Spokane Utilities - Am I crazy, or are they deal killers?!?

[Charlie Stevenson]

Hello Spokane Investors, Landlords, Property Managers, etc!!

As we've been analyzing deals in Spokane, we're routinely coming up with low and negative cash-flow analysis. A big part of it seems to be the UBER high utility costs in Spokane: water, sewer, garbage (and sometimes gas), which we've learned that most landlord bear as a cost of doing business. This is unique relative to other places I've personally rented (Denver, Orlando, LA and Boston). 

Is anybody out there seeing similar variables affecting your deal analysis? How are you bridging the gap? 

We've been talking about "Billing Back" utilities like water, sewer, garbage to the tenants, but we're concerned there will be lots of resistance since rents are already so low in Spokane.

What do you all think?

Cheers!

Charlie