"How much do Utilities Run?" Do you Know?

Question

I have a mix of condos, townhomes and SFRs for rentals. A question I get from about one in four potential tenants is "How much do the Utilites run". I have no idea how much the utilities are on any of my properties. Fact is the local Utility where I live will not tell me what the electric/gas usage is/was without consent of the tenant, I expect that policy is the rule now. If I had an apartment building, with a bunch of similar units, I would make an effort to establish an answer for this question, but I do not. And most of the people that ask this question fall into the 'not very motivated, window shopping' category of potential renters, further demotivating me from researching the question. I suspect this question derives from some prosaic advice repeated hundreds of times on how to rent a home.

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I am curious if any of you landlords actually make an effort to answer this question.(?)

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I am curious if any of you landlords actually make an effort to answer this question.(?)

Jean Bolger · Answer

Are those properties in the Denver area? I just tell them to call Xcel Energy and give the address. There's never been a problem getting the info. (I prefer to have the prospective tenants do the call themselves, so I don't get "but you said the gas was only $xx/mo..." later on!)

Joel Owens · Answer

The utility company might not give the actual bills or number for the existing tenants but they usually will give historical numbers. Saying the average bill for this type of condo, house, size, etc. is XX a month. They might even give it for the exact property when previous tenants live there.

The customer service people on the phone might not know this and you have to talk to a different department to get answers. Even though you can get averages the usage comes down to the tenants moving in. Some use more and some use less depending on how they live.