All Forum Posts by: Mike McCarthy

If as part of your flip you're doing a lot of landscaping or hardscaping, it may be worthwhile as 'insurance'. But otherwise, it's going to cost the same amount and headache whether you replace it today, next week, or next year. No real benefit unless you're experiencing issues that may be related.

I used them a while back and was overall pleased. They charge $99 for a measure. Installation is free for normal rooms. Stairs are additional. Also if it's 3rd floor or higher, there may be an extra fee - but admittedly, I might be confusing this with their appliance delivery. I don't recall there being an extra cost for tack strips or anything additional (other than the staircase). The installer did a good job. They made it easy and cheap. The only thing I don't like about HD/Lowes installation is everything is a few levels of communication. You never actually talk to the installer until they are at your house. Any scheduling concerns, or installation issues, you talk to an operator who refers it to a manager, etc. That's the one reason I'd often rather use a local carpet place. It's a small company who's willing to work with you, and you're one call from the store owner if needed.

In my opinion, AC units should be checked/maintained every 2-3 years. (Filters replaced yearly or 2x per season) Gas furnaces about the same timeframe. Oil boilers need yearly maintenance. Any more than that I think is overkill unless something is sounding or seeming wrong with it.

Most areas Mike Creswell is correct. There are some (Philadelphia from personal knowledge) puts all the repair costs into the homeowner. I would definitely dig deeper though. Maybe if the meter is looking a bit old and rusty, the water company will come out and do both projects at once. :)

You can do it yourself - two different options: 1) go to Google webmaster tools. You'll need to create a login and verify the domain is yours. Then you can submit it for search. It takes ~10 minutes if you've never done it before, and 2 minutes if you have. Then follow up and do the same thing with yahoo and bing. You can do other search engines too, but I don't know anyone who uses them. 2) get you site linked to by other sites. Do some blog posts, anything to get your website published. (I don't know the rules here on BP, but I think you can even add it to your profile). Search engines will follow the links and a start indexing your site. The best solution is to do both. #1 'primes the pump' and #2 gets you higher in search rankings. If you do decide to pay someone to help you market your website and help with SEO, make sure they are working for you. There are a LOT of companies out there that will promise you the SEO world. Few will do what it actually takes which is real marketing to make it happen.

I'm not a lawyer, but my understanding is your only true worry is if you intentionally hide or cover up something significant. Hole in the roof and just throw some shingles over it. Dead bodies under the slab, things like that. They would have to prove that you intentionally deceived them and actively tried to cover it up. If the roof leaks in the first few months there are there, there are clauses in your buy/sell contract that the house is sold as-is. If you're doing things up to code and reasonable workmanship, you're a few steps ahead of a lot of flippers out there.

No issue with that if you're replacing all the plumbing anyway. I would plan on cutting and capping the main line a few feet after the shutoff. If it's copper pipe, a Sharkbite cap works great - just push it on. Older valves usually don't shut off completely and will keep dropping. Depending on the amount of drip, a bucket could work as well. Though a cap will also prevent a mess if someone accidentally turns the valve back on!

Yup, what Derrick Williams said. You don't want obstructions, but the trap will prevent any nasty sewer smells from coming up the sink. The pvc is easily replaceable and easily cleanable, so either way is fine. I would usually clean the plunger since the 'after-market' ones are usually cheap. But again, you're only talking a few bucks either way.

It's common for the sink plunger and trap to pick up hair, soap, and turn it into things that nightmares are made of. There's nothing really wrong with it, unfortunately they just need to be fished out occasionally with a wire coat hanger. Normally no replacement is needed, maybe just a good wash. Add in some bleach for good measure, but it's not really necessary. I wouldn't use the m-word (mold). It's easy to clean and replace if necessary. Granted, there's probably all sorts of bacteria growing in there - thus the smell, but it's nothing to concern you or your tenants. Just clean it every once in a while - and show the tenants how to too.

I keep hearing about all these people who will move to Canada when either candidate wins... maybe we should all be investing up north!