u/Teacher_mermaid

I know the investigation is ongoing, but what did Gary’s sisters know about the condition of the house and children?

I’m not naming names but there is a picture of Gary’s sister with the parents sitting on a green bench in front of that house. There is no way she didn’t know about the state of the home.

Also, Elizabeth’s mom knew she had a lot of kids, but never once was concerned enough to visit or ask for a welfare check? I don’t think she lived far away. Was all of this just ignored and swept under the rug?

This is our fourth summer hosting. Our cottage sleeps 8 but our guest count is usually 3-5 people. The old owners sold us the place directly and said one 96 gallon trash bin was enough for a family of 6 living there full time. Trash is picked up weekly from a private waste company (not city).

One bin worked for the first two summers, but I started noticing more and trash as we got busier. I ended up having to take a bag of two home between turnarounds- not fun.

Finally I requested another 96 gallon bin from the waste company and that seemed to solve the problem - so I thought.

We’re having groups of 8 fill up an entire bin in one weekend. We had a family of 4 fill up an entire bin after 4 days. Plus trash from cleaners. I ended up having to get a smaller bin for interim trash between trash days. I’m hoping this finally solves the problem. It stresses me out because guests will obviously complain if there’s no room in the bin for their trash.

Do you charge for excessive trash? I’m trying to understand what’s reasonable. To me, it’s reasonable to take out the trash once per day. Do you have bins or a dumpster? Guest count?

This will be our fourth summer season hosting at our cottage on one of the Great Lakes. The cottage next door used to have full time tenants who were great - very laid back and chill. Now, the owner is renting it on Airbnb. It’s described as a peaceful getaway.

The owner and I are pretty close and have developed a good relationship as we try to help each other out. I’ve given her a lot of tips and advice regarding the platform.

Before every stay, I go out back on the deck and patio and clean for a little under an hour. We have great reviews regarding cleanliness.

-use leaf blower
-clean grill
-wipe down tables and furniture.
-wipe down deck railing.
-break up any spiderwebs.
-spray bug spray to prevent new ones (we do get quarterly pest control)
-check propane tank - replace if necessary.

We had some folks coming Saturday for Mother’s Day weekend and I came Friday evening. The cottage next door had 3 adults and a small child outside. The houses are separated by my privacy fence and then it’s about 40 feet until the other house/yard. Our deck extends over the lake so I would have been in their sight line if I was on the deck. However they couldn’t see me on the patio because of the privacy fence.

Anyways, they definitely seemed annoyed when I was leaf blowing though I tried to keep it short. I was also clanging around with the grill but obviously it’s my house too and I can’t refrain from doing my maintenance tasks just because they’re nearby.

I hope this doesn’t lead to a bad review for my friend. My husband said I’m overthinking everything and that people understand that neighbors exist and will make noise within reason.

I’m nervous about the upcoming season with both Airbnbs right next to each other. I could see ours being more of the problem because it hosts more people and the deck is in their sight line. Her guests seem to stay longer whereas we have a lot of 2 night stays. So I’ll be out back a lot cleaning in between guests.

Anyone have experience with nearby Airbnbs coexisting? I obviously don’t want to disturb outside neighbors (guests) but I need to maintain the outdoor space for my guests too.