All Forum Posts by: Nicholas DeGaetani

 Hey bud - to be clear, as you may not have read all my other comments, I don't think anyone believes the smell is not a serious concern. Appreciate the link. Fortunately, this was remediated this morning and confirmed by the inspector. Challenges included having multiple representatives not be able to positively confirm the smell for multiple months after hours of trying to replicate. My ultimate take aways are:

1. The truth is probably somewhere inbetween the contractor and the tenant observations

2. Ask for an independent assessment to confirm due diligence if there's a hint or suspicion that a problem is significant

3. Don't write a partial post on Bigger pockets to vent/complain. Full details matter, and even then, not all of the details will be read.

4. Post to BP sooner to get a sanity check - you guys all have fantastic feedback and there's a lot of wisdom here.

Thanks!

Hey, just to clarify, the work was completed in 30 minutes and approved by the inspector pretty quickly, so that's a win. With this Coronavirus shut down the plumber has a long standing relationship with the Head City Inspector, so he was able to confirm the repair while the entire city is shut down.

And also to be clear, any consideration to evict is not directly related to the plumbing problem - their rent and utility payments have been late for 4 months in a row...but certainly understand how perception could tie those two things together. Currently, no plan to evict or send notice unless it continues again.

Hey Theresa, in an unrelated matter, the tenants are *crap* for paying rent and utilities on time, so my attorney advised to consider that route to evict. Appreciate the vote for replacing the plumber, and totally agree to not renew. Appreciate you taking the time to share thoughts.

Hey Greg - apparently my sarcasm and fatigue with small children got to me...so here goes... I've got a detailed log of immediately calling the plumber out to find a problem spot in the plumbing and fix/replace it. It didn't take 6 months to do that. What I mean is it took 6 months to conclude that main vent didn't go through the roof to vent. So along the way I patched, replaced, and upgraded plumbing on a house built in 1900 :-)

Not dodging responsibility here - just looking to commiserate over a ******** situation - pun intended. As noted above in another reply to similar comment, every mistake is a learning opportunity, and I'm happy to say I've learned a few.

I'm going to discuss why it took so long with the existing plumber and see what he can do for me on price with this job. I'm going to also look around for another plumber. I'm also going to add to my due diligence checklist...do not buy a home built in 1900 without positive confirmation of a few details...

Lol, thanks! And from bad to worse as the city is closed through next week...Now I wait and weep.

 Hey JD - duly noted. Maybe my write up was laissez faire, but trust me when I say I responded to each compliant in a timely manner and followed the advice of the professional. I suppose fixing a section of cracked sewer pipe and not being able to replicate the smell could postpone finding the problem. And sure, I'm a new landlord, so I definitely admit the lesson learned here is move on to another plumber if a timely analysis of root cause is not completed. I guess I am love struck with the guy...I'm in Seattle...he's recommended by my best friend's dad who is an architect/builder in the city my property is...he's super responsive and quick to get started...my hands are tied. What can a remote landlord do buy complain?

How about this? I realize I could have pressed with another plumber to provide an independent assessment. Lesson learned! I also realize now I should have paid $500 for a smoke test when I was doing due diligence before buying. Would have saved me a bunch!

[RANT] My tentants (1 college student + 2 young working professionals) were tired of waiting for my plumber to fix a sewage smell - it took a series of months to complete root cause analysis, so they took matters into their own hands. They scheduled the health inspector to visit the property who confirmed a main vent (root cause of sewage smell) was not installed, which prevented sewage smell from venting out through the roof. I inherited this problem from the previous owner - yay.

So I get a call the property is condemned, and immediately schedule the plumber and contractor to do the work but barely miss the city of Richmond, VA department for getting my permit. Flash forward to Monday and the mania around Covid-19 resulted in the City shutting down all offices for the entire week. That means the earliest I can get a permit if they do not extend the closure is 10 days after the property was condemned (started 4/13). If I get the permit on 4/23 and the work is done in 1 day and inspected the next day, I'm looking at 11-12 total days I need to pay for them to stay in a hotel or AirBNB. That's for some tenants who do not pay on time, and a property I'm not collecting market rent for (normally rents at $2,600 but missed rental season so renting at $2,000).

What should I do? 

1. Send them a “5 day pay or quit” notice the next time they are late on rent to evict them and move on to get new tenants.

2. Go drink bourbon and wait for this to blow over.

3. Find a new plumber who finds the root cause sooner - it took 6 months too long.

4. Something else.

So I just missed the window to rent to the majority of local university renters, and have reduced rent to what looks to be a competitive price.

My 2 questions are:

What are you top tips and tricks to market to college students or young working professionals entering the market for a rental in a great location?

What top renovations or improvements should I target that won't break the bank (e.g. smart home, thermostat, stainless steel appliances, etc.)?