fliprent

Getting good water pressure in your flip or rental is essential to happy home ownership.  I for one cannot stand it when I get in the shower only to get that soft sprinkle of water that takes ten minutes to get the soap out of my hair.  This typically occurs in older homes and in the inner city where the pipes are older and the water lines require upgrading.

 One way to begin diagnosing the problem is to use a water pressure gauge.  You can use these to check the water pressure outside of the home.  If the pressure falls between .40 to .70 it usually indicates normal water pressure coming to the house.  If it’s less, you may want to call your water company to see about increasing it.  If your pressure is within this range then the problem could be the flow inside the house itself. 

If you are flipping an older house then you probably have old corroded pipes which will restrict the flow of water to the fixtures.  Many of these older homes have galvanized pipes as well.  Have a plumber run a new copper main cold water line from outside the house where the pressure is normal.  In some cases you will need to call the water company to have this done.  You can also run a new line directly to the shower/tub that you are installing.  The plumber can also run a hot water line directly from the hot water heater.   Another cheaper option may be to use a shower head that actually boosts water pressure with volume controls.

Let’s get straight to the house flipping point…

 House flipping rule # 1 - Buy the smallest or ugliest house in the neighborhood. 

Being a house flipper means that you don’t mind the dirty work; or paying someone else to do it.  The main reason for this rule is based on future appraisal value.  The smallest house on the block has the biggest potential to be raised.  Once the rehab work is completed, it will appraise higher based on the new improvements, and the value of other houses on the block.  Conversely the largest house on the block is already carrying the weight of the market value.  Adding square footage for instance will not bring the same Return On Investment (ROI) as it would for smallest house.

Read the rest of this entry »

Toilets

Installing a water-saver flush kit in your toilet can save you thousands of liters of water per year. Replacing large-volume toilets with 6-litre-per-flush models saves at least 70 percent of the water used.

Showers

An energy-efficient shower head or flow controller conserves energy without affecting water pressure. A low-flow shower head saves as much as 60 percent of the water used by a conventional fixture.  Dripping taps can waste 9000 liters of hot water each year. Replace leaky washers and save the hot water for when you really need it!

I know it’s been a few days since my last post but I promise I have some really good tips coming soon including this one.  Considering my “negligence”, I’ll let you guys in on a secret that only the pros know about.  When I say pros I mean remodelers, rehabbers, developers, house flippers, investors and others who buy building materials frequently.  It’s called the home depot pro bid room. 

Read the rest of this entry »