All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

I will definitely shop around for different estimates. Of course, the plumber said any estimate I get lower than his, he would match. But then again, I've found most tradesmen say that...

Well for now, I will just be replacing the galvanized water pipes and re-locating the utility room. Once he gets in the other lines with the camera, I'm sure things will change, as they always do!

Thanks again everyone for your help!

Hello all!

I purchased my first flip house on Monday and as a new real estate investor, I would like to get some experienced rehabber's opinions on the threat of asbestos. I searched BP for asbestos-related forums but I haven't found exactly what I'm looking for..

The house I purchased was built in 1963 so obviously the threat of asbestos is present. The main place of concern for me is the POPCORN CEILING in the living room/kitchen area. I want to scrape it off. All other ceilings throughout the house have been scraped of the popcorn and been re-texturized. I have read so many different articles all over the internet (even from the EPA's website) and still am not any clearer on what I should do about it...

I called 3 asbestos abatement places in Houston this morning. Not only did they all recommend to have some samples taken off the ceiling but they insisted asbestos was nothing to take lightly. I thought samples might be a good starting point so I scheduled to have someone come out and take some samples.

The man who showed up, let's call him John, took 3 samples and charged $300. While he was taking the samples, John decides to ask me how I got into flipping houses and asks me if I watch too much TV (joke, obviously, but still.) I replied politely by saying "No, actually, most of the TV shows you see about flipping houses are fake and don't portray remotely what an investor actually incurs." Even though I'm a beginner in this business, I've studied enough to see that the TV shows are definitely fake. Okay just thought I'd share that but I'm way off subject-

So after that discussion, I asked for his personal opinion on asbestos and how he feels about the dangers of removing it. He said worst case scenario your ceiling samples will come back at the highest possible rate of 5-6% and even at that rate, you don't need the professionals to remove this stuff- You can do it yourself with the appropriate masks and equipment.. So I'm basically taken aback b/c from what I've read on the internet and talking with some specialists, they say do not remove it yourself at any costs if there is even 1% of asbestos.

So then I get to thinking, if what John said is true, why am I even paying to have it sampled?

Does anyone have any thoughts on this? Has anyone dealt with popcorn ceilings before that could've or did contain asbestos? If so, did you bite the bullet and pay the professionals or do it yourself?

All other suggestions/comments would be greatly appreciated! I thank you in advance for your replies.

Thank you everyone for your replies!

I actually met with the plumber today and after inspecting the galvanized pipes, he suggested going ahead and replacing all the water pipes. He quoted me $5,000 using PEX pipes.

I'm also moving the utility room inside the house. Right now it is in the garage and all comps that have sold have had the laundry room moved inside the home. He quoted me $1,300 to replace the pipes and move them to the necessary space.

He asked me about replacing the sewer lines as well but I did not have a clear answer for that. I had him quote me for that anyways and it was $4,000. He said he could take a look with the camera and see how damage/corroded they are and take it from there..

Also, I asked him about the base pipes underneath the house and he said most of the time there shouldn't be problem with them? I'm not sure how there couldn't be a problem with those if there is problems everywhere else? He also said that's where it gets very expensive and cost upwards of $6,000 b/c of the digging/going underneath the house to replace the pipes. He said an alternative to replacing the base pipes would be cleaning them with some sort of hydro/power hose. (that wasn't the exact term he used but I can't remember the word). He also mentioned an alternative to replacing the base lines. It would be about $3,000 cheaper and would require to cut off water supply through the base lines and reroute in the backyard with new PEX plumbing to the water supply.

Has anyone heard of this? Do these prices seem reasonable? Any suggestions?

I'm sorry if I didn't explain enough or I confused you but he gave me so much information, I couldn't even have kept up if I chose to write it down! LOL

I was suppose to have 3 other guys out there today but as it would seem, one guy cancelled, one guy did not show up and other re-scheduled for tomorrow. Don't you just love that?!

Jon Holdman- Yes, it is an REO property. The property was winterized in February of this year and de-winterized 3 days ago. Water pressure was terrible!

Don Hines- You see that's my fear as well! I'm scared if I only replace part of the plumbing system such as the water pipes, the buyer's inspector will, of course, find problems in the sewer pipes!

Wow! That is truly an inspiring story! Very happy for you and congrats! Best of luck to you in the future!

Hello BP Community!

I closed on my first flip property yesterday and had a full inspection done on the property today. I had the inspector do a walk-through with me prior to purchasing so I pretty much knew already what to expect; however, today was the official inspection so he obviously got to study the extent of the issues he had previously found.

So basically, the plumbing seems to be the one major problem in this particular property. The house has galvanized pipes. Assuming the entire plumbing system hasn't been touched in nearly 50 years, it's a pretty good chance the pipes are corroded. While the inspector only found one visible leak, I honestly feel like it's just a matter of time until the rest of the system gives out on me, or worse- the new owner.

A little bit about the property: it is a single-family home, about 2200 square feet, corner lot, 4 bedrooms, 2 baths and was built in 1963. Renovated homes in the neighborhood sell between 180k to 245k dependent upon square footage and quality of upgrades. I would say about 70% are 3 bedroom, 2 baths with about 1400 to 1650 square feet. There are 2 sold homes in the past 6 months that are similar in size to my property that were completely upgraded. On the MLS it stated that the first property had a complete new plumbing system while the other said something to the extent of "upgraded plumbing fixtures." The first one with new plumbing sold for $208,545 in 20 days and the second sold for $217,000 in 23 days. However, there was a property in the same neighborhood that was flipped with only 1400 square feet with 3 beds/2 baths that just closed last week for $244,000 after being on the market for 26 days! I actually went in the property to get a feel for the competition's work and I have to admit, I was extremely impressed! Nothing noted about new plumbing on that property.

So my question would be for the experienced rehabbers/flippers. Do you go by "if it's broke, don't fix it," and simply fix the existing plumbing problems? Or would you go ahead and replace the entire plumbing system? We are talking about a huge price difference obviously so that's why I'm interested in what most of y'all would do.

Since this is my first flip, I just want to make sure I do everything correctly. I care tremendously about my reputation, as well as other flippers' reps, and want to make sure I give the new owners a home they can depend on!

Also, I'm having 4 different estimates done tomorrow on the plumbing. Does anyone have a base price I can expect to see for an entire new plumbing system?

Thanks in advance for all of your replies!

Trey Tasco- I would try Auction.com! They have a lot of foreclosures/trustee sales listed all over the U.S. You might find what you are looking for in your area!

Hi! I'm from Texas so I can't help you with the local stuff but I like Auction.com when it comes to looking at foreclosures/trustee sales! They have properties all over the U.S. so I'm sure you can find something in your area. Hope this helps!

Ivan Roberts

Hi Ivan!

I don't have any experience in handling duplex transactions but I just wanted to lend my support to you. In real estate investing, I have dealt with a ton of people who had the same attitude as the woman you described above. Do not let them discourage you! Most investors see you as 1 thing and 1 thing only-competition! They want to scare off the beginners and make trouble for the experienced...

Keep up the good work and everything will work itself out!