New Building under Management - Implement RUBS or Raise Rents

[Jason Mak]

Happy New Year BP!  Just wanted to get feedback from the you guys.

I'm managing a building with long term tenants.  To account for utility increases we have been raising rents in the last few years instead of implementing a formal RUBS program.  While, I may be financially in a similar position with a RUBS program or rent increases, I like the transparency and separation of the RUBS.  That being said, this would be time consuming and I fear backlash from very good tenants.

1)  Anyone experienced implementing RUBS and can you give any tips on easing the transition for the tenants?  For example, would it make sense to implement it only to new tenants so that over a multiple years, the entire tenant profile will be put on RUBs?

2)  For a large apartment building, any tips on how to manage the accounting?  Currently using quickbooks.  Is the calculation a simple [Utility / # of bedrooms]

Any shared experiences on a RUBs implementation would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks