I am trying to understand more on the utilities as I’ve learned there is a lot of options out there. I want to know what types of utilities are considered public and private. For example I am trying to know is septic private and that is a sewer system right? Also which ones should a beginner stay away from? I have seen a lot of listing that run on wells and septic and these are mostly smaller parks under 40 units mostly.
If you can give a short and quick description on water well, sewer, packaging plant or treatment, lagoon and septic and if they are public or private. That would be appreciated.
Private Utilities:
Well- hole in the ground typically created with a drill rig to access ground water that is then pumped to a storage tank. Very expensive if it goes bad and needs constant testing to check water quality.
Septic- waste goes into a tank where the solids stay and liquid flows out through perforated pipe which then leaches into the ground. Can be expensive to fix/replace, not a deal killer but needs to be inspected.
Lagoon- pool of sewage, stay away.
Packaging plant- personal sewage treatment plant, can be in the $100,000’s to replace.
City Utilities:
City water- comes from the city water system through your water meter. This is the ideal water service.
City Sewer- waste goes through the park sewer pipes into the city sewer. Ideal service for waste.
Thanks for the reply. I just wanted to ask in which situation does the tenant pay for the utilities and when does the owner pay? I’ve seen listings where mostly the owner is paying for it.
Parks with public utilities normally have 1 water meter that the utility company will read and bill based on the usage. The sewer bill is tied to the water bill and based on how much water was used. Many park owners will sub-meter each home to get reimbursed for the water usage directly from the tenant.
Most park owners I know keep great working and personal relationships with the people that do their septic work and general repairs. My family owns several small local parks and they’re low maintenance with predominantly long term renters that are comfortable with their position for the price. I know that’s off topic but what I’m getting at is that I don’t think they have illusions that they’re getting gated development for the price of a shakey shack. Keep things simple, many times the rent is consolidated with utilities so the tenant doesn’t have to decide whether to short you or the power company come payday. Make sure you try to upkeep all absolutely necessary repairs and let god sort the rest out. If you think on it too much you run the risk of caring too much. Which eats into what little profit you’ll wanna hold on to so you can feel like it is worthwhile at the end of the day.
if you have a private water and and sewer you can still meter water. If on a master meter you can submeter which I can only imagine is an difficult undertaking but worth it. After running a fuel oil business for decades I see the difference in usage between people who pay the bills themselves vs those who have it included in their rent . I’ve had customers tenants anwer the door wearing boxers and a wife beaters tee shirt when it’s 20 below F absolute, not wind chill, and tell me their apartment is chilly. d"IT" could be heating oil, electricity or water. As an experienced landlord the same. like the call I got ,“you know I can hear water running in the wall for the last couple of weeks” it was a pretty bad leak, the water damage was minimal, at the end of the quarter I my water and sewer bill was $6,200.00, normally $250.00. It’s human nature.