Should I buy a new catalytic combustor if I'll only use it one year?

I have a cheap landlord. I opened up my stove this week and found out there is no catalytic combustor present within. My landlord said he would split the cost with me and a combustor for my stove costs $200.00 so I'd pay $100.00. I'll be heating mostly by wood this winter (at least one cord) and wonder if I should spend the $100.00 or not? In my conversation with my landlord he also indicated I will be evicted at the end of my lease because he wants to sell the house, if not to me then to somebody else.

I guess it boils down to, will I have to buy more than and extra $100.00 of wood if I don't buy the combustor? I have an old DutchWest FA455 (sequoia).

Todd,

thanks for the information on www.stovecombustors.com. I looked up my model and got a new combustor. Reviews on this newer kind of combustor looks good too.

Jim Walsh said:

Tell him you'll split the $200 cost and you'll do the install. Buy the $85 one and then tell him to give you the $100. Return the Cat and spend the $185 on a cord of wood.

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Gee Jim, that's a pretty good idea. That will give me a $100 credit. Sort of like playing lowball, but I do have a signed contractual agreement which states the landlord will be responsible for those kinds of repairs. I am having the chimney inspected/cleaned as well on my own dime (not that I care if the house burns down since my lease won't be renewed, but because I don't want to lose my stuff, some of it is irreplaceable).

mtarbert, yes honest dealings are the right way to go, but sometimes you have to do what you can to fight dishonesty. I have a contract with my landlord which says he will pay for these things (and in the case of the chimney sweep it would actually be in his best interest). The only reason my next rent payment isn't going into an escrow account at the county courthouse (we can do that in my state until the landlords shows he is upholding his end of the contract) is because the house is going up for sale and I don't want to make the landlord upset as my wife and I will probably put in a bid for the house at a lower than market price and I would like to make my chances of that offer being accepted as high as possible.

Jim Walsh said:

author="mtarbert" date="1197153365 You failed to mention if the stove is the primary source of heat in your unit.If it is not then the only person who benifits from the stove is You.

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Matthew Posted: 06 December 2007 01:38 AM

I’ll be heating mostly by wood this winter (at least one cord) and wonder if I should spend the $100.00 or not?

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Mike,

He already told us it would be the primary.

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To clarify there is also a heat pump in the house, but my lease agreement says he will be responsible for maintenance, except for lawn care, light bulbs and a couple other small things only the insane would ask to be paid for.

Jim Walsh said:

Sometimes you have to fight fire with fire.

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I agree. A deal is a deal and if one end is not going to fulfill their contractual obligation then as far as I'm concerned I will use ANY means to make the score even. I have been a landlord and I will tell you one thing: if I ever had a tenent which caused no problems and always paid their rent in full and on time for 9 straight months, and never asked for anything in those 9 months except a cat and a chimney cleaning (so my house won't burn down); there is no way I would ever say no to the $250 it would cost to do that. Expecially if I had a contract which stated I would do those repairs. Seriously $250 mainenance over a one year time period on a house, that is one lucky landlord even if he followed his contract and paid all of it.

Jim,

First right of refusal contract...... Tell me more (I'll search it out myself as well). My landlord is not the brightest bulb in the shed, and he told me the house will go on the market once my lease is done (last day of March). He has this price in his head he wants, got it from an appraisor at one time. There is a $50,000 difference between what they owe and what they think it should list at (the house was for rent or sale when I rented it, as a for sale by owner). I know they are struggling financially because he was wining and complaining to me about how they can't afford the payment on the house once their ARM readjusts come spring, and how my rent just covers the carrying costs on the house so they can't really afford to pay for a cat or chimney cleaning (their logic not mine). Then they go on to tell me this is in addition to their three kids all in college at the same time and how the airlines cut their saleries big time and he was forced to come back at a much lower wage, ect, ect, ect.......

Also when I rented the house they had just evicted a buyer who couldn't make their payments (land contract deal). They are too cheap to pay a realtor (actually complained to me they they might have to pay for one LOL).

So in short it would be nice to get the house at a decent price, I figure make an offer once I have another option lined up (I'll move as soon as I find a house now as my lease ends in March). Problem is I actually think, from talking to them, that they will still want their appraisors price even if I give them an AS IS sales agreement saving them from listing with a realtor, paying for an empty house, and not having to do a few thousand dollars worth of repairs, ect....... so I'll probably have to live elsewhere....

One thing for certain, wherever I go I'm taking my new Cat!

Yup I'm going to wait until the right house at the right price before I buy. I still need to meet with my financial advisor so I have a firm number as far as how much house I can afford, but after that I'm going to start looking. If I can't get the house I'm in (unlikely, but possible, the wife likes it), then I plan to just rent a storage locker and a one bedroom apartment until I find the right house. I've found you can always get a better deal when you have time on your side, and are flexable.