Preparing for your Plumber

The good thing about getting plumbing work done is that there is a fair amount that you can do to get organised and potentially reduce the workload required of your plumber. This of course is not always the case if it is an emergency but even then, there are some things that you can do to help out and speed up the process.

Turn off the water

Whether its an emergency or not it is a great idea to get yourself prepared and turn off the water main. This is particularly important when it is a repair job as it can greatly reduce the amount of damage.

Find a good plumber

This is key, ask your friends or family if they know a good plumber who is fully licensed and insured. If that fails ask Google but make sure to look out for any reviews.

Organise the job

Communication is key when dealing with any tradie. Make sure that you have given clear instructions to what needs do be done and what time frame it needs to be done it.

Prepare the area

Do everything you can to prepare the area. If you are handy around the home this may include digging, moving tiles or simply moving furniture or other objects from the work area.

Give them space

Once they have started they will probably need some room to move. Make sure that you give them plenty of space and are not constantly hanging over their shoulder.

Good plumbers are hard to find and once you have found a good one you should do everything that you can to hold onto them as repeat work in the plumbing industry is more common than nearly all other trades. I would recommend that you pay your bill on time and do your best to be friendly to your plumber if he is a good one.

If you need a good Plumber in the Geelong area we highly recommend Plumbers Geelong.

What You Learn When You Renovate

What You Learn When You RenovateIn case you didn’t read about it on my About Me page, three years ago I decided to purchase an investment property. And what a great decision that was!!! That was sarcasm.

I found this place that was very run down and thus going for a bargain. So cheap. I couldn’t lose on this one, so I thought. I’ve had brain waves before which have not been so successful but this was going to be the start of my entry into property investment.

I consider myself to be a little bit of a handy man. Probably a little bit over confident which is normally the reason I find myself in tricky situations. So I figured with all these problems with this prospective property purchase that I could handle them, fix them myself and in the process saving a fortune and ending up with a decent investment property.

So I make the decision to take the plunge and get into it. Over to the mortgage broker I head and start discussions about an investment loan. I’m going to leave this story for another post but lets just say the hoops I had to jump through for the loan should have been a warning sign (or maybe a stop sign).

Finally the loan was approved and I was able to snap up this bargain. I’m now the proud owner of an investment property – I’ve made it big time – in the big league now. Settlement followed and keys handed over. Time to get to work, I needed tenants in asap to start getting return on this “investment property”.

Now, when I inspected the building I knew there were some problems. There were plumbing problems, roof issues, door lock and window lock issues, and the list continues – no wonder it was a bargain. But nothing too serious that I couldn’t repair myself, it was just going to take some hard work and a bit of time.

In I go with my tool belt and my labour and my knowledge. Not being a professional, it was a struggle to work out the best course of action here. Did I start with the roof, the plumbing or do I go around replacing door & window locks first? I mean it all had to be done, but I just had a moment of hesitation trying to decide where to start. Procrastination kind of got in the way too – big dreams, so much to do.

I eventually got started and with the help from various tradies and services, I finally got the house in a suitable condition to put up for rent. During the process I learnt so much about renovating a house. I learnt about plumbing, roofing, locks, carpets, and even from right at the beginning, investment property finance.

At some point, and I can’t recall when, I came to the realisation that some repairs were beyond my capabilities. I then learnt how to source a tradie or a service and have trust in their abilities and not be worried about being ripped off. Some of these guys got me out of such situations that I felt so thank full for their help and service.

I’ll write about these guys in this blog site, I believe I owe it to them. Stick around for my posts on what I learnt, mistakes I made, tradies that I love and all my other thoughts that I decide to put in writing….

G.