Submetering water COST

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Hi everyone.

I want to know how much you have paid for your water submeter. Please include how many units/submeters you purchased. I am only interested in knowing the cost of the submeter itself; plumbing, installation, service, costs separate. I am interested in the submeters that have a pulse/don't have to be manually read. Do you use a company to read the meters and bill or do you do it yourself?

Do you advertise a slightly lower monthly rent since your tenants pay their own water?

Thanks for the input.

[Joel Owens]

Water can be a property killer for returns.

As mentioned tenants do not report leaks and let friends use the water. RUBS they complain of unfair billing usage percentages.

Meters can work but come at more cost. Direct cut off to one unit from city or county can be optimal but as mentioned can be crazy expensive to implement.

Back in the day developers separated out gas and power but water was cheap so many did not separate it out. Today it is a huge expensive and issue. Some landlords install low flow toilets and shower heads but many tenants hate them and take off shower heads or clog up toilets with low flow models. Plumbing cost then go way up with maintenance calls.

Additionally you need to look at what is customary for your area. If you go to bill tenants and the whole area includes in rent then tenants might do a mass exodus from your property. If your building includes water but other buildings do not then your building is likely left over when the area transitioned and has not converted. The tenants in the area should be conditioned to the changes as the other options will have them doing the same thing.

5,500 per unit to install service meter and connection is NUTS! You can stud up gut most units for 3k to 5 a unit. 

No legal advice given.