All Forum Posts by: Ben Smalley

You can include it in the rent, submetering may be expensive and generally not worth it. For a duplex, depending on the area, will be $85-130 a month for sewer and water. Here is the Cleveland Water rates table: http://www.clevelandwater.com/customer-service/water-rates/rates-fees

I would also recommend swapping out the toilets as many old toilets in Cleveland are 1.6 or 1.9 gpf. Home Depot has the Niagra Stealth with a 0.8 gpf https://www.homedepot.com/p/Niagara-Stealth-2-Piece-0-8-GPF-Ultra-High-Efficiency-Single-Flush-Elongated-Toilet-Featuring-Stealth-Technology-in-White-77000WHAI1-N7714-N7717/205611735

Additionally you could swap the shower heads for low flow ones. It's not significant savings but the payback period is less than 3 years and will reduce the bill by $5-10 per month. 

There are several insurance companies that will insure you. 80% of the houses in Cleveland are knob and tube. I will send you a PM and can introduce you to my insurance agent. 

@Kunal Mishra yes absolutely. As you move towards Euclid North Collinwood gets better. Around all the shops on 185th is a great location. I like several streets off of there. 

Overall it is decent. Closer to the Euclid side the better

 Ohio Revised Code talks about is a landlord providing basics like running water, heat, and power to the property -- not garages and due to the fact that they are moving out in a month I would say don't do anything now. When you are renovating you could look to trench it or could do a small solar panel and light, which would likely be cheaper if you buy a kit.

Ha yes she is trying to game the system. But once they apply you need to submit all their paperwork to the housing authority outlining who pays what. You and her need to sign this paperwork so if she doesn't sign then she doesn't agree to it, and if it is signed and it states the water bill is the tenant's responsibility then you're good. You then submit all that and the housing authority will determine what you can legally charge her. Usually if owner pays more of the utilities then the housing authority will come back with a higher amount. Say market is $850 you should submit housing paper requesting $950 and they take into account market rate, what utilities tenant pays, etc. and gives you a rent number and what % they will cover on behalf of the tenant.

Having a tenant argue about sewer before this process (and I assume it was in the listing too) sounds like a headache and a tenant that will be difficult to manage down the road. I say pass. 

This should be spelled out in the Housing Authority Payment (HAP) contract. If water was not included in there originally when determining what the housing authority will pay on the tenant's behalf then you cannot charge for it now. That would put you at risk of having the Section 8 program shut off for you. If the water bill is included in the HAP contract then the tenant has no right to complain. 

Overall in Ohio if it is individually metered, as in SFHs, you can pass it on to the tenant but Section 8 is a bit different and needs to be included in their calculation. 

John Farmiloe is great. I always use him.

The Home Detective

154 E.Aurora Rd

#212 Northfield, Ohio 44067

Where is the property located? I have found Zillow to be the best source but I have also found that the ratio of Interested and say they will be at the showing to actually coming to the showing is about 10:1. Meaning if you want 4-5 people at the showing you need a good 40+ people interested and saying they will come. From there it is choosing the best one.

If you are not getting those kinds of numbers then it is likely the price. I have started my listings higher and if I only get 5-10 people interested I know my price is too high so I drop it until I get the numbers. But if you are getting even LESS interest with lowering the rent then could be 1) too low and people think it's a scam (generally only if the place is too nice for that price) 2) timing, people tend to look at the end of the month not the 1st 3) seasonality - schools out for summer for example in University Heights

Thanks for sharing. I have 15 units in Cleveland and I hear you about the water. Just got hit with a $1300 water bill because the toilet was running all month and the tenant didn't seem to realize that water was just constantly running. Now I am looking at getting a smart device to monitor water usage at a few of my buildings.