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Updated over 11 years ago, 06/14/2013
Inspector found Plumbing Issues.. What do you usually do?
Hello BP Community!
I closed on my first flip property yesterday and had a full inspection done on the property today. I had the inspector do a walk-through with me prior to purchasing so I pretty much knew already what to expect; however, today was the official inspection so he obviously got to study the extent of the issues he had previously found.
So basically, the plumbing seems to be the one major problem in this particular property. The house has galvanized pipes. Assuming the entire plumbing system hasn't been touched in nearly 50 years, it's a pretty good chance the pipes are corroded. While the inspector only found one visible leak, I honestly feel like it's just a matter of time until the rest of the system gives out on me, or worse- the new owner.
A little bit about the property: it is a single-family home, about 2200 square feet, corner lot, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths and was built in 1963. Renovated homes in the neighborhood sell between 180k to 245k dependent upon square footage and quality of upgrades. I would say about 70% are 3 bedroom, 2 baths with about 1400 to 1650 square feet. There are 2 sold homes in the past 6 months that are similar in size to my property that were completely upgraded. On the MLS it stated that the first property had a complete new plumbing system while the other said something to the extent of "upgraded plumbing fixtures." The first one with new plumbing sold for $208,545 in 20 days and the second sold for $217,000 in 23 days. However, there was a property in the same neighborhood that was flipped with only 1400 square feet with 3 beds/2 baths that just closed last week for $244,000 after being on the market for 26 days! I actually went in the property to get a feel for the competition's work and I have to admit, I was extremely impressed! Nothing noted about new plumbing on that property.
So my question would be for the experienced rehabbers/flippers. Do you go by "if it's broke, don't fix it," and simply fix the existing plumbing problems? Or would you go ahead and replace the entire plumbing system? We are talking about a huge price difference obviously so that's why I'm interested in what most of y'all would do.
Since this is my first flip, I just want to make sure I do everything correctly. I care tremendously about my reputation, as well as other flippers' reps, and want to make sure I give the new owners a home they can depend on!
Also, I'm having 4 different estimates done tomorrow on the plumbing. Does anyone have a base price I can expect to see for an entire new plumbing system?
Thanks in advance for all of your replies!