DIY Lessons Learned from a 28 year old investor (story)

[David Czech]

So this is a bit of a lessons learned / warning when it comes to repairing certain elements in rental properties. Very interesting so I thought I would share it with everyone: 

I got a call last week from one my tenants stating that the AC was not working in one of the units. I took a look, noted that while the AC was working, the airflow wasn't the greatest. I called up the AC repairman and they corroborated what I initially thought. AC worked, but something was preventing the maximum airflow from reaching the 2nd unit. So it turns out they recommended replacing this part called a capacitor that from my understanding, initiates the startup of the blower within the AC and allows the air to start flowing. It also controls the power / efficiency of the blower itself. The repairman stated that the capacitor in my system wasn't operating at max effectiveness and proceeded to charge me $200 to replace the part.

I said no thank you, found the part on Amazon for 5 bucks. I am not kidding. Literally $4.99. Changed it out myself, airflow is improved. This was a complete joke. Beware of such companies that will markup parts to this degree. Just wanted to share with everyone because I thought it was hilarious.

[Dylan D.]

How hard was it to replace? I had a similar thing happen with plumbing. guy quoted 1000$. Did it myself for 60$ in 5 hours. 

[David Czech]

Not hard whatsoever. Just had to take off the front panel and it looked like a battery that just needed to be unplugged and replaced. Didn't require any extensive digging. Flexed my engineering muscles (not really I have a business degree from an engineering school I just enjoy the humble brag). 

[Account Closed]

@David Czech Thanks for sharing what you learned! I'm definitely going to remember this for any future AC issues. 

[Libor Supcik]

I would be fair to mention whether the problem diagnose was the repairman's loss {and your free ride} or was it dr.Google.