All Forum Posts by: Chris Roberts

Rocky, I work for a 3rd Party Utility Billing Service. If you're going to be doing it yourself I do NOT recommend that you have utilities in your lease. If necessary, increase the rent to cover utilities. OR regulations require that all utilities, methods, and how the provider is billing is required to be outlined in the lease (or bill if resident's are receiving a rent invoice). There is also specific verbiage that has to be in your lease if you're billing utilities that states the resident has the right to request the provider bills to review that their utility charges are in line with the property expense. There has been a large increase in OR lawsuits due to utility billing. Search ORS 90.315.

It may be outside of what you are asking, but with increased tenant protection due to COVID I would also recommend checking out SB-91 (Senate Bill 91) which had rent increase & rent nonpayment verbiage. 

I appreciate the feedback everyone. I began contacting electricians outside of the city, still looking at about the same time frame for the work to start but am on the cancellation list for several of them in case any of their appointments fall through. Due to the house being on knob and tube, I don't feel comfortable starting to do any of the work. 

concerned that i'd do more harm then good. 

I should have also included that a new electrical panel will need to be put in and the current one looks like https://inspectapedia.com/electric/Fuse_Panel510-D... and the wiring is a thick copper wiring wrapped in a fabric or cloth exterior. 

I am just

Situation: Currently in a live and flip and am doing a full remodel of the house in the evenings and on weekends. The house was built in the 1935 and all the walls are plaster and lathe, while starting the renovation I found out that the walls were crumbling underneath and were held up by duct tape, covered with what looked like some sort of mud then repainted. We have to add outlets around the home because there are barely any and they are located in the most abnormal places and we have contacted an electrician. He told us that if the walls are plaster and lathe the cost will be 50 - 100% more than if they were left open for him to come in and wire them quickly. 

Problem: The original electrician I scheduled with became a ghost and all (and I mean ALL) of the other electricians are 2 weeks out from being able to schedule a bid and another 2 weeks out from doing the work. I am trying to be moved out of this property within 6 weeks at the latest. 

1) Should I start drywalling the home and pay a little more than if they were open for the electrician? (they would have to cut through tile backsplashes)

2) Any suggestions on areas I can do while I wait for the electrician? 

I have to get this unit rented before April for the new students moving to the local university. 

Thank you in advance for your suggestions and advice!

I would check to make sure it is legal in your area like @jayhelms said. If you can bill them back 100% to the resident, I would recommend using the 50/50 RUBS method using two ratio variables (1. Occupants and 2. Sq Ft of the unit) 

Ex:

Unit 1: 2 tenants and 970 sqft

Unit 2: 1 tenant 700 sqft

$200 utility bill

Divide the bill in half = $100 for occupants & $100 for sq footage

Divide Occupant portion ($100) by total occupants (3) =$33.33/occupant

Then, divide sqft portion($100) by total sq ft (1670 sq ft) = $0.0598/sq ft

You will now want to multiply these by the variables in the units then add them together to get a per unit cost. 

Unit 1: (2 tenants x $33.33/ occupant) = $66.66 (970sq ft x $0.0598) = 58.06 

The total bill for Unit 1 = $124.72

Using the same process, here is unit 2's cost.

The total bill for Unit 2 = $41.86 (sq ft cost)+$33.33 (per occupant cost) =$ 75.19

The reason I recommend the 50/50 method is because you are making it "fair" by not only how many occupants they have in the unit, but also by the size of it. If you just use occupants as the deciding factor, they may come back and say that 2 people don't equate to 2x the usage of water because they do their dishes together, laundry together, and sometimes may shower together. 

If you have any other questions on the best way to do this, feel free to reach out to me. (I do this for a living)

@William Hochstedler thanks for sending the recommendations! I will definitely look into these. I actually was looking at the NUREIA this morning and found the contact information from someone with your company. I was going to email her and ask if there is anything one brings to the meeting or if there is an agenda of sorts. 

Good Morning Everyone!

My name is Chris Roberts, I currently reside in Logan, UT and work for a utility billing management company that works with SF homes, apartment complexes, commercial, student housing, and military housing. 

I own 1 SF home within a 2 minute drive from Utah State University, purchased with a VA loan and am renovating with my spouse while we rent out the basement "apartment" (only lacks a kitchen).

I have been listened to every BP podcast multiple times and nearly a bible's worth of notes I have taken, but have finally made the move to start purchasing more properties by extending offers and building relationships with local lenders. 

My goal is to use my network in different college communities (alumni of a large fraternity with 240+ chapters) to begin purchasing properties in and around their locations starting with my good ole Utah State.

I know i'm late to reply to this post, but there are several was you can go about this. You can use a straight RUBS method or a 50/50 RUBS method that is a lot easier then you think. 

Here are a few options for Straight Occupancy:

• Occupant: $100 water bill / 6 occupants total = $16.67 per tenant
• Square Footage: $ 100 water bill/ 2400 total square feet= .042 cents x the square footage of the unit
• Bedroom: $100 water bill/ 5 bedrooms (assuming your triplex is (2) 2 bedrooms and (1) 1 bedroom = $20/ bedroom

Example of 50/50 (occupant & sq footage): 

$100 water bill / 2 ($50/ occupants & $50/ square footage) 

$50/ 6 occupants = $8.33 per occupant

+

$50/ 2400 sq feet (est triplex square footage) = .021 cents

For a couple living in a 1 BR 1BA (650 sq ft) = 2 occupants x $8.33 = $16.66 

650 sq ft x .021 cents = $13.65

This couple would pay $30.31 of a $100  water bill. 

If you have any questions, about the "why" to the different methods, feel free to reach out to me.