All Forum Posts by: Mark S.

My property manager had a plumber out to clear a bathroom sink clog. He detected a faint odor in the bathroom when he originally walked in. As he investigated further, he noticed that the drain line for the sink that goes into the wall, connecting the vent stack, was not secured. They were able to clear the p-trap under the sink but will need to cut into the wall to reconnect the drain properly. The plumber bid the repair at $935 to correct the plumbing connection in the wall and has now lowered it to $735.

Does this sound like a reasonable price to reattach one drain to the vent stack in the Dallas area (Arlington to be exact)? It seems a little pricey to me. I'd be willing to pay a premium to have my property manager handle all of this but it doesn't seem like it would take a plumber more than 1 hour to complete this repair.

1) Wholesaler

2) MLS

3),4),5) ???  [if you are a DFW wholesaler contact me! :)]

@Mindy Jensen@Tim Booz@Steve Babiak@Sergio Garcia

 Thanks all for your replies! Very helpful advice.

Thanks Mindy. I should have added these are my only properties - so I am new to the game. Since I am new to this property manager I'm not sure if I trust them yet - although this particular property manager was recommended by several other Biggerpockets members in my local area (Dallas).

For the last two rental properties I've acquired, my property manager gave me a list of items of work that I should have done to the property before showing the property (e.g., small repairs, full repaint, change out blinds, have handyman check property, etc.).  Obviously all these items add to my acquisition costs.

How do I know if my property really needs these items or whether the property manager is just trying to make it easier on themselves to find a tenant? Upon finding a tenant, the property manager gets paid a certain percentage of the first month's rent.

My lack of trust is due to the fact that the people who sold me the house lived there happily with their 3 year old paint or other non-critical items that may need a repair.

Thanks for any input!

My property manager charges 9% monthly.

Marco - I'm not sure what you mean by "monthly take" on the lease commissions. These are one-time charges.

7.5% is a pretty good monthly percentage but my property management company only charges 85% of first month's rent to find a tenant and 15% of the first month on lease renewals. So it seems charging a full month's rent on a lease renewal is too much.

Great purchase. I am in the same boat as you - full time job which makes it stressful to view properties on short notice.

My friend is pleased with Get There First Realty (dfwlandlord.com)

I am using OneProp Inc. (onepropdfw.com) based on several recommendations here on Biggerpockets but don't have much experience with them yet.