All Forum Posts by: Qamar U Islam

Hello,

I have to replace a furnace for a rental property that gave out this winter (it was 30+ years old). I'm very into green energy and was looking for energy efficiency options, such as a Combi unit that also does hot water. However all quotes for these come in at an additional 4000+. Even replacing the furnace with another furnace but using a higher efficiency models costs a lot more. 

Since my tenant pays the energy costs, it doesn't make financial sense for me to choose energy efficient units since I'll never recover the costs. And it's not like I can charge higher rent than the market, since tenants generally don't even have an idea of the various HVAC options. 

The government gives incentives but generally none for rental properties and even if they did, the math would not work out. Basically, it seems like there is no incentive for landlords to improve energy efficiency on their properties and I feel that is a giant flaw in the market. Btw, same argument applies for solar. 

Thanks!

@Daniel Gonzalez

Thank you very much. I also, had another GC in the property yesterday and turns out one of his workers is also a licensed electrician (who also does construction work). So I guess there are also variants where a GC would have an electrician on staff and can quote the work because it still comes from his company. His prices were a little better because he retains his own electrician and does not have to gross it up to make a profit from getting a sub.

@Edward P Smith

Yup it is recessed lights and one of the rooms currently has no lighting at all, so he needs to route some wiring and add a brand new switch there... so yeah more than a handyman’s share of work.

@Matthew Paul

Maybe but he was charging me less than what an electrician was charging me directly. Unless the electricians give contractors a huge discount, the math wouldn’t allow for both the electrician and contractor to make a profit.

@George W. Thanks for pointing this out. At the end of day as an investor you have to be careful and make sure whoever you hire is licensed to do that work. Even if you paid a licensed contractor to do electrical work, it’s still

Illegal according to this. And I’m sure if something happens, then insurance won’t even cover it.

Got it, thanks everyone. I went with an electrician. It’s funny that contractors I had come in were quoting it when they really shouldn’t.

What do you guys prefer to use for lighting work, a licensed electrician or a contractor. Electrician is a little more expensive but I think it might be worth the piece of mind. Looking to add a whole lot of recessed lighting to a home I just purchased.

@Allan Szlafrok thanks. The inspector says that if they had an above ground, they would’ve had to remove the underground first. My agent says the chance is remote and I probably don’t need to open it up.

I just think if I skip, I might regret it if it becomes a major issue down the line and I end up paying 100k for some ridiculous environment cleanup.

Hi, long time reader first time poster here.

I am buying a 1902 multi family house in New Jersey. Sellers mentioned the unit had an above ground oil tank that was removed and there is visible signs in the basement of plumbing for an oil tank. My question is can there also be an underground oil tank? Sellers don’t know if there ever was one of those. I had an oil tank sweep that came up negative but the inspector could not get under the front porch because they would have to break down part of the porch to do it. Should I ask sellers to open it up for us? How likely is that there is an oil tank there? I don’t want to be left with a bill later on if it ever comes up that there’s contamination.

Thanks for your help.