Help - Rental Plumbing Issues - Cost Benefit Analysis

[Kristofer Kohlstedt]

situation: we have a duplex that is experiencing plumbing issues on the front unit. We have had three plumbers out to work on unclogging the pipes and we have also replaced a section of the pipes. Now, we are still having issues with the line getting clogged. We have had someone come out with a camera and he recommended we replace the remaining cast iron pipe from the front unit ($800-1600). We had another plumber come out and he recommended us replacing the mainline. the washout is under the driveway so the normal $3k mainline replacement is now $7-12k due to jackhammering the driveway. 

we have heard different things and we are seeking to be effective with our expenses as $7-12k is a pretty hefty expense that we would prefer not to pay if we don't have to. The other thing I began asking myself is well what is the opportunity cost of selling the duplex and putting the money into another investment. we have about $50k equity in the duplex as it sits now. we enjoy the cashflow ($500/mo) from the duplex but does the cashflow justify the cost? it would be over a year to recoup our investment in the mainline replacement and as a conservative person, I am also considering some additional expense to come up in the normal course of life and we need to expense something else. so I'd say 2-3 years before the property is profitable the way it operates now.

Open to hear thoughts and feedback on my approach as well as experience someone has had with rentals/plumbing. Thanks in advance.

Kris

[Jon Reed]

Selling it is an option.. however you will need to disclose the plumbing issues which will have a big impact on the price. Usually the drop is price is actually more than the actual repair... so I would not try to sell duplex . However, I am a buy and hold person so I have a natural tendency to lean towards keeping properties vs selling.

That would leave me with the option of repair.. and how to repair. I am a bit confused on how the driveway got poured over the main sewer line clean out... but I guess the why isn't important since it is already done. One thing I would look into is talking to a few dirt work crews in my area to see if there is another option besides removing the driveway. You may be able to get away with trenching on either side of the driveway and then tunneling under the driveway to push through a new main line. That way you will save a lot of time and money having to repour the driveway after the repair.