Hey guys, i recently purchased a cheap IP and have put tenants in immediately.
Part of the reason the house was so cheap was because it was not hooked up to the gas line.
The house is in Hamilton, regional Victoria. I have provided the tenants with a powerful and economic electric heater but i am considering hooking the house up to the gas line.
I was wondering if i should? is it difficult? how difficult and costly? what is the process?
Basically want advice on the idea as it will also increase the value of the house, keeping in mind it is my first IP and i will not be looking to sell for many many years.
Thanks
Hi, I asked my plumber mate this as a house i bought in Darwin was running off gas bottle since found there arent gas lines in Darwin as only neded for cooking. He lives regional vic and runs off gas bottle too. they come out every 3 or 6 months and top them up. He did suggest to me that it would probably cost a few thousand to do if it was available in Darwin so I guess you would have to check to see if it available in Hamilton and if its suburban area maybe a few thousand.
If you hook up to gas then you have to have appliances or fittings that can take advantage of it. I don’t know what the cost comparison to electric is given the capital cost.
Water is the biggy. Just luved our instance gas hot water in Sydney. Didn’t use gas heating there and personally don’t like gas heating. Too much moister with portables that make the house damp plus the smell.
Gas cooking great. But as a landlord is it really worth it?
Get a quote from a gas plumber and see what gas hot water (incl instant gas boiler), gas oven (plus oven), and various bayonet mounts for gas heaters will cost. Not cheap I imagine.
Thanks for the replies.
The previous owner used gas bottles, but i recently hooked up an electric oven and the hot water is electric as well.
There is gas available as the line is just on the other side of the street, but i am just unsure as whether i am going to run into problems with tenants spending too much money on their power bill because i do not know if gas heating is far cheaper or not than using an electric heater.
Hi Wadesansom,
Just be aware that there are two types of gas, LPG ( gas bottles ) and natural gas ( town main ).
The cooker you get will have to suit which ever type you are going to use.
I got caught out on that a couple of years ago with a new cooker, I had to get it adapted to suit LPG.
Wadesansom wrote:Thanks for the replies.The previous owner used gas bottles, but i recently hooked up an electric oven and the hot water is electric as well.
There is gas available as the line is just on the other side of the street, but i am just unsure as whether i am going to run into problems with tenants spending too much money on their power bill because i do not know if gas heating is far cheaper or not than using an electric heater.
There’s an on off switch at the wall. People figure it out. As an owner I would look at what is reasonable as far as energy costs go. I think you could get more bang for your buck by looking at insulation as opposed to pushing more energy options in there.
You tend to take more notice of a room that stays warm/cool because the insulation’s good rather than do I need more energy. So a place that uses minimal energy is a better option for a tenant than the type of energy options available.
Ppl have differing views on it and some people can’t live without a heater and yet others will just put more clothes on.
Wadesansom, i was in the same position a little while ago. If the gas line is running down your street the gas company will install the line for free to a point no further than ten metres from front boundary with a stopcock and a plug on the end.
.
After this is installed you will need a licensed plumber to install a gas meter on the end of the line,and hook up any appliances you may want to use,oven,ducted heating,hot water etc.You will begin paying for the service from the time the meter is connected.
Victoria in winter ? Give me natural gas and lots of insulation please.
Cheers
thecrestthecrest | Tony Neale - Statewide Motel Brokers
http://www.statewidemotelbrokers.com.au
Email Me | Phone Meselling motels in NSW
Not too sure what the hell that means "thecrest"
But thanks to everyone else, been very helpful, i shall gaze into the stars and ponder on this further…
Vic is cold & gas heating is very efficient.
I’d go down the insulation path – I don’t pay the power bills.
Have the tenants raised the issue or are you just looking to spend money? Either way these are capital costs and will be depreciaTed over several years not just year 1.
No i just purchased the property and tenants have only been in 3 weeks, no complaints so far.
From what i have seen and heard just about everyone has gas heating so i was making sure it wasnt a horrendous mistake to not have the gas hooked up to the house.
Thanks IP Freely for clarifying what I thought was a bit obvious.
Victoria is cold in the winter.
Tenants like to be warm in winter.
I spent 5 winters in Melbourne and travelling all over the state for work, and
rented many different homes. Ducted natural gas heating is my overall favourite.
So if gas heating translates into tenant satisfaction and thereby improves your bottom line by reducing vacancy,
and commanding a higher rent, while the tenant pays the ongoing fuel bills, gas is looking good.
Cheers
thecrestthecrest | Tony Neale - Statewide Motel Brokers
http://www.statewidemotelbrokers.com.au
Email Me | Phone Meselling motels in NSW
Haha yeh I understood what you meant about cold winters but you didn’t give much help, and your tagline was a tad strange.
Yes I still would feel much better getting gas hooked up but I’ll see how these tennants like the electric heater
Hi All,
Wadeansom,
I'd feel much better if all my tenants were living in 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom homes with ducted heating. But I wont be building extensions on, since they rented the houses knowing full well what was there. Funny how some people can be happy with a 3 bedroom home, with only one bathroom. Probably the same as how some people can be perfectly happy with electric heating and cooking. They rented the house as is… don't worry about what people will want after the fact, it'll keep you up nights.
Hey thecrest, I got me ducted heating and a roaring fireplace, and personally I'm thinking about putting in my own sun next, Melbourne is already freezing!!
DWolfe | www.homestagers.com.au
http://www.homestagers.com.au
Email Me
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. If you don't have an account, you can register here.
