Cost to Replace Toilet Fill Valve & Supply Line: Is $365 accurate costs from my PM?

New to Real Estate · Member since 2024 · 30 posts · 30 votes

I just got billed $365 by my property manager for replacing a toilet fill valve and supply line. That seems a bit high to me, but I figured I should check before I get too upset about it. Does anyone local to Memphis know what the going rate for simple repairs like that should be?

Checking Home Depot, it looks like parts would be $30 or less. That leaves $335 for labor and the property manager's fees. Is it reasonable for me to ask the property manager for a breakdown of parts/labor costs?

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Jaron WallingPro Member

Rental Property Investor · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2018 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes

That's a $150-200 max job all day long. <1hr of labor but everyone rounds up.

You got stiffed a bit in my opinion.

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Adam BartomeoBusiness Member
Real Estate Broker · Cape Coral, FL · Member since 2015 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
1y
Memphis or not, that is very high. A licensed plumber charges us $350 to change a toilet but using my Maintenance Techs we charge the owners $250 to change a toilet - that is with parts and labor. Changing a fill valve will be about $100. You will want to check to see why it is so high.
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Reed Rickenbach
Real Estate Broker · Memphis, TN · Member since 2020 · 202 posts · 203 votes
1y
What does your management agreement say about up charging repairs? In my limited exposure to using PMs in Memphis (I self-manage), most had a scale of upcharge depending on the cost of the service.
That does seem high. Depending on the size of your PM company they may or may not have an internal maintenance position to handle these. If they don't, they likely contracted it out and added a 20% mark-up on the service.
I run a small maintenance company in Memphis that handles things like this for investors for this exact reason.
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Jaron WallingPro Member
Rental Property Investor · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2018 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
1y
That's a $150-200 max job all day long. <1hr of labor but everyone rounds up.
You got stiffed a bit in my opinion.
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Nathan GesnerBusiness Member
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Real Estate Broker · Cody, WY · Member since 2010 · 28k+ posts · 41k+ votes
1y
Parts are less than $30 but may be marked up by the plumber. Labor should be $100/hour. This is definitely less than $150 with a plumber, unless they run into some issues.
Any handyman can do this job for less than $80.
The high price is probably due to your PM hiring a plumber when they should have hired a handyman to save you some money. But even a plumber shouldn't charge $365. I would want to see the invoice and have a chat with the PM about their responsibility to protect my income.
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John MorganPro Member
Rental Property Investor · Grand Prairie, TX · Member since 2018 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
1y
@Cory M.
I’d ask them for a break down. They shouldn’t be charging you over $300/hour for labor. $150 should have covered all this. You got ripped off big time.
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Cory M.
OP
New to Real Estate · Member since 2024 · 30 posts · 30 votes
1y
Quote from @John Morgan:

@Cory M.
I’d ask them for a break down. They shouldn’t be charging you over $300/hour for labor. $150 should have covered all this. You got ripped off big time.

That's kind of the feeling I got when I saw it. I just wanted to double check before I escalated things.
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Brendan Conley
Investor · Lowell, MA · Member since 2024 · 12 posts · 6 votes
1y
No matter where you live, that is very high. I think $100/ hour for labor plus $50 for parts is fair.
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Kevin Sobilo
Realtor · Hanover Twp, PA · Member since 2018 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
1y
@Cory M., I agree with the above responses about this being a $150 job if hired out to a plumber. In my area I might even have a handyman do it for about $100 total.
The one area where this could be a little more expensive is if they also replaces the shutoff valve for the toilet. Sometimes, especially when the valve doesn't hold completely, a plumber might want to replace this valve when replacing the supply line. The valve and labor could add a bit more to the bill but still not to the level you were charged in my opinion.
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Jake KnightPro Member
Property Manager · Indianapolis · Member since 2017 · 303 posts · 146 votes
1y
Given what everyone previously stated that I agree with, definitely check with your PM to see if they made an accounting error - that can happen from time to time.
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Bill B.
Investor · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 10k+ votes
1y
I just had one done. $150 labor and $100 for a brand new toilet all day long.
1 Reply
Calvin Thomas
Developer · New York City, NY · Member since 2015 · 812 posts · 718 votes
1y
Quote from @Cory M.:

I just got billed $365 by my property manager for replacing a toilet fill valve and supply line. That seems a bit high to me, but I figured I should check before I get too upset about it. Does anyone local to Memphis know what the going rate for simple repairs like that should be?

Checking Home Depot, it looks like parts would be $30 or less. That leaves $335 for labor and the property manager's fees. Is it reasonable for me to ask the property manager for a breakdown of parts/labor costs?

In metro NYC, it's around $275/$300 all day. It is wise for the PM to use a licensed plumber. Reason being, if something goes wrong, the PM is covered (and so are you) by the plumber's insurance and license.
Apparently, this is around the same price other people around the US are paying. See below.
https://www.reddit.com/r/askaplumber/comments/1dec1o2/is_this_a_reasonable_price/?rdt=49346
It's never worth being penny wise and dollar foolish.
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Gustavo Delgado
Houston, TX · Member since 2015 · 261 posts · 170 votes
1y
What! Hell nah! I am going to assume you do not live in the property area to where you can go and do it your self!
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Marcus Auerbach
Investor · Milwaukee - Mequon, WI · Member since 2010 · 5k+ posts · 7k+ votes
1y
Too much. I assume there will be more to the story, like they had to go there 3 times for some reason etc..
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Bruce WoodruffPro Member
Contractor/Investor/Consultant · San Diego / Phoenix · Member since 2021 · 12k+ posts · 15k+ votes
1y
Quote from @Kevin Sobilo:

@Cory M., I agree with the above responses about this being a $150 job if hired out to a plumber. In my area I might even have a handyman do it for about $100 total.
I agree! 100% way too high.......
1 Reply
Cory M.
OP
New to Real Estate · Member since 2024 · 30 posts · 30 votes
1y
Good news. I got the property manager on the phone. It was mistakenly charged as if they had done each task as a different trip, rather than all of them in one trip. The cost should be getting reduced significantly.
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Katie MillerPro Member
General Manager, Publishing at BiggerPockets · Denver, CO · Member since 2017 · 459 posts · 642 votes
1y
Quote from @Cory M.:

Good news. I got the property manager on the phone. It was mistakenly charged as if they had done each task as a different trip, rather than all of them in one trip. The cost should be getting reduced significantly.

Good job saving yourself hundreds with a single phone call!
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Lisa Ferris
Member since 2019 · 13 posts · 1 vote
1y
in clearwater, a company told me they charge $450 to switch out a toilet, or $350 to change a faucet! Not fixing anything! I can usually have a handyman do these for $50-$100 . Plumbers are nuts.
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Jaron WallingPro Member
Rental Property Investor · Indianapolis, IN · Member since 2018 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
1y
Quote from @Lisa Ferris:

in clearwater, a company told me they charge $450 to switch out a toilet, or $350 to change a faucet! Not fixing anything! I can usually have a handyman do these for $50-$100 . Plumbers are nuts.

That's the "we don't want your business" quote.
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Lisa Ferris
Member since 2019 · 13 posts · 1 vote
1y
maybe so, but that's what they charge. and I even had to pay $100 for them to come out and give me those quotes. I I live in a 55 plus community and they take advantage of the older people becasue they are often recommended. I gave them the $100 and said goodbye.
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Heath Sizick
Rental Property Investor · Hampstead, NC · Member since 2024 · 107 posts · 54 votes
1y
This is a job for a handyman not a plumber. The licensed plumber will charge more. Do you know if your PM upcharges on all maintenance repairs? Many PM companies make money via maintenance upcharges. I would avoid these companies!
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Cory M.
OP
New to Real Estate · Member since 2024 · 30 posts · 30 votes
1y
Quote from @Heath Sizick:

This is a job for a handyman not a plumber. The licensed plumber will charge more. Do you know if your PM upcharges on all maintenance repairs? Many PM companies make money via maintenance upcharges. I would avoid these companies!
So, our PM company charges a sliding scale of between 5-20% based on the size of the repair (more expensive means they charge less as a percentage.) One issue I've uncovered in this is that they also add a $75 "admin fee" in addition to the percentage based "supervisory fee." I'm working to get to fully understand what makes up their maintenance fees (this is our first repair). But it hasn't been easy to figure it out so far.
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Caleb Brown
Real Estate Agent · Kansas City · Member since 2018 · 4k+ posts · 3k+ votes
1y
Quote from @Cory M.:

Quote from @Heath Sizick:

This is a job for a handyman not a plumber. The licensed plumber will charge more. Do you know if your PM upcharges on all maintenance repairs? Many PM companies make money via maintenance upcharges. I would avoid these companies!
So, our PM company charges a sliding scale of between 5-20% based on the size of the repair (more expensive means they charge less as a percentage.) One issue I've uncovered in this is that they also add a $75 "admin fee" in addition to the percentage based "supervisory fee." I'm working to get to fully understand what makes up their maintenance fees (this is our first repair). But it hasn't been easy to figure it out so far.

Weird they charge a $75 fee on top. You pay them a monthly percentage to manage your property calling a plumber to fix an easy repair is not a hard thing. Was this admin fee in the agreement with the PM? Definitely get a complete understanding, seems like any repairs they handle or hiring someone will be high
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Heath Sizick
Rental Property Investor · Hampstead, NC · Member since 2024 · 107 posts · 54 votes
1y
Quote from @Caleb Brown:

Quote from @Cory M.:

Quote from @Heath Sizick:

This is a job for a handyman not a plumber. The licensed plumber will charge more. Do you know if your PM upcharges on all maintenance repairs? Many PM companies make money via maintenance upcharges. I would avoid these companies!
So, our PM company charges a sliding scale of between 5-20% based on the size of the repair (more expensive means they charge less as a percentage.) One issue I've uncovered in this is that they also add a $75 "admin fee" in addition to the percentage based "supervisory fee." I'm working to get to fully understand what makes up their maintenance fees (this is our first repair). But it hasn't been easy to figure it out so far.

Weird they charge a $75 fee on top. You pay them a monthly percentage to manage your property calling a plumber to fix an easy repair is not a hard thing. Was this admin fee in the agreement with the PM? Definitely get a complete understanding, seems like any repairs they handle or hiring someone will be high

Yea I agree! I'd encourage you to go back & review your PMA so you understand exactly how they charge maintenance repairs. Either way, everyone on here agrees the charge was high so getting an understanding of this is vital. You want to have a good relationship with your PM & like tenants, if maintenance isn't handled well, the relationship will fracture. Good luck!
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Arvand SabetianBusiness Member
Member since 2024 · 62 posts · 21 votes
1y
Yes, it does seem high but difficult without knowing all the facts. Are you aware whether or not your PM charges for the service or is this the amount invoiced directly from the contractor/vendor?
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