It has been over 20 years since tenants in the United States began to pay their water bills directly to a water management company and not the owner of the building. Today, you can pay directly to utility management services for a variety of services. These include electricity, water and natural and propane gas. Other things such as trash removal, high-speed internet and security systems are now often paid by tenants of apartment buildings and not the owners.
Early Problems
In the beginning, people were not so quick to rely on management companies to handle their utility bills and services. Problems existed in different aspects of the systems. There were instances of
* Unreliability of the equipment reliability
* Technology failed to operate as it was intended
* Billing was often dubious, fraught with errors
* Meter reading was accomplished manually
* Savings from using such a system was questionable for the owners
* The systems could not help much with detecting areas of water wastage or electricity loss
Overall, the early systems provided challenges for all involved.
Management Services Today
Today, utility management services have improved their ability to provide dependable, secure, efficient services. The advances in technology have provided management companies, tenants and owners with the ability to reduce their utility bills overall. The equipment employed today is more user-friendly and reliable. Companies can now restrict their services to meter, or sub meter, reading or be expansive, including everything from designing a system to installation to meter reading to billing.
Choosing Utility Management Services
Overall, owners turn to utility service companies for:
* Accurate billing
* Efficient billing service
* Providing the right services for their apartments and other multifamily buildings e.g. sub metering, Smart Meters, leak detection
* Expert advice and monitoring
* Capability of handling disputes effectively and diplomatically
* Helping tenants and owners reduce the overall utility bills
For those who manage and/or own multifamily residential units e.g. apartments, condominiums, student housing, military housing, it is extremely important that they can rely on the management company to ensure the utility services are delivered in accordance with the owner and tenant’s needs. The owner does not want to have to concern him or herself about the nitty gritty of the delivery system on a daily basis. This is the responsibility of the management service.
One reason a building owner opts for a utility service is to save money. If the purpose is to increase net operating income, a few options are available to the owner. With the costs of utilities rising, one way an owner can save money by changing the utility system from owner-paid to tenant-paid. The owner can easily accomplish this by turning over the responsibility of instituting such a system to reliable and reputable utility management services.