Wow, thanks for posting that. I had read otherwise, that it is illegal to use someone else's pattern to make a garment for sale. However, some patterns DO say you can't use them to make items for profit. I've also seen some (indie-type pattern makers, not big companies like McCall's) web sites where you can buy the pattern AND pay extra to use it for your for-profit sewing business. Hmmm...lots of food for thought here.

I did a search but couldn't find a thread on this. I am thinking of starting a small scale business sewing some children's clothes, maybe some fabric headbands and tote bags. I am pretty sure I wouldn't legally be able to use others' patterns without violating copyright laws, unless it is explicity stated in the pattern/book that this is permissible. However, there are so MANY patterns/tutorials that look so similar, for example: a little girl's sundress with a shirred bodice and shoulder straps. I could easily draft my own pattern after doing some math. It's basically two rectangles, shirred at the top, with straps. There are MANY patterns like that...how would I prove I didn't use any of them? Or a tote bag. I could easily make a rectangular tote bag from fabric without using any pattern, but it will look like other tote bags. Right now I'm not planning to sell online, though that could change. I would be selling at craft fairs, church bazaars, etc. Should I worry about copyright infringement? How should I protect myself?

For Christmas Eve, we are having a couple of different kinds of soup, and maybe homemade bread if I get ambitious. On Christmas morning, we will have homemade cinnamon rolls and a breakfast casserole. Then we will travel to dh's mom's house to celebrate with them on the 26th. She is having brisket for sandwiches. I am bringing homemade rolls and a vegetable salad. Everyone else will bring side dishes and we all bring snacks.

I understand what you are saying, and maybe blogging is not a huge risk, but you are putting yourself out there for potentially anyone in the world who has internet access. That's what makes it different than just being out and about, going to the grocery store, etc. You are exposing yourself to (potentially) way more people online. I'm not telling anyone not to blog, but I do think the risk is different than just being out in your community. I'm not sure how to measure that risk. I guess it depends on how many visitors and readers you have.

Wow, that's creepy but good to know.

I have a private blog but haven't written on it lately. I didn't get that much traffic when it wasn't private. It's mainly for family. On one beautiful, interesting blog I have read in the past, the mom mentioned that she'd taken down some info because they thought it gave away too much. I wondered if she really did have "privacy" so, from stuff she'd already said, I did a Google search and quickly found out who she was, where they lived, etc. I thought about emailing her (she has quite a few readers) but I never did. I was afraid she'd see me as a stalker when I was just curious about blogger anonymity. I don't really care where she lives. If it were you, would you want to know how easily your identity and whereabouts could be discovered?

Yes, we're going to take them to court over the $$$ they owe us in back rent and damages. Ripping out the carpet, having the floors properly cleaned and sealed because of all the dog urine, and then putting in new carpet is going to be VERY VERY expensive. Don't know how much of that we can recoup in wage garnishment, but the eviction guy says you can get someone to track them. The judgment is good for five years and then can be renewed. So, former tenant, good luck trying to get a loan, get a job, get another apartment... I feel very strongly that others should be warned about these people. MissKNG, I like your parents' idea of including a page listing the expenses for various kinds of damage! We might have to borrow that one.

I haven't read most of the replies, but I am not a short order cook either. I also do not have kids with health issues. I'm sure I'd handle things different if that were so. It really bugs me when kids whine to get what they want. I made a habit of not listening to whining. If they didn't want to eat Food A, I tried to persuade them but I didn't force it. None of our kids are picky eaters. They eat almost all fruits and vegetables, and mixed foods like casseroles, stir fry, etc. I am always puzzled when kids do not like any vegetables or have only a short list of foods they will eat. I think a lot of it is learned behavior. (I am talking about kids without health issues.) I was at a dinner a few days ago where a tired mom juggling young boys was trying to get her whiney kindergartener to eat just one bite of chicken so he could have a cookie. He fussed, fumed, pouted, and complained that it had "touched the green beans". Finally he put a teensy corner of the chicken into his mouth...he couldn't have eaten more than a crumb if anything. Then he got to have a chocolate chip cookie. In my mind, that is teaching kids that if they whine and wear down their parents long enough, they will get their way. So whining works for them. I feel for the mom! Her dh was working late so she was handling the boys alone. I tried to encourage the kid to eat his chicken (it really was delicious!) but mostly I kept my mouth shut. If my kid had behaved that way, I would have just said, "That's fine. You don't have to eat it. But you're not getting a cookie or anything else so stop whining." Honestly, with seven kids I have rarely had to do that, because they know that whining to me or dh doesn't work.

Yeah, right, we became landlords because we were filthy rich. :rolleyes: We actually started out young and poor like many other married couples and have worked hard to get where we are. We do have mortgages, property taxes, insurance, and upkeep to pay. But I guess it's still all OUR fault for what happened to them. How dare we not let them live there for free?? You know, we have had renters who had a hard month or two financially. The people who communicate with us and actually try to catch up on their rent...that's a totally different story. We try to work with people. The tenant we just evicted did nothing but lie and give us the runaround. There's no way we can work with someone like that.

I am still trying to wrap my head around what motivates people to destroy others' property...to feel they are entitled to keep living there without paying rent, to lie, and then to ask for a few more weeks!!! I'm guessing they may have started, or escalated, the trashing of the place when we began the eviction procedure right before Thanksgiving, because they were angry with us...how DARE we try to evict them. I just don't understand AT ALL. It's almost impossible for me to put myself in their shoes. When I rented as a single person, I'd have been mortified if an animal urinated on the carpet even once, and I'd have cleaned it with a carpet cleaner. I always cleaned everything before I moved out...floors, kitchen, bathrooms, vacuumed the carpets, dusted, etc. I left no trash or personal property behind. Doesn't life ever catch up with these people??? How do they keep on taking advantage of people and playing them, lying, etc., and getting away with it? That is one of my main motivations for going after them legally, so that maybe they'll have to take the consequences of their actions, and whenever some future prospective landlord or employer checks them out, they'll see this. Maybe I can help someone else avoid what we experienced.

Oh my gosh, Charity!! No wonder you're mad! Is that mad as in angry or mad as in crazy? I actually feel like both right now. Your stories do top mine, but definitely don't make me feel any better because someone else has been in a worse situation. How horrible.

Renee, you can come be my tenant!! I do feel bad for the good people who want to rent, and may have a hard time because landlords are jaded by the creeps who destroy their property, don't pay, disappear, etc. We have had (and do currently have) some very good renters, so I know they're out there. I'm just going to be extra cautious.

Well, she does own a decent car, a small SUV...hmmm.

They don't have much money but as far as I know she still does have a job. The first hearing is already over...the eviction hearing. My friend who has had a successful eviction business for over twenty years walked me through everything. The eviction hearing is for possession of the property only. I don't understand what the difference is between getting a judgment and going to small claims court. Isn't that a judgment, too? And from what I understand, even if you get the judgment against them, the court does nothing to force them to pay. You have to garnish their wages.

Oh my gosh, that story tops mine. A meth lab??? And little children? So so horrible for you AND those little kids.

Melissa, She does work, at a dog boarding place. We had to call her at work because her pay-as-you-go phone ran out of minutes. I know what you mean about quitting their job once you garnish wages, but I'm going to look into the skip-trace company recommended by someone else on this thread.

Tigger, Yes, I had already planned to take photos and document. Thanks for the info about the skip-trace company. I had never heard of that before.

Oh yes. We'll fix it up and re-rent. BUT this time we will be doing more thorough checks (like a nationwide credit check) as well as the background check we did before.

Oh, you can be sure they haven't heard the last from us!

Yes, we can add in the cost of repairs when we sue her through small claims court. It's tough. You can legally have their wages garnished, but if they change jobs then it's hard to get it. I'm not sure what you do then. I am just so upset. They kept giving us the runaround and my husband kept hoping she'd come through with some $$$, knowing we may not see ANYTHING after we evicted her.

I wrote about this previously here: http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=328628 Our tenant contested the eviction, so yesterday we went before the judge who gave us immediate possession, even though she cried, said she was pregnant with no one to help her move, etc. (First I had heard of the alleged pregnancy, but whatever) She also LIED to the judge under oath, telling him her version of what happened, but it didn't change anything. As we were leaving the courtroom, both she and her boyfriend (who wasn't on the lease and moved in after she did) tried to persuade me to give them a few more days. I just looked at her and said, "You didn't pay." How would she feel if her employer didn't pay her??? She owes us a big chunk of October's rent, and paid NOTHING in November or December. Today we met the court officers at the property to change the locks. No one was there. They left some trash and miscellaneous personal property, but the WORST PART IS that the carpet is full of dog urine and in some rooms DOG PILES that are dry. One bedroom seems to have been a puppy room, from the stains and piles. She did have permission to have a black lab, which she paid a nonrefundable pet deposit for. She works at a dog boarding place and trains dogs on the side. No wonder she had a fly problem!!! (which she only told me about after the notice to vacate was put on her door) The carpet is full of all kinds of other stains...like red Koolaid or something. They CUT the carpet in the living room in one section...who knows why, and left a nice hole in the wall in the kitchen. Their dog scratched near the baseboard and gouged the dry wall in a couple big spots. They were only there three months, but the wear and tear is beyond what I'd expect of a family with small kids living there for YEARS. And we have seven kids and know about wear and tear! The boyfriend was a Bob Marley fan judging from posters left, and painted one wall of the basement bedroom BLACK, and wrote a Bob Marley quote in 3D glow-in-the-dark glue on it. He also left one of his bongs in a kitchen cupboard. At least I'm pretty sure that's what it is. I am SO ANGRY. Before the trial, our lawyer met with them in another room to try to settle. They asked if they could stay till the end of the month, but the had no money for us. Of course they didn't!!! But they wanted to stay a few more weeks for FREE. What is it with people like this??? They have no respect for anyone else or their property. They are just trying to get a free ride as long as they can. :angry: She asked the judge, to clarify, "They are not asking for back rent? They just want us to leave?" The judge told her yes. That's right; that's all that trial was about, but it doesn't mean we're not going to go through small claims court. CAN I SCREAM NOW???

We do get a security deposit, but I like the idea of the last month's rent as well. Around here it doesn't take that long to evict, unless the tenant is military and is deployed. Otherwise, for non-payment of rent you can get them out in a couple of weeks or so, even less if the tenant does not contest it.

Yes, that is how I took what you wrote. But I thought you might be warning me that we might have some legal problems with them. As far as I can tell, it will be pretty straightforward. So even if they think they are in the right (and they certainly may), they don't really have a leg to stand on legally.

Joanne, They may try to argue their way out of it in court, but the plain facts are that they owe us over 1.5 months of rent and we will be given back possession of the property. This case is merely about possession, not about how much they owe us. That is separate. It's actually pretty cut-and-dried, but sometimes people take it this far because it buys them a little extra time. I just hope they haven't trashed the place!! And yes, I can be gracious if a renter is honest and communicates with us, and is normally good about paying rent. I am willing to work something out with someone who is truly in a predicament. That is such a different scenario. I *wish* that was all we were dealing with this time! Ah well. Live and learn.

I have learned that we will need to crack down sooner when someone is late with rent, ESPECIALLY if they have not established themselves as someone who is normally reliable, but just had some unexpected expenses or lost their job. We just can't afford to let someone live in a place for months without paying. Charity is one thing, but this is a business. We try to be fair and to make repairs in a prompt manner, but we cannot put up with lying, avoiding, non-paying tenants. Of course, the careful background checks and credit reports should help in weeding out those who are irresponsible.