Unrealistic Landlords!

[PaTerminator]

I?ve been getting quite a few calls from landlords that want to remove the oil heat from their apartment building and install electric baseboards in their place. I guess last winter?s price of heating oil was too much to take.
However, they seem to think the cost of a service upgrade should be less then half of what I quoted them, or they want to supply all the parts!
I walked away from a 7-unit upgrade after the building owner showed me a spool of 2-2-2-4 al and a 400 amp disco that looked like it was from the 70?s!
Another guy asked for a complete price on a 5-unit, when I call him with a price, he wants to know how much is parts, and how much is labor. I was pretty vague with an answer, so he proceeds to tell me how much he priced parts at the supply house and how many hours the job should take.
I had to tell him that the price he desired was below my minimum standard of quality. What else can you say to someone who?s so far off base?

 

[brother]

dont waste your time with nonsense. Just tell them they would be better calling someone else.

 

[jrannis]

He will eventually find someone just like him to do the work, and get what he pays for.

 

[ultramegabob]

I love when customers think they can make a material list for an electrical job. they cant even remember to buy lightbulbs when they pick out a fixture.:roll:

 

[ceknight]

What else can you say to someone who?s so far off base?

"I'm sorry, but I don't work for slumlords as a matter of policy."

 

[SEO]

I'd tell them that I'm to busy and recomend that he get 3 estimates and pass.

 

[Mule]

I?ve been getting quite a few calls from landlords that want to remove the oil heat from their apartment building and install electric baseboards in their place. I guess last winter?s price of heating oil was too much to take.
However, they seem to think the cost of a service upgrade should be less then half of what I quoted them, or they want to supply all the parts!
I walked away from a 7-unit upgrade after the building owner showed me a spool of 2-2-2-4 al and a 400 amp disco that looked like it was from the 70?s!
Another guy asked for a complete price on a 5-unit, when I call him with a price, he wants to know how much is parts, and how much is labor. I was pretty vague with an answer, so he proceeds to tell me how much he priced parts at the supply house and how many hours the job should take.
I had to tell him that the price he desired was below my minimum standard of quality. What else can you say to someone who?s so far off base?

I bet if you drove out to the landlords house you would get the WHOLE picture....probably a mansion......I work for one guy that has 110 units and his home is probably $500k, but he's tighter than the bark on a tree.

Yesterday I met with a "out of town" builder about wiring some spec homes. Got out of his "King Ranch" with 20" inch wheels with gold around his neck, told me as soon as he sold his million dollar home he was moving to town...Of course he wanted me to wire his project for $2.75-3/ft.....I told him he was wasting our time shook his hand and got in my van and drove off.

 

[brantmacga]

I had a landlord call once about upgrading services on five duplexes. I gave him a price and he flipped. He called me two weeks later as if we'd never spoke asking if I could look at this same job again. I reminded him that I'd already quoted it for him and he asked me what the price was again; i looked it up and gave him the quote and he says, "that's not what you told me the first time. You said it would be $xxxx.xx per unit (much lower than I quoted). I'd like it done at that price." I kid you not.

 

[Buck Parrish]

I've been seeing more of the same type of people lately.
I think with the building slump. Lot's of people are remodeling.
It seems since they are remodeling . They can get by with out a Licensed GC on the job. But the remodels around here are huge, They take two apts. and turn them in to one with six bed rooms. In this college town sprinklers are required if you have more then 4 bed rooms with students living in them. But since it is a remodel they get by with out it.
Their are some real cheapo's out their.

 

[PaTerminator]

I bet if you drove out to the landlords house you would get the WHOLE picture....probably a mansion......I work for one guy that has 110 units and his home is probably $500k, but he's tighter than the bark on a tree.

Actually, I did look up his property assessment info, He doesn't live in a $500K house, but it's a heck of a lot more then mine.
I forgot to add, he also told he he had 2 more units to do after this one . Like I never heard that before!

 

[satcom]

I've been seeing more of the same type of people lately.
I think with the building slump. Lot's of people are remodeling.
It seems since they are remodeling . They can get by with out a Licensed GC on the job. But the remodels around here are huge, They take two apts. and turn them in to one with six bed rooms. In this college town sprinklers are required if you have more then 4 bed rooms with students living in them. But since it is a remodel they get by with out it.
Their are some real cheapo's out their.

Funny our city is a college town, and they had that same problem for years, then the hard working over taxed homewners, finally had eniough of the slum landlords, and fought to have the housing laws inforced, as a result over 500 of these creeps were put out of business, before they killed another family, with unfit and dangerous buildings, if no one complains it will continue, your city is what you make it.

 

[Buck Parrish]

Your right I should turn in some of these hacks.
Even on new hames intended as rentals. They will have three bedrooms with a study on the prints. Then with in minutes of having got the CO.
They will install a closet in the 'study'. This allowing them to get around the sprinkler system ordinance.

 

[celtic]

I had to tell him that the price he desired was below my minimum standard of quality. What else can you say to someone who?s so far off base?

Ask him he lowers his rent when a prospective tenant asks.

LL's are notoriously cheap when it comes to shelling out any money for the property.

 

[steelersman]

I love when customers think they can make a material list for an electrical job. they cant even remember to buy lightbulbs when they pick out a fixture.:roll:

Man you hit the nail plum on the head with that one Ultramegabob!!

 

[480sparky]

....LL's are notoriously cheap when it comes to shelling out any money for the property.

They must be closely related to bar owners.....:wink:

 

[Mule]

They must be closely related to bar owners.....:wink:

Ha, worked in one of those yesterday......Red neutral coming from oposite direction as hot in 8ft fxtr....also dry rotten SO cord running from fxtr to fxtr...what a mess....what a fire hazzard..

 

[gadfly56]

I?ve been getting quite a few calls from landlords that want to remove the oil heat from their apartment building and install electric baseboards in their place. I guess last winter?s price of heating oil was too much to take.

HA! If you had nothing better to do with your time and money , do the job to teach him a lesson.

Oil frunace conversion efficiency 75-85%.

Oil to electric conversion efficiency 40% (tops), transmission loss 50%, BTU value at the end of the baseboard, 20% of the original fuel value.

He'll go insane watching the meter spin like a top!:grin:

 

[satcom]

If he thinks Oil was expensive, wait until he gets the electric bill.

 

[480sparky]

If he thinks Oil was expensive, wait until he gets the electric bill.

Tenants usually have their own electric meters. So it's their nickel.

 

[EBFD6]

If he thinks Oil was expensive, wait until he gets the electric bill.

The tenants probably pay for the electric bill.

I had a landlord call me for the same situation. He had an oil burner for forced hot water, he paid for the oil and heated the entire 6 unit building.

He wanted electric baseboard installed in each unit, obviously off of the panel for the unit, so the tenants would pay for the electric heat and he would no longer have to pay for oil. I pointed out that the boiler was also providing hot water to the building, so he would need 6 water heaters installed and wired, and he would need to hire a plumber to re-pipe the hot water system so each tenant would be paying for their own hot water!

I never heard back from him :roll: