All Forum Posts by: Shawn Hochhausen

Thanks for the reply guys.  I intend to live upstairs for a few years and eventually rent out the whole thing and yes I'd have to agree, rents are  lower than you'd find in most areas for 400k but it will be brand new and require very little for maintenance costs. 

Hi everyone,

I am in the process of building a single family home with a basement suite in Edmonton, Alberta as my very first real estate purchase.  I intend to hold this long term as a rental property.  My big dilemma is how to split utilities. I can get each unit metered separately at a cost of 5 000 dollars which would be 25 dollars a month on the mortgage ( 5%down/25years/3%financing).  The total cost of the house will be around 400 000 dollars and could bring in rents of 1700 + utilities upstairs and 700 + utilities downstairs.  I am wondering if that extra cost (25/month) is worth saving the hassle/risk of the other two options? 

1. Include utilities in the rent with the risk of personally paying for over usage.

2. Having upstairs and downstairs tenants split 60/40 which leaves potential for dispute on who used what and also a less appealing rental. 

Any help is much appreciated!!

Hey everyone,  I am in the process of building a suited single family home as a rental property and am stumped on the best way to split utilities.  My biggest issue is how to split the electric bill on the water heater, does anybody know of a way to sub meter a hot water tank?  Any knowledge or recommendations on sub metering is greatly appreciated! 

Hey everyone,  I am in the process of building a suited single family home as a rental property and am stumped on the best way to split utilities.  My biggest issue is how to split the electric bill on the water heater, does anybody know of a way to sub meter a hot water tank?  Any knowledge or recommendations on sub metering is greatly appreciated!