One meter multifamily

[Kassie Carrell]

Question: Main house is rented out. Back house is being rehabbed to be rented out. Only one meter. Do you get another meter put in? Currently 3 A&M college students living in front house, so I can't change anything until December when their lease is up. How can I make this work and get another renter in by end of July? Is this something the city would come out and do? Expensive?

[Jonathan Twombly]

@Kassie Carrell

My preference would be to get another meter, but there are other options.  Are you allowed under local law to charge for utilities?  If so, you can just charge your tenants a flat fee for utilities based on the past history.  Tenants really like this because it's predictable, and it's good for you because you get the money every month, rather than having to chase tenants for a utility payment after you've paid the bills.

Also, I am not sure how you would go about figuring out how to split up the utility bill between the two houses, so it would be best to sub-meter or do flat billing.

If you are rehabbing the back house anyway, the sub-meter is probably a small expense relative to the overall expense, and will save you a lot of headache.  Also makes the property more attractive when you sell.