RUBS vs. Submetering

[John Garcia]

Hi Everyone. Hoping for a bit of guidance. Have two parks with a total of 53 lots. Just acquired both and they are in the Northeast. The state they are in allow RUBS, but we are also considering submetering. This may have been discussed before, but curious if anyone in the group has a recommendation. My thoughts are as follows:

1. Submetering: (+) Low (no) management, tenants know their exact use, potentially easier to identify leaks etc, positive exit feature for potential buyers. (-) Capital costs of roughly 20k.

2. RUBS (+) Quick implementation, consolidated billing. (-) Additional fees for tenants, additional management (I have a great manager btw), incomplete collections (estimating 70% payment rate)

So...

1. Is the above assessment accurate?
2. What has been successful for others?
3. If I have the capital is submetering worth the investment?
4. Any advice on RUBS companies, curious about others experiences?

Thanks in advance. John

[Account Closed]

@John Garcia

I would def check with the regulatory body and first make sure everything is ok to do RUBS as you indicate it is , but additionally, verify what their accepted metrics are ( i.e. square footage, bedrooms , occupants).  Also see if you have to register and any regs you might fall under. I have not done RUBS only sub metering but as you indicated, you wont have the capital cost up front and the big downside i think is tragedy of the commons.   Mr Smith sees Mrs Jones washing her car 10 times a day, and though they each get billed for 1 occupant, the charge is not in proportion to the usage which makes them unhappy and consumption in general can increase. 

Direct bill, its something you will be responsible for taking care of , reads, wrong reads, verifying they wont freeze etc .  Capital cost up front. Upside, tenants only pay for what they use and are aware of that. Also, if you have a leak on the park side , that does not go into tenants bill which is how it should be.  Im not sure how that gets provisioned into RUBS.....  

Additionally to note, while typically improbable, reach out to the water department and see if they might consider installing and reading at the individual homes .   My preference would be to go with sub metering between the two but I only have experience on the sub meter side and can only speak from theory and education on rubs. 

I would also reach out to all the parks locally and find out if they are including water  and/or seeing what methodology they use before moving forward with a decision.  

Congrats and good luck.