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Rehabbing & House Flipping

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Carl C.
  • Investor
  • New York City, NY
374
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289
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Watch your plumbing fixtures!

Carl C.
  • Investor
  • New York City, NY
Posted May 5 2015, 03:54

I'm on my first rental property.My water bill comes quarterly. A few months after my tenants moved in I got a call from the water company and they said "you're water usage has spiked from your previous billing period, you may want to check for leaks or a running toilet". I figured that makes sense, The house sat vacant for over a year before I bought it. I appreciated the heads up. The bill came and it was over $200. I had no way to know if that was right or not. Four people live in the house. seemed like a lot of money but who knows. The next time I stopped by the house, I noticed one of the toilets was running. Not a lot but very slightly. Minor adjustment to the flapper and it stopped. I asked how long that was going on: "oh a while I guess". We then had a talk about letting me know when something like that is happening. I just got my next water bill: $60. Lesson learned. Check your fixtures folks, and make sure your tenants understand when there is a potential problem. It amazes me how much water was wasted with a slightly leaking toilet. 

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