ACT Two houses on one block (one title) one water meter

Hi,

We are considering bidding for a property. There are two houses with two rental income on the same title. The electricity is separately metered. However, there is one meter (one bill) for water. One house (house1) currently rented, the property is managed by the owner. Owners relatives are living in the other house (house 2). Tenants (in house 1) are charged a fixed amount ($40 per week) towards the water usage in addition to rent.

We are not sure how this all would work when both the houses (house 1 & house2) are managed by a property manager when the houses are leased to two separate parties. Appreciate advice from senior members, is this something to stay away from as it can get complicated as to who is using how much water.

 

Factor the cost into the rent charged.

 

A tenant can only be charged for their usage if it is individually metered which this isn't. Rent will be inclusive of usage.

 

Thanks, Stoffo, Scott - We are thinking of splitting the water meter into two, have no idea what is involved to install dedicated water meters, is this a big job?Any rough cost estimate? Any approval is required from the planning authority & Water utility supplier?

 

It seems to me that you are just creating more compliance issues, cost and work for yourself. Just build the water into the rent for each dwelling. The potential loss (or profit) of a few dollars on water will quickly be wiped out by the couple of hundred (minimum) you will pay to have the separate meter installed and when the ACT catches up with mandatory water economy requirements (eg Qld) the couple of hundred you will be paying out every couple years to a plumber to check compliance.

 

Thanks, Mark- another topic is any downside of buying two houses on a single title? I have noticed that dual income property is in the market for over 6 months in this hot market.

 

We've owned two homes on one block for over 20 years now. One water bill, and each home metered separately for electricity. It's a no-brainer, just pay the water if you're not going to put separate meters in.

 

Dual income makes sense. We have had once in our PPOR , we forgot to turn the garden tap off, water kept running overnight, received a bill for over $1000 for the quarter. For accidents like this in a single meter arrangement, I guess the owner has to bear the loss.

 

I can't talk about the specifics of having the two parties on one title in a state other than Queensland, but I can say that if you are looking to own long-term you should seriously consider biting the bullet and separately metering the water. Lets say it costs you $3,000 to separate and you get to bill back $1,000p.a. of water, it only takes a few years to completely pay off. That doesn't even consider the fact that you've also improved the value of the investment.

 

I know its very hard to estimate the cost of splitting water meter and install separate ones for each house, wanted to get an idea from the experienced members a ballpark figure for installing separate meters.

 

Get a quote from a plumber or multiple, each property is different distance from meter to house and tie in point will effect the costing