Separate Heat and Hot Water in The Bronx

[Chris Rosenberg]

Hello all. I am begining my search for my first investment. I'm looking for a 3 family with a rentable basement or a 4 family, owner occupied in The Bronx. My main question is about how the utilities should be set up. I'm sure there should at least be separate meters for the electric but I'm not too sure about the heat, hot water, city water, and cooking gas. I would assume if there aren't already separate meters in place for cooking gas that that should be easy to add. I'm pretty sure that it's very uncommon (or non-existent) for small multifamily houses in the Bronx to have separate water meters for each apartment. Adding separate heat and hot water is a lot more complex. If anyone is very familiar with the Bronx rentals, can I get away with charging tenants for their own heat and hot water? Also, if I come across a property with one boiler/furnace and one water heater, should that be a deciding factor in making a decision to purchase? Also, does anyone have any info or experience on separating heat and hot water to each tenant? Any input on oil vs gas heat and hot water, and the conversion of oil to gas? Thanks in advance.