How to Bill Your Tenants for Water Usage with Kelly Koontz

 

How to Bill Your Tenants for Water Usage with Kelly Koontz

 

Guest: Kelly Koontz, a seasoned expert in utility submetering solutions tailored for multifamily properties. With over two decades of experience at Submeter Solutions, Kelly has been at the forefront of revolutionizing utility management strategies, empowering property owners to maximize efficiency, enhance property value, and foster tenant accountability. In this episode, Kelly shares invaluable insights into the intricacies of utility submetering, its profound impact on property management practices, and practical strategies for seamless implementation.

 

Big Idea: At the heart of utility submetering lies a transformative approach to utility management for multifamily properties. By accurately measuring and allocating utility costs to individual tenants, property owners can unlock a myriad of benefits, ranging from significant cost recovery and increased property valuation to fostering a culture of responsible resource usage among tenants. Through the integration of modern metering technology and innovative billing methodologies, utility sub-metering not only optimizes operational efficiency but also empowers property owners to proactively manage utility expenses, mitigate financial risks, and elevate the overall tenant experience.

 

 

    

Dan: So Submeter Solutions Inc. Would you mind starting us off here with what your company does and what you’re focused on.

Kelly: Happy to do that, Submeter Solutions, we’ve been in business since about the year 2000 and our whole business niche is all about servicing multifamily or multi-unit properties that are getting a single utility charge at their building but the owners, managers want to figure out how to allocate those charges down to the tenant-resident level. So our business will be in the first part selling you the proper equipment and metering equipment to be able to meter each individual unit. Then our second part of our businesses we can offer monthly utility billing services for those residents on an ongoing basis. So excited to be here today Dan and talk through all the details about how we do that for multifamily owners.

 

This Episode of The REI Diamonds Show is Sponsored by the Deal Machine. This Software Enables Real Estate Investors to Develop a Reliable & Low Cost Source of Off Market Deals. For a Limited Time, You Get Free Access at http://REIDealMachine.com/

 

This Episode is Also Sponsored by the Lending Home. Lending Home Offers Reliable & Low Cost Fix & Flip Loans with Interest Rates as Low as 9.25%.  Buy & Hold Loans Offered Even Lower.  Get a FREE IPad when you Close Your First Deal by Registering Now at  http://REILineOfCredit.com

 

Resources mentioned in this episode:

https://SubmeterSolutions.com/

 

For Access to Real Estate Deals You Can Buy & Sell for Profit:

https://AccessOffMarketDeals.com/podcast/

 

Kelly Koontz & I Discuss How to Bill Your Tenants for Water Usage:

  • Introduction & Financial Impact of Submeter Solutions – 1:01: Kelly delves into the core principles of utility submetering and its role in transforming multifamily property management practices.
  • Comparison of Billing Methods – 4:11: Contrasting traditional flat-rate billing, RUBS (Ratio Utility Billing System), and utility submetering, elucidating the advantages of metered billing for property owners and tenants alike.
  • Technical Implementation of Submetering Systems – 10:42: Providing comprehensive insights into the technical aspects of utility submetering, from metering equipment selection to connectivity solutions and data management strategies.
  • Utility Bill Integration with Rent – 20:59: Exploring lease structures and billing methodologies to prioritize utility payments alongside rent.
  • Ideal Clients and Property Types – 29:30: Identifying ideal clients, including self-managing landlords, property managers, and commercial property owners.
  • Alerts & Leak Detection – 40:00: The importance of leak detection, particularly in low-income and emergency housing, alongside active methods for instant alerts on flooding like frozen pipes, leading to significant property damage and renovation costs.
  • Insurance Premiums & Installation Costs – 45:10: Kelly discusses how insurance premium reductions are linked to active leak detection systems, the logistics and costs of installing sensors in multifamily units, and the growing regulatory and market demand for leak management solutions in water-scarce regions.

 

    

Relevant Episodes: (200+ Content Packed Interviews in Total)

 

The transcript of this episode can be found here.
Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.

Taylor Loht: Navigating Multifamily and Self-Storage Real Estate Investments

 

Taylor Loht: Navigating Multifamily and Self-Storage Real Estate Investments

 

Guest: Taylor Loht is a seasoned real estate investor specializing in multifamily and self-storage properties. He hosts the “Passive Wealth Strategy” podcast and has a diverse investment portfolio spanning various markets, including Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Phoenix, and mid-Michigan. Taylor employs syndication models to raise investor capital for strategic property acquisitions. His approach emphasizes value-add strategies to boost net operating income and property value. Taylor’s insights highlight market selection, the importance of a well-executed business plan, and considerations of interest rate trends. Through his podcast and expertise, he offers valuable guidance to real estate investors of all levels.

 

Big Idea:  In this podcast episode, Taylor Loht, a real estate investor and host of the Passive Wealth Strategy podcast, shares insights into his investment strategies in multifamily and self-storage properties. He discusses the importance of choosing the right markets and property types, emphasizing a preference for B-plus multifamily assets and larger self-storage facilities. Taylor also highlights the impact of rising interest rates on investment decisions and the need to make sound financial plans, cautioning against relying too heavily on Internal Rate of Return (IRR) metrics.

 

 

    

 

Dan: So do you want to give us a reader’s digest of your business model right now, Taylor?

Taylor: Sure, absolutely. So I invest in multifamily and soft storage deals. Again, pretty well spread out around the country. We do the syndication model where we raise investor capital to buy these properties. Our investors invest their equity and ride along with the investment for whatever the hold period is. Historically, there were a lot of folks holding in the say, three to five-year range, especially when the market was very hot and interest rates were falling, everything like that. Now that we find ourselves in a higher interest rate environment, shall we say, I think hold times are generally going to get more extended maybe five to seven years. But that’s probably a topic for another part of our conversation here. So investing in commercial multifamily and self-storage deals with a value add strategy. So your listeners are probably familiar with flipping residential real estate.

I understand that’s what you do. Well, this model is similar but different in many ways. Our hold periods are much longer, which changes the capital gains tax and everything around that situation. But that’s not the only reason. The value add strategy in commercial real estate is really based around raising a net operating income of the property. So in the case of multifamily, getting into a property with say, 100% classic interiors, old outdated interiors where tenants in the area would be willing to pay more for updated interiors, maybe improve the management, improve the exteriors, things that would make somebody be willing to pay more in rent for the units. Get in there, fix ’em up, raise the net operating income, and that in turn raises the value of the property. And depending on the strategy of the deal, you can either refinance and return capital to investors or just choose to sell lock in your gain, and move on to the next one.

So some folks look at it as flipping commercial real estate. Generally, there are some key differences. The timelines are longer, we generally look to cash flow from the property as well while we hold it, rather than having it all vacant and fixing it up. We need to be producing income in order to demonstrate that the value of the properties are going up. But they are pretty straightforward and I think well-proven business models as long as it’s implemented properly with the correct financing and reserves and everything around that.

 

This Episode of The REI Diamonds Show is Sponsored by the Deal Machine. This Software Enables Real Estate Investors to Develop a Reliable & Low Cost Source of Off Market Deals. For a Limited Time, You Get Free Access at http://REIDealMachine.com/

 

This Episode is Also Sponsored by the Lending Home. Lending Home Offers Reliable & Low Cost Fix & Flip Loans with Interest Rates as Low as 9.25%.  Buy & Hold Loans Offered Even Lower.  Get a FREE IPad when you Close Your First Deal by Registering Now at  http://REILineOfCredit.com

 

Resources mentioned in this episode:

https://www.PassiveWealthStrategy.com/

 

For Access to Real Estate Deals You Can Buy & Sell for Profit:

https://AccessOffMarketDeals.com/podcast/

 

Taylor Loht & I Discuss Navigating Multifamily and Self-Storage Real Estate Investments:

  • Market Strategy: Navigating Secondary and Tertiary Markets for Success
  • Property Preferences: Maximizing Returns with B-Plus Class Multifamily Investments
  • Interest Rate Impact: Capitalizing on Current Interest Rate Trends in Real Estate
  • Investment Strategy: Crafting Effective Business Plans and Deal Rationality in Real Estate

    

Relevant Episodes: (There are 229 Content Packed Interviews in Total)

 

The transcript of this episode can be found here.
Transcripts of all episodes can be found here.