Posted by Mark (SDCA) on December 13, 1999 at 17:57:24:
Actually, I was talking about water meters. lol… I didnt make that clear in the in the original post. I need to sub-meter FOR WATER. lol. Sorry about that.
Mark
Mobile home park questions - Posted by Mark(SDCA)
Posted by Mark(SDCA) on December 13, 1999 at 11:10:02:
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Anyone know how much it costs to sub-meter a mobile home park?? (28 units or on a per-unit basis if you like)
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The seller wants 100K (25%) down and will carry the balance at 6%. To use Terry’s phrase: Where am I gonna get the money??
Thanks,
Mark
Re: Mobile home park questions - Posted by ray@lcorn
Posted by ray@lcorn on December 13, 1999 at 11:24:51:
Mark,
We just completed submetering a 54 space park. The cost was just over $330 per space (~$18T), but about $5T of it was hardware that is necessary regardless of the size, so your cost per space would be higher on fewer spaces, lower on more.
ray
Re: Mobile home park questions - Posted by Mark (SDCA)
Posted by Mark (SDCA) on December 13, 1999 at 15:15:51:
THis sounds like it would be very cost effective for me (i would recoup the cost is about a year), turning no deal into a potential deal.
How did you do this?? I assume any licensed plumber could do this?? Do you think it’s “low tech” enough that my handy man could do it??
Thanks,
Mark
Re: Mobile home park questions - Posted by ray@lcorn
Posted by ray@lcorn on December 13, 1999 at 23:36:11:
Mark,
We?re expecting about the same payback time on our system. We also looked at using our own crews to put the system in. There are a couple of things we took into consideration before deciding. First, we wanted a turnkey job that included billing and collecting. Second, we wanted the type of system that did not require a person to read the meters. Third, we wanted a system that did not require any modification to either our parks supply lines or the tenant?s home.
The company we went with, out of two we found in the country that will do small parks, offered a great deal on the equipment that included installation. The labor end of the deal, is not really as much plumbing (though there is some) as it is like installing a radio system. The system we found that met our needs was beyond the range of expertise we had available on our maintenance crew.
The system works like this:
Each space has a sensing unit that reads the water usage in the supply line below the cut-off for the home, and a sending unit mounted on the home itself that actually sends the usage info to a signal repeater mounted on telephone/power poles in the park, which sends the info to a computer based in the park. The computer is attached to a modem, and the billing company calls the computer once a month to get the usage. The computer generates the bill based on the same charges we are charged by the provider (state law prevents us marking it up), and sends it to the tenant identified with the space on the rent roll. The tenant sends the money in to the company, and they cut us a check once a month. We pay the water/sewer (this park has septic systems, so there is no sewer bill, but if there were we would pass it on just like the water charges.) bill as usual, and the municipality supplying the water never knows there has been a change. The company is charging us three bucks per space (I think, I?ll double check tomorrow) for the billing and collecting. In Virginia, we can pass on two dollars of that to the tenant as a billing expense, so net cost to us is a buck per month per space for reading, billing and collecting. We can?t answer the phone for the billing questions or prosecute one bad check for that.
We modified all of our rental agreements to include language that treats the water payment as additional rent, so if they don?t pay, we take them to court for past due rent, not utilities. This is important, because in states with the UCC landlord/tenant law, there are different requirements for utilities versus rent. We can change our rent roll with the billing company as needed, though this park has little turnover and a waiting list to get in. The hidden upside to this deal is that the park will experience an immediate decrease in the amount of water used. All of a sudden, when that running toilet is costing Harry Homeowner instead of Leon Landlord it?s amazing how fast it will get fixed, and how much longer the car stays clean between washings. For a park like ours that has septic systems, we expect this to result in longer life and lower maintenance on our drainfields and tanks also.
Having said all that, there are systems that use mechanical meters, and are read manually. They are of course cheaper, and could be installed by a local plumber I?m sure. But those systems require maintenance and manpower, two things we did not want to burden a small operation with. If you would like the name of the company we dealt with, send me an email and I will give you the contact info.
ray
He could do it, but… - Posted by DanM(OR)
Posted by DanM(OR) on December 13, 1999 at 17:40:06:
it would be illegal. You can check your state laws, but I am sure about this. I am a Mechanical Engineer by day and spent 7 years in the energy industry working projects like this.
Anytime you change the service, such as disconnect a wire and reconnect it. You are required to have a licensed electrician do it and probably should have an electrical permit. Don’t skimp here. It could cost you a hundred times as much if you do it the “wrong way”.
It’s the liability protection that you are buying when you pay $50-$100/hr to have that idiot out there. Don’t get me wrong, there arr as many good electricians out there as there are creative realtors. I just ran into a ton of the less-than-smart ones.
Regardless, do it the right way. It’s dangerous stuff man!
Dan Matejsek
Re: Mobile home park questions - Posted by Mark(SDCA)
Posted by Mark(SDCA) on December 15, 1999 at 19:49:26:
Ray,
This sounds like a sweet deal. (I couldn’t agree more about the dollar
per space per month!!) I would love the name of the comapny you use.
They are nation wide?? If I can’t use them on this deal, maybe in the
future. I am definitely on the look out for a mobile home park.
Thanks.
Mark