant for the elec bill for 1 single residential unit with a photocopied bill that's on par with everyone else's bill....
AND
for a energy tax credit??
lol, you are way, waaaay over thinking things here
but speaking of dummies let me tell ya bout my ex....
in my state like others you can't call and ask for a single iota of info about the elec if your names not on the acct regardless if you own the house or not.
they won't even talk to you.
when i call about a power outage on my acct. i have to give the last 4 of my ssn#
ganja pool *owns the acct*
he pays the elec bill, its in his name with his deposit on the acct.
owner owns the house, not the electricity that is paid for by ganja.
if you mean by "they---dummies" the owner
that's not any kind of prosecutable fraud to give him an inaccurate photocopy of a bill he has no legal tie with anymore than if ganjapool showed him a doctored photocopy of a toaster oven bought at wally world
it would look bad if he caught on....and thats it
if you meant the state/federal program?
they can't call any get any info anymore than the owner could with out a warrant.
and if you think the state or feds are going to get a warrant for the elec bill for 1 single residential unit with a photocopied bill that's on par with everyone else's bill....
AND
for a energy tax credit??
lol, you are way, waaaay over thinking things here
but speaking of dummies let me tell ya bout my ex....
Last edited:
L
lemongrove
Honestly this one seems to be an obvious no-brainer. If I were a grower renting a house, in the south no less and my landlord called up out of the blue and wanted to see my electric bills, I'd shut it down immediately regardless of what excuse he used in asking for them.
Also did anyone pay any attention during the Bush/Chaney years? If you are connected you can do, get or get away with whatever you want. Yes the vast majority of people cannot get info. on anyone's electric bill; that's the vast majority of people, not all people.
Hell connected people don't call the same number we call when we want to know about an electric bill, they call a buddy who sits on the board. It's all about who you know and not what the rules or laws are. The laws are written by and for wealthy, connected people so they can get what they want and to keep the rest of us out. Haven't we all seen that millions of times? Hell read the damn news or watch it on tv. When you do it's obvious that there is a certain class of people that get away with or can get damn near anything. When you see it happening over and over again, year after year after year you come to the realization that is the way it is. So don't give me that line about people not being able to get certain info. If you know the right people you can get whatever you want.
Look this may very well be all perfectly innocent. The home owner may very well want to improve his property but lets use some common sense here. If I were a property owner and I wanted to improve my property to get a tax write-off, I'd improve my damn property regardless of how private the renter wanted to be. Here is the low down on taxes and improvements and repairs on rental properties:The full value of improvements cannot be deducted in the year in which they occurred. This is because improvements have a useful life and add value in subsequent years, not just in the year the improvement occurred. Improvements must be capitalized and depreciated according to a set depreciation schedule (it will be different for each asset). You must divide the cost of the improvement over the useful life of the improvement and then take an annual deduction based on the given year's expense.
Example: You performed $5,000 of work on your property. It is considered an improvement. Therefore, you must deduct it over a set depreciation schedule. We will use a depreciation schedule of 10 years. We will assume there is no salvage value, meaning it will be worth nothing after the 10 years. We will also assume straight-line depreciation, meaning the cost will be spread out evenly over the 10 years. Thus, you can claim ($5000/10) an expense of $500 each year for the next 10 years. Assuming you are at a 28% tax rate, you will save ($500*.28) $140 in taxes for the year.
Can You Deduct Repairs on Your Taxes?
Yes, you can deduct the full cost of the repair in the tax year that the repair was completed.
Example: You performed $5,000 of work on your property. It is considered a repair. As a repair, you can deduct the entire expense in the current year. Assume your tax rate is 28%. Thus, you will save ($5,000 *.28) $1400 in taxes.
Improvements vs. Repairs, Which is Better?
One is not necessarily better than the other. An improvement, such as adding an addition, adds value to your property, but the entire cost of a repair, such as fixing a roof leak, can be immediately deducted on your taxes, leaving more money in your pocket.
The ideal situation will vary depending on your needs. Some landlords need to maximize all immediate write-offs because their livelihood is dependent on their yearly rental income. In this scenario, being able to classify an expense as a repair would be beneficial because it would maximize the landlord’s after-tax dollars for the given year. However, if the landlord does not need additional deductions for the given year, extending the life of the depreciation for several years, by classifying the expense as an improvement, could be beneficial.
Many landlords and rental property owners use a loophole by placing a tenant in the property and then performing ‘repairs.’ This allows the landlord to perform more extensive maintenance that may have otherwise been classified as an improvement. With the tenant already living there, the landlord can claim that the work is necessary to keep the tenant satisfied.
For those things that could fall in a grey area between improvements and repairs, it really depends on how comfortable you and your accountant are with defending your claim against IRS scrutiny.
So if I wanted to get a tax break and improve my rental property I wouldn't need some bogus excuse about electricity bills. Also it's easy to find out what is required for discounts on doing home energy repairs by looking online at the local utilities site or if it's a state program, the state will have it online. The federal program for a discount on energy repairs expired Dec. 31st, 2013. The op said the excuse given to him when being asked for his electric bill was about taxes and not energy discounts so this probably doesn't apply but if that excuse comes up it's easy to find that info.
The op keeps talking about how laid back the landlord is. I've got a buddy who is very laid back. He's laid back as long as you don't get on certain topics and once you get on those he can be a fire breathing dragon. Maybe the landlord is laid back until you get on the subject of growing pot in one of his rentals. Who knows? Maybe he came by one day when you weren't there to check something on the outside of the house and when he was walking around he got a little whiff of something. Maybe he then decides to ask you for your electric bills because he suspects something. Maybe it's all perfectly innocent. Who knows? That is exactly the point, you don't know. You can speculate, you can hope but you don't know. My rule when growing has always been that if it looks fishy shut it down just to be safe. If it turns out to be nothing then start it up again.
To sum up, if an owner wants to improve his property to get a tax break he will improve his property and he doesn't need to get his private renters permission and he doesn't need info. on electric bills. If the landlord is suspicious and can't get the renter to offer the info. he wants and the owner is connected, he can get the info. If you live in the south and you get caught growing, Bubba will own your asshole. Again honestly this one is a no-brainer.
Also did anyone pay any attention during the Bush/Chaney years? If you are connected you can do, get or get away with whatever you want. Yes the vast majority of people cannot get info. on anyone's electric bill; that's the vast majority of people, not all people.
Hell connected people don't call the same number we call when we want to know about an electric bill, they call a buddy who sits on the board. It's all about who you know and not what the rules or laws are. The laws are written by and for wealthy, connected people so they can get what they want and to keep the rest of us out. Haven't we all seen that millions of times? Hell read the damn news or watch it on tv. When you do it's obvious that there is a certain class of people that get away with or can get damn near anything. When you see it happening over and over again, year after year after year you come to the realization that is the way it is. So don't give me that line about people not being able to get certain info. If you know the right people you can get whatever you want.
Look this may very well be all perfectly innocent. The home owner may very well want to improve his property but lets use some common sense here. If I were a property owner and I wanted to improve my property to get a tax write-off, I'd improve my damn property regardless of how private the renter wanted to be. Here is the low down on taxes and improvements and repairs on rental properties:The full value of improvements cannot be deducted in the year in which they occurred. This is because improvements have a useful life and add value in subsequent years, not just in the year the improvement occurred. Improvements must be capitalized and depreciated according to a set depreciation schedule (it will be different for each asset). You must divide the cost of the improvement over the useful life of the improvement and then take an annual deduction based on the given year's expense.
Example: You performed $5,000 of work on your property. It is considered an improvement. Therefore, you must deduct it over a set depreciation schedule. We will use a depreciation schedule of 10 years. We will assume there is no salvage value, meaning it will be worth nothing after the 10 years. We will also assume straight-line depreciation, meaning the cost will be spread out evenly over the 10 years. Thus, you can claim ($5000/10) an expense of $500 each year for the next 10 years. Assuming you are at a 28% tax rate, you will save ($500*.28) $140 in taxes for the year.
Can You Deduct Repairs on Your Taxes?
Yes, you can deduct the full cost of the repair in the tax year that the repair was completed.
Example: You performed $5,000 of work on your property. It is considered a repair. As a repair, you can deduct the entire expense in the current year. Assume your tax rate is 28%. Thus, you will save ($5,000 *.28) $1400 in taxes.
Improvements vs. Repairs, Which is Better?
One is not necessarily better than the other. An improvement, such as adding an addition, adds value to your property, but the entire cost of a repair, such as fixing a roof leak, can be immediately deducted on your taxes, leaving more money in your pocket.
The ideal situation will vary depending on your needs. Some landlords need to maximize all immediate write-offs because their livelihood is dependent on their yearly rental income. In this scenario, being able to classify an expense as a repair would be beneficial because it would maximize the landlord’s after-tax dollars for the given year. However, if the landlord does not need additional deductions for the given year, extending the life of the depreciation for several years, by classifying the expense as an improvement, could be beneficial.
Many landlords and rental property owners use a loophole by placing a tenant in the property and then performing ‘repairs.’ This allows the landlord to perform more extensive maintenance that may have otherwise been classified as an improvement. With the tenant already living there, the landlord can claim that the work is necessary to keep the tenant satisfied.
For those things that could fall in a grey area between improvements and repairs, it really depends on how comfortable you and your accountant are with defending your claim against IRS scrutiny.
So if I wanted to get a tax break and improve my rental property I wouldn't need some bogus excuse about electricity bills. Also it's easy to find out what is required for discounts on doing home energy repairs by looking online at the local utilities site or if it's a state program, the state will have it online. The federal program for a discount on energy repairs expired Dec. 31st, 2013. The op said the excuse given to him when being asked for his electric bill was about taxes and not energy discounts so this probably doesn't apply but if that excuse comes up it's easy to find that info.
The op keeps talking about how laid back the landlord is. I've got a buddy who is very laid back. He's laid back as long as you don't get on certain topics and once you get on those he can be a fire breathing dragon. Maybe the landlord is laid back until you get on the subject of growing pot in one of his rentals. Who knows? Maybe he came by one day when you weren't there to check something on the outside of the house and when he was walking around he got a little whiff of something. Maybe he then decides to ask you for your electric bills because he suspects something. Maybe it's all perfectly innocent. Who knows? That is exactly the point, you don't know. You can speculate, you can hope but you don't know. My rule when growing has always been that if it looks fishy shut it down just to be safe. If it turns out to be nothing then start it up again.
To sum up, if an owner wants to improve his property to get a tax break he will improve his property and he doesn't need to get his private renters permission and he doesn't need info. on electric bills. If the landlord is suspicious and can't get the renter to offer the info. he wants and the owner is connected, he can get the info. If you live in the south and you get caught growing, Bubba will own your asshole. Again honestly this one is a no-brainer.
B
BredForMeds
ganjahow many lights are u running?
T
Tumpuh
Better safe than sorry rings true imo
excellent question. Knowing your average forum grower, he's probably sketching out over less than 1000w
I think he mentioned before he is running a 2k garden along with other lights for veg I think. He also stated that his electric bill was 3 or 4 times higher than the people before. So I mean just that in general running a 3 to 4 time higher electric bill than previous tenants and then a owner asking me for a copy of my electric bill would definitley get me a little sketched out and thinking.
Also with people that keep saying a owner cannot get a copy of a electric usage for his house are truly mistaken. One he might not have it listed as rental property. 2. Who do you think the electric company would contact if in fact they wanna offer some sort of energy tax breaks for home improvements? Definitley not the tenant because he don't own the property or house. And 3. Most landlords have a automatic account setup with the electric company on the same house so this way when a tenant moves out and shuts his electric off it will automatically go back on in the landlords name. I know many owners set it up this way with electric company's because say if a tenant moves out in the winter and shut there electric off then there heat isn't working and what happens next is a disaster pipes can freeze then next thing you know the owner is dumping thousands upon thousands to fix his house.
Also with people that keep saying a owner cannot get a copy of a electric usage for his house are truly mistaken. One he might not have it listed as rental property. 2. Who do you think the electric company would contact if in fact they wanna offer some sort of energy tax breaks for home improvements? Definitley not the tenant because he don't own the property or house. And 3. Most landlords have a automatic account setup with the electric company on the same house so this way when a tenant moves out and shuts his electric off it will automatically go back on in the landlords name. I know many owners set it up this way with electric company's because say if a tenant moves out in the winter and shut there electric off then there heat isn't working and what happens next is a disaster pipes can freeze then next thing you know the owner is dumping thousands upon thousands to fix his house.
B
BrnCow
Has anyone figured out how to block light signatures from smart meters yet?
I've wondered if an isolation transformer would do the trick you can get them for your whole house. You could also try and filter out any frequencies not of the 60 or 50 hertz variety based on your location.
That was a fantastic question and I brought it back up cuz I certaoinly hope someone can answer this. I think this can be something that is easily overlooked. You have me thinking to go check mine now and make sure the guy has to come out and check the dumb meters still.
The landlord installed the wiring and breakers when they turned the 1 family house into a 2 family house, up and downstairs.
Whenever the downstairs is doing laundry, the lights in my apt dim and flicker lightly until shes done washing.
I called the electric co to come out and see why its surging.
They tested the line and didnt find anything (because she wasnt doing laundry at the time) , so they offered to put a smart meter on the line to monitor the power draws, and at what times they occur. I kindly declined.
About 2wks later I finally figured out it was the downstairs and the washing machine.
