All Forum Posts by: Michael Douglas

I paid over $18k last year to have the sewer line replaced on a house. It was from where it enters the house all the way out to where it joins the main sewer connection in the alley. This was in Washington state. Your project seems much smaller. I suggest that you get 2 more plumbers to give you a quote.  Check their online reviews. The cheapest is not always the right way to go but at least you will know whether you are in the same ballpark or not.

Hey Chris.  Thanks for the reply. Consideration was due to the possibility of selling with an existing tenant (perk?), selling before lease expiration, and selling without having to do the typical repainting, etc associated with typical retail selling. But maybe this is not a good strategy. Thanks again for your reply.

My wife and I have a house we are planning to sell. It currently has a tenant in it with a lease expiring at the end of June 2022. We could just contact a realtor to list it for us and sell it retail. We really want to minimize any rehab and carrying costs incurred during the time that it is on the market and the time needed to close. We are open to the idea of selling it without a realtor to avoid the commission of $25k +.  We could discount the retail price (based on comps) by the 6% sales commission if we could avoid paying an agent.  

Any thoughts on this dilemma? Many thanks.

Ok, thanks for the input Bryce. Good to know.

Also thanks to the others who inboxed me.

Does anyone have a recommendation for a plumber to handle a hot water heater replacement in the Raleigh area?  Thanks.

I had a house in Virginia that had a mold  issue in the basement Due to high humidity.  The laundry room was also in the basement. I install the shelf above the washing machine. I put a portable dehumidifier on that shelf with the drain line feeding into the drain for the washing machine. I set it to cycle on for about two hours at a time. That dramatically reduced the humidity in the basement. It was just a unit that I picked up at Lowe’s.

I'll plan to be there.  Thanks.

Someone on another thread asked what the rent might be for a property they are considering. Here's what I shared as a separate post in case it helps others.

1) rentometer.com they let you look up rents for a few different addresses before they ask you to pay.

2) redfin.com (type in the address and scroll far down the listing...sometimes they predict rental rate for the house)

3) zillow.com and look at rents in the same zip code and same # or bed and bath rooms and/or sq footage

4) craigslist.com for houses for rent with the same # of beds/baths.

5) if you know any property managers in your area, ask them for an estimate on rent.

Average these numbers to come up with a rental estimate.

I hope this helps someone.

When I'm evaluating the rental potential for a property, use several sources to arrive at a price:

1) rentometer.com they let you look up rents for a few different addresses before they ask you to pay.

2) redfin.com (type in the address and scroll far down the listing...sometimes they predict rental rate for the house)

3) zillow.com and look at rents in the same zip code and same # or bed and bath rooms and/or sq footage

4) craigslist.com for houses for rent with the same # of beds/baths.

Average these numbers to come up with a rental estimate.

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