One house water meter vs unit specific

[Christopher DeAraujo]

Starting to work on a 4 unit property, set up as two duplexes; two units to the left, 1st and second floor and the same to the right.  Each unit has its own entrance/exit in addition to the common egress. This has potential to become condos should that become a common practice in our area.  

My question is: should i do separate water meters now as something for the future or keep the water under one house meter? Negatives are that there is an additional cost for me and if the tenant doesn't pay the water bill, i would end up with a potentially large bill at some point.  Positive is that i could potentially remove that month cost from the bottom line.  I could do 4 meters, keep the bill, and have a better understanding of who is using the most utilities and charge accordingly?

thoughts?

[Alecia Loveless]

@Christopher DeAraujo In my area 98% of the time the landlord just pays the water bill. With 25 units I average around $22/month and slightly less for sewer.

I’m in the process of separating out my heat to the majority of my units. Heating oil is expensive and I only expect a 3 year period before I see a significant return on my outlay. My tenants were putting their heat at 78 degrees and leaving windows open when it was -20 out.

I view the heat as a more significant return than I ever would for the water because it runs me about $1500/month on my buildings.