All Forum Posts by: Michael McCartney

If you're looking for hard numbers SA Waste Management is rolling out a new program for the price of garbage collection. Depending on the size of trash can you have will dictate your monthly trash bill.

96 gallon bin $22.18 a month

64 gallon bin $20.93 a month

48 gallon bin $20.43 a month

Like someone said these numbers are included in the electric bill.

My monthly sewer service charge is $30.31 and this is on the water bill. There are some other fees that come to about $10-$13 a month for the water bill in addition to the actual water usage fee. But like many had said before on a SFH the tenant should be paying all of this. If a multifamily that is metered separately for each unit then the tenant will pay electricity. If water is shared you will probably be on the hook for that.

@Andrew Meyer

Yea that is a good point. On one of my other rentals the tenant is a head chef and loves the gas stove. I've been thinking a lot about it the past 48 hours and with the point you made about tenants liking the gas stove I think I want to leave it. I also saw the yearly operating cost (yellow sticker that comes with appliances and water heaters) of water heaters and the gas is about $300 a month less to operate. I think I am now leaning towards keeping the gas water heater and placing it on the back of the house.

@Nicholas B. I will mention that the house is gutted and removing the gas line is as easy as taking my sawz-all and cutting it out. There will be an additional expense for running the additional wiring for the electric stove but that should not be that expensive, especially since everything is gutted.

I just bought a duplex and am fixing it up before renting it out. There is a gas water heater  in the kitchen and we are moving it under the house (pier and beam (yes there is plenty of room down there for a short boy water heater)) but the plumber said we could not do gas under the house because of code issues and he does not feel comfortable putting one down there because if there is a gas leak it'll seep through the bottom of the house. Not a problem, we decided to go with an electric model. There is a gas stove and gas outlets in every room to plug in space heaters. Plumber suggested that I completely remove all the gas outlets since gas space heaters are dangerous and the window units have a heat option which is fine for our "winters" in south Texas.

If I do away with the gas water heater and the gas outlets that would only leave gas for the stove. I was wondering if it would be a good idea to have that be electric as well. I know gas is cheaper but all the bills will be in the tenants name and not having any gas in the house would help me from a liability point of view because if something were to go wrong with gas it usually does not end well.

Just wondering your thoughts on doing away with gas completely.

@Brad Smith I know you were talking about rewiring your house a few weeks ago Brad. How is everything going? What did you decided to do with the electrical problems?

@Aroldo Villarreal it has been my experience with trenching that it is much cheaper to hire a laborer yourself instead of having a company do it. 12" wide and 2" deep is a lot of dirt but depending on the size of the house I think two guys could knock it out in two days and would cost less than $500 depending on how much you paid to the laborers per hour.

I would see what Frank says about the foundation and if he says the same thing ask both the foundation guys how much it would be if you did all the trenching.

Have you thought about staining the concrete? It looks really good, will probably be your cheapest option, cleans really well between tenants, stays cool in the summer. I converted my garage into a studio and there was already concrete floors. I stained them myself the total cost came under $1.00 per square foot and all you need is warm soapy water to clean.

@Beau Romstedt do you know where a diyer can purchase different types of hardie siding? I am not a fan of the cedarmill cut that is only offered at home depot or lowes. Is there a way for me to order directly from James Hardie?

@Don Meinke I will check it out. I am pretty particular about that profile I want so I will see if they offer different options.

@Michael Letarte No way! I actually might take you up on that offer. I could even swing a hammer or help out for a few hours at no cost to you! I was also wondering where they sold the siding, it is a pain to find if you're not a contractor or installer. They have some at home depot but I was looking to not go with the cedarmill cut but something a little more architecturally friendly like the colonial smooth or the beaded smooth.

Do it. You can sit and analyze deals all day but you don't really learn until you get one and actual go through the process.

How much would you put down? what are you assuming for the mortgage and rate?

Also the basement idea is a must. I had a duplex that had a detached garage, I converted it into a studio and am now renting it for $650. Greatest thing I ever did. Its almost like getting another property for $15k. Not sure if you mean $15k for both or $15k for each, if the latter then you will make about a 40% return on those basements if $15k for both then those will pay for themselves in less than 2 years.