No Frozen Pipes

0FROZEN PIPES ARE FOR STAGE FRIGHTENED SINGERS ONLY! (edit/delete)
This winter, No Frozen Pipes!! A single water pipe can easily create thousands of dollars in property damage. The easiest way to prevent this is to have a property that is fully occupied with responsible tenants, all of which have utilities in the tenant's name and heat set above 50 degrees in every unit.



Preventative Maintenance helps!

Heat wrap insulated tape on exposed water pipes can help.

Also, make sure to use insulated expanding foam to fill any building leaks that allow air or moisture into building or near piping.

Avoid Frozen Pipes!

According to our property manager standard operating procedures, "A new tenant must have his/her utility setup/proof of utlities prior to receiving keys. Verification can be provided by means of a receipt from the utility company or a verifying phone call to the same.

Enough with Frozen Pipes!

It is your job as owner/manager to make sure your property has no frozen pipes. You must verify that each tenant has the heat turned on. If a unit is vacant, you need to make arrangements with the utility company to have the utlities turned on in the property name and you should personally verify that the heat is working and set above 50 degrees. The all-around best solution is to have your property 100% occupied.



HINT: Another trick I have learned, is for example, let's say the forecast calls for an evening of below zero temps (wind chill, etc), then leave a pencil lead thin line of water running from the sink and, believe me, the cost of that water will be dramatically less then frozen pipes!

The Beer Episode - as first written by Gerri Weits, PA on activerain ~ Click here for Gerri's page

The Beer Episodes


Everyday, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this:

The first four men (the poorest) would pay nothing.
The fifth would pay $1.
The sixth would pay $3.
The seventh would pay $7.
The eighth would pay $12.
The ninth would pay $18.
The tenth man (the richest) would pay $59.

So, that's what they decided to do.

The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve.

'Since you are all such good customers,' he said, 'I'm going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20.' Drinks for the ten now cost just $80.

The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes so the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men - the paying customers? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his 'fair share?'

They realized that $20 divided by six is $3.33. But if they subtracted that from everybody's share, then the fifth man and the sixth man would each end up being paid to drink his beer. So, the bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man's bill by roughly the same amount, and he proceeded to work out the amounts each should pay.

And so:

The fifth man, like the first four, now paid nothing (100% savings).
The sixth now paid $2 instead of $3 (33% savings).
The seventh now pay $5 instead of $7 (28% savings).
The eighth now paid $9 instead of $12 (25% savings).
The ninth now paid $14 instead of $18 (22% savings).
The tenth now paid $49 instead of $59 (16% savings).

Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But once outside the restaurant, the men began to compare their savings.

'I only got a dollar out of the $20 declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man, 'but he got $10!'

'Yeah, that's right,' exclaimed the fifth man. 'I only saved a dollar, too. It's unfair that he got ten times more than I!'

'That's true!!' shouted the seventh man. 'Why should he get $10 back when I got only two? The wealthy get all the breaks!'

'Wait a minute,' yelled the first four men in unison. 'We didn't get anything at all. The system exploits the poor!'

The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up. The next night the tenth man didn't show up for drinks, so the nine sat down and had beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn't have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!

And that, ladies and gentlemen, journalists and college professors, is how our tax system works. The people who pay the highest taxes get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.

For those who understand, no explanation is needed. For those who do not understand, no explanation is possible.