“I don’t want to be a landlord. It would suck getting a call in the middle of the night that the toilet is leaking.”
That’s what we hear from our non-investor friends and families. It always seems like a great excuse for them to avoid pulling the trigger on buying a property.
There is a grain of truth to it though. Besides receiving the rent on time, landlords want two things:
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Tenants who never bother them.
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Zero expenses for their property.
Leaky toilets can ruin both of those things.
When toilets don’t work, tenants will let you know right away. I think indoor plumbing is on that ‘Maslow hierarchy of needs’ psychology stuff. Then, once they let you know, you have to either drag your butt out to snake it, or hire a plumber at $80-$120/hour to snake it for you.
Oh, and I mention your utility bills. If you’re paying the water bills, which many multifamily landlords do, toilets can take up a large portion of that bill. According to the EPA, toilets can account for up to 30% of the water bill – by far the most of any appliance.
If the toilet is old and leaks instead of filling up the tank, it will take up even more of the water bill making it much higher. Do you think the tenants will care about that if they aren’t paying the water bill? Um, not so much.
If the tenants are paying the water bill, won’t it be great to advertise to them that you are doing everything you can to cut their cost of living?
What about flipping properties? Wouldn’t it help to sell your properties if your buyers knew you put high-efficiency toilets in each bathroom?
Toilet technology has come a long way.
Not only do they use much less water, but they also can handle clogs very well. Like all products, there is a wide range of reliability, but the savings in your time and money could very well be worth getting a good one.
High-efficiency toilets can save around $100 per year in water bills. An investor with 10 bathrooms in his properties will save $1,000 per year or so. The savings will be much greater if you don’t ever have to call a plumber out to look at them – not to mention wasting your time clearing them of them of, well, waste (I know, it was an easy pun so I took it!).
Why not just put a brick or water jug in the toilet?
In the past, landlords have tried to save money by sticking a brick or jug of water in the flush tank above the toilet. Then the tank doesn’t fill up with as much water. The trouble is that bricks deteriorate…
When they start falling apart, they can gum up the toilet. One repair will cancel out any savings you receive. And, water jugs move around, they can easily dislodge the flapper and create a leak.
Toilets were also not designed or tested with brick or water jug inserts in mind. If the toilet uses less water, it is more likely to clog, thus violating both landlord desires above.
Don’t high-efficiency toilets cost several hundred dollars? Yes they do. But many towns and cities offer $100-$200 rebates for installing these toilets. Combine that with the water savings, and you get the toilet almost for free.
The Cutting Edge of Potty Technology
Here are some things to look for when you’re outfitting your investment property:
High –Efficiency (HET) vs. Low Flush Toilets – HET’s use 1.28 gallons per flush vs. 1.6 gallons per flush in low-flow toilets. Besides using less water, the HET’s are the ones that qualify for rebates in certain towns and cities.
Dual Flush Toilets – You can either buy the toilet with this feature, or buy a kit to install it on your toilets. Once it is installed, the user will have two flushing options, yep, you know – one for #1 and one for #2. The ‘#1 option’ will use only 0.8 gallons per flush, saving you even more money. If your tenants don’t want their rent raised, they will be wise to use it.
Gravity Feed Toilets - The traditional method for flushing. Water drops from the tank into the bowl using – you guessed it – gravity, to flush away waste. They work well in properties with low water pressure and are generally less expensive than the other type of toilets. They also tend to clog more than other toilets, but if you get a good one, you can minimize clogging. Ask the person selling the toilet if the trap is larger than normal to help prevent clogging.
Pressure-Assisted Toilets – These toilets have a sealed tank. As water replaces air in the tank, the air is forced down into the bowl to assist in the flushing, and force waste out. They clog less than the gravity fed toilets and are recommended for large families (or lots of roommates in your rentals). Make sure you have at least 25psi of water pressure in your house before you consider one of these. Pressure-assisted toilets can be more expensive, and some of them can be loud (think a big ‘whoosh’).
Water Sense – The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has made it their business to let you know which toilets are the best. Toilets that meet the 
EPA’s strict criteria for both low-water usage and clog-free performance are given the “Water Sense” label. When you find this label, you can be reasonably assured that the toilet will perform well and only require 1.28 gallons per flush (High Effiency Toilets). In the past, when the “low flush” toilets came out, people would have to flush twice to move everything along. Water sense toilets will flush on the first time with the absolute minimum water usage.
Toilets have come a long way in both water savings and ‘cloggability’. Although the savings are definitely not worth planning your retirement around, they can help. Especially when you scale up your rental business and add up that savings over multiple units.
Holla at us
Do you have a potty mouth? Tell us how you cleaned it up in the comments section below.
Cut Costs – It really is true that “A penny saved is a penny earned.” Successful real estate investors look not only at what they can do to bring more money in the door, but what they can do to prevent money from going out the door. Look for ways you can cut costs in your business.
Provide Value to Your Customers – Whether you are a landlord with tenants as your customers, or a flipper with buyers, provide value to them. Make them feel better about doing business with you. Saving people money always makes them feel better.
Don’t Discount the Traditional Stuff – Everyone is looking for the latest app, or the fanciest electronic gizmo. But many people can find money or savings in a lot more traditional areas, like toilets. Look at how you do rehabs, look for rebates and discounts, or negotiate with vendors to put more money in your pocket. Don’t just rely on searching the internet for help.
JP Moses
is a real estate investor in Memphis, TN, with experience ranging from land lording to note buying, rehabbing, and wholesaling. However, wholesaling is the area that he enjoys most and where he bring the most experience and expertise to his students.