All Forum Posts by: Nathan Patterson

Update: Ended up replacing a water heater in the non-renovated unit.  There was a 20 gallon in the property that was emptying itself too fast after the re-pipe.  Upped it to a 40 gallon electric unit.  New tenant has moved in to the renovated side as of 3/1.  Glad to have it rented, also did some painting on the exterior to bring it up & make it a little better.  As of right now, everything is now complete.  Just sitting back & taking a breather before I start planning for the next renovation on the currently occupied unit.  That will be done, if the current tenant decides not to renew in April.  If they do, I'll still about doing some small items to make it a little better for them.  On to the photos. 

Final post: I ended up replacing the water heater with a 40 gallon unit in place of the 20 gallon.  This will be something I am adding to my list of things to look into when buying the next property that is for sure.  Thank-you everyone for the input. 

 Thank-you for your input.  I did not mean that Section 8 should be treated differently, I added that info in case there was some regulation that I am not aware of that may change people's thought process.  Such as there must be a certain size for a certain bedroom/bathroom count.  I 100% agree with you that being a landlord is about customer service & to me, providing a space to be able to live comfortable.

My delimma really came up with two third party inspectors saying there is hot water but the tenant disagrees.   Hence why I posted to get input on others thoughts process.  So far,, go ahead & change it & be done with it.  

 Thank you for the input.  I like the odea of a parallel unit.  I'll look into that as well.  

Hey Everyone, I've got a decision to make.   So I have a Housing Authority(Section 8) tenant that is stating they do not have any hot water.  I've had someone from the state & a plumber go out & confirmed there is hot water.  The unit is a 2 bed 1 bath with a 20 gallon electric water heater.  The tenant states that if I do not replace the water heater they will file a complaint with the state.  

My logic says to not replace it, the heater is from 2022 so it is not old by any means but it is definately small on a capacity side for the size of the apartment.  Though if the tenant does end up moving out, I'll probably have the same issue with the next tenants.  

Am I being unreasonable/slumlord.  Put me in my place if needed.  Right now I am leaning toward not replacing it since it is not broken & I have two non-bias parties saying it is fine.    Thanks.

Quote from @Benjamin Sulka:

Quote from @Nathan Patterson:

Update! 

It has been awhile since I updated because it has been a busy month.  What has happened so far.  Re-piping is COMPLETE, took them 2 days total.  Found 8 total leaks in the old Galvanized pipes.  Bathrooms are completed & the new shower is in.  Found out the oven is not working so in the process of having that repaired.  Hopefully it is just an element.  

Old refrigerator will be out on Thursday & new one comes in on Thursday next week.  Current tenant stated that the hot water heater was no longer heating on her side.  Had the plumber go take a look, come to find out the heater is new as of 2022 but it is only 20 gallons for a 2 bed 1 bath apartment.  He is not sure if a 40 gallon will fit in the space with the washer/dryer so that is something we are deliberating on.  May need to be upgraded when/if she moves out when the lease is up.  Something to pay more attention too with the next one.  

It is on the Market currently for $925/mo for a 2 bed 2 bath unit with a carport.  It has been on the market for one week so far & we have 6 applications.  Hoping to have it rented by March 1st.  Onward to photos! First up, 64 year old Galvanized steel pipes!  No wonder water pressure was low. 

 Interesting callout about the water heater being too small for that particular unit! Something I never even thought of. 

 I agree!  It is definitely on my list now to check on future properties. 

Completed unit! 

Update! 

It has been awhile since I updated because it has been a busy month.  What has happened so far.  Re-piping is COMPLETE, took them 2 days total.  Found 8 total leaks in the old Galvanized pipes.  Bathrooms are completed & the new shower is in.  Found out the oven is not working so in the process of having that repaired.  Hopefully it is just an element.  

Old refrigerator will be out on Thursday & new one comes in on Thursday next week.  Current tenant stated that the hot water heater was no longer heating on her side.  Had the plumber go take a look, come to find out the heater is new as of 2022 but it is only 20 gallons for a 2 bed 1 bath apartment.  He is not sure if a 40 gallon will fit in the space with the washer/dryer so that is something we are deliberating on.  May need to be upgraded when/if she moves out when the lease is up.  Something to pay more attention too with the next one.  

It is on the Market currently for $925/mo for a 2 bed 2 bath unit with a carport.  It has been on the market for one week so far & we have 6 applications.  Hoping to have it rented by March 1st.  Onward to photos! First up, 64 year old Galvanized steel pipes!  No wonder water pressure was low. 

 Thank-you, it has been a long road & a stressful one since closing.  Another update is coming shortly.  I'll message you some details as this is a public forum.  But we had north of $30,000 in reserves.  Also we are not doing ALL the renovations immediately, some of them will be done over the years of ownership, such as the roof.  

What I would suggest, do some brainstorming on how much renovations you want to deal with.  Such as cosmetic only (paint, light flooring & fixtures) or are you ok with getting a little deeper with plumbing/electrical issues, a bigger bathroom renovation etc.  

Originally I only wanted cosmetic but I was having difficulty finding those without having to compete with many other investors.  As I became more comfortable with making offers & learning more with the cost of work.  I became more willing to take on bigger items, such as re-piping.  That is something else you can do, call around & get some ideas on what things will cost.  Such as a hot water heater replacement, flooring, HVAC work etc.  

But in the end, things will ALWAYS come up.  I didn't expect to need to re-pipe this quickly.  I didn't expect to need to repair the HVAC or the surprise inspection by the housing authority that added $250 of repair work, or there being a week long freeze that upped my utilities by $450 for heating.  Anyway, hope this helps!