Cost to Replace Toilet Fill Valve & Supply Line: Is $365 accurate costs from my PM?

[Cory M.]

I just got billed $365 by my property manager for replacing a toilet fill valve and supply line. That seems a bit high to me, but I figured I should check before I get too upset about it. Does anyone local to Memphis know what the going rate for simple repairs like that should be? 

Checking Home Depot, it looks like parts would be $30 or less. That leaves $335 for labor and the property manager's fees. Is it reasonable for me to ask the property manager for a breakdown of parts/labor costs?

[Adam Bartomeo]

Memphis or not, that is very high. A licensed plumber charges us $350 to change a toilet but using my Maintenance Techs we charge the owners $250 to change a toilet - that is with parts and labor. Changing a fill valve will be about $100. You will want to check to see why it is so high.

[Reed Rickenbach]

What does your management agreement say about up charging repairs? In my limited exposure to using PMs in Memphis (I self-manage), most had a scale of upcharge depending on the cost of the service. 

That does seem high. Depending on the size of your PM company they may or may not have an internal maintenance position to handle these. If they don't, they likely contracted it out and added a 20% mark-up on the service. 

I run a small maintenance company in Memphis that handles things like this for investors for this exact reason. 

[Jaron Walling]

That's a $150-200 max job all day long. <1hr of labor but everyone rounds up. 

You got stiffed a bit in my opinion. 

[Nathan Gesner]

Parts are less than $30 but may be marked up by the plumber. Labor should be $100/hour. This is definitely less than $150 with a plumber, unless they run into some issues.

Any handyman can do this job for less than $80.

The high price is probably due to your PM hiring a plumber when they should have hired a handyman to save you some money. But even a plumber shouldn't charge $365. I would want to see the invoice and have a chat with the PM about their responsibility to protect my income.

[John Morgan]

@Cory M.

I’d ask them for a break down. They shouldn’t be charging you over $300/hour for labor. $150 should have covered all this. You got ripped off big time.

[Cory M.]

Quote from @John Morgan:

@Cory M.

I’d ask them for a break down. They shouldn’t be charging you over $300/hour for labor. $150 should have covered all this. You got ripped off big time.

That's kind of the feeling I got when I saw it. I just wanted to double check before I escalated things.

[Brendan Conley]

No matter where you live, that is very high. I think $100/ hour for labor plus $50 for parts is fair.

[Kevin Sobilo]

@Cory M., I agree with the above responses about this being a $150 job if hired out to a plumber. In my area I might even have a handyman do it for about $100 total.

The one area where this could be a little more expensive is if they also replaces the shutoff valve for the toilet. Sometimes, especially when the valve doesn't hold completely, a plumber might want to replace this valve when replacing the supply line. The valve and labor could add a bit more to the bill but still not to the level you were charged in my opinion.

[Jake Knight]

Given what everyone previously stated that I agree with, definitely check with your PM to see if they made an accounting error - that can happen from time to time.

[Bill B.]

I just had one done. $150 labor and $100 for a brand new toilet all day long. 

[Calvin Thomas]

Quote from @Cory M.:

I just got billed $365 by my property manager for replacing a toilet fill valve and supply line. That seems a bit high to me, but I figured I should check before I get too upset about it. Does anyone local to Memphis know what the going rate for simple repairs like that should be? 

Checking Home Depot, it looks like parts would be $30 or less. That leaves $335 for labor and the property manager's fees. Is it reasonable for me to ask the property manager for a breakdown of parts/labor costs?

 In metro NYC, it's around $275/$300 all day.  It is wise for the PM to use a licensed plumber. Reason being, if something goes wrong, the PM is covered (and so are you) by the plumber's insurance and license.

Apparently, this is around the same price other people around the US are paying.  See below.

https://www.reddit.com/r/askaplumber/comments/1dec1o2/is_this_a_reasonable_price/?rdt=49346

It's never worth being penny wise and dollar foolish.

[Gustavo Delgado]

What! Hell nah! I am going to assume you do not live in the property area to where you can go and do it your self! 

[Marcus Auerbach]

Too much. I assume there will be more to the story, like they had to go there 3 times for some reason etc.. 

[Bruce Woodruff]

Quote from @Kevin Sobilo:

@Cory M., I agree with the above responses about this being a $150 job if hired out to a plumber. In my area I might even have a handyman do it for about $100 total.

I agree! 100% way too high.......

[Cory M.]

Good news. I got the property manager on the phone. It was mistakenly charged as if they had done each task as a different trip, rather than all of them in one trip. The cost should be getting reduced significantly.

[Katie Miller]

Quote from @Cory M.:

Good news. I got the property manager on the phone. It was mistakenly charged as if they had done each task as a different trip, rather than all of them in one trip. The cost should be getting reduced significantly.

 Good job saving yourself hundreds with a single phone call!