All Forum Posts by: Chinedu Akunne

Hey, did you ever split the meters? If so, how did it go and how did your tenants respond to it?

@Dennis M.

Thank you! I struggled the first 5 years. Paid my dues and learned so much. Again, a shout out to the BP family. People are so willing to help and more often than not, their advice and comments are spot on.

I had the same issue initially when I bought a 4-plex. But I asked the owner to complete the meter installation. I believe that the tennants have more skin in the game when they pay the water bill. I know it is a large expense, but it pays off in the end.

In my market, it would be hard to charge water on a 5-unit. Tenants here in those types of properties expect water,sewer,trash to be included. I am installing sub-meters with remote readers from flows.com for my duplexes where it is possible to pass along water and trash costs. The meters + readers cost about 170.00 and my plumber charges 150 for the install. My handy man reads the meters every month. There is an option for a gateway system that can upload data from up to 32 units to the internet for about $1000 with a 50/year data fee. I'll probably eventually go that route. The guys at flows.com were VERY helpful in going over my options (I have no affiliation with the company other than as a customer).

I’d have no issue charging the tenants an extra $50 for water/sewer/trash. I would make sure that it’s a bit less than I’m paying, so you can honestly say that they are getting a deal, and if it ever came up legally, it’s clear that you’re not trying to fleece them on extra ‘fees’. (Not sure there’s any precedence for that, but don’t want to find out either)

Maybe let them know that you realize it’s a change, so you’ll do $25/mo in 60 days, and $50 in 90. So it is easier to work into.

@Chinedu Akunne

Overall, I would still do the same in a quad.  You are transferring the risk to the tenant and hold them accountable for their on utility consumption.  You may also want to consider what are other apartments are doing in the area.  Any new construction is going to be metered unless it is a 55+ community where tenants want convenience.   

I would not necessarily provide a credit.  Consider doing the work when you may have one or two units vacant so that you make it part of the turnover process and possibly inconvenience fewer tenants.   The more notice/time they have, the more time they have to get ready for the event and cannot claim it as a surprise.  If you have an average credit score most utility companies do not require a deposit. 

I would purchase and install meters if there was a financial upside regardless of the number of units but only if I was not able to find a good enough deal on a property that already had separate meters. Purchasing a property that is metered is prefered over spending capitol after a purchase.  

If Louisiana allows a new landlord to immediately impose a new lease that is rare, and you are lucky. I would advise using only M2M leases to enable you to stay in control of your investment.

My preference would always be option D, not buy the property.

Assuming you are adding value my second choice would be to install the separate meters. You will need to confirm with your state regulations as to whether you will need to wait till the end of a tenants lease to change billings or require they put utilities in their name. You can not usually change anything during the term of a existing lease. Hopefully they are all on M2M.