The Benefits of Sub Metering for Homeowners
Homeowners truly are the lone beneficiaries of a sub metering project. HOA’s are not in the business of making money for profit instead they are charged with keeping their community in good standing order. The major benefit of a sub metering project is that the HOA is able to put money it saves back into the community. HOA’s can now afford to repave parking lots, paint building, invest in upgrades all making for a beautiful and desirable living community. Sub metering is a fare and responsible approach to paying for water cost within the community.
It’s Important To Understand that home owners Paying For their Own Water Is Both Fair and Common
- In most cases there are two reasons why a property has not been individually metered. First many city water providers are reluctant to place meters beyond their easements. The other and more common reason is during the initial construction phase the property was not intended for resale rather built as rental homes and later converted. There is nothing unfair about a homeowner being responsible for their own water consumption; in fact a very small percentage of HOA’s pay for homeowner usage. Homeowners typically raise the concern that they already pay association dues and it seems unfair to also pay for water. This is not true, many single family detached homes also have associations that take care of common areas and these homeowners pay their dues and their own water bills. Most HOA communities legal documents do not mandate that the association be responsible for the water bill
Homeowners Only Pay for What They Use
- When HOA dues are used or even increased to pay for the communities’ water bill; in affect home owners are unfairly paying for other people’s water. For example a homeowner living alone typically uses less water than a family of three. This becomes unfair and equally frustrating to that homeowner when the renter next door takes three showers a day, allows his children to play with the water hose outside and washes his favorite pair of jeans every morning. Sub metering allows this homeowner to only pay for what they use. No portion of a homeowner’s bill is for water used for common areas such as green belts, pools or fountains.
No Need To Raise HOA Dues Due To Water Cost
- Communities no longer need to consider increasing home owner dues to compensate for water in fact many HOA’s are able to reduce the fees over time. HOA’s that pay for homeowner’s water usage use HOA dues to accomplish this. In many cases this substantially drains them of the funds necessary for projects within the community. To compensate many associations must continually raise dues to make up for this cost, in some cases associations cannot raise dues so they assign special assessments or projects are left to the way-side and the community falls into disrepair. This causes a negative effect on all home owners as a result property values decline and foreclosures become more prominent.
Repair and Upgrades To The Community
- When a community is able to paint buildings, repave parking lots and take care of repairs homeowners are happy and comfortable with their living environments. It also makes for a desired community for home buyers keeping vacancies within the community to a minimum. These projects all become much easier to do because the property is no longer using HOA dues to pay water bills. This also keeps the HOA from needing to use special assessments to take care of these repairs.
- Lowered Sewer Fees
- Arizona Sub Metering continues to work for the homeowners within the community. Sewer charges are included in the water bill and in most cases based on a three month average for the properties overall water usage and then imposed as a flat monthly fee. This usage is typically recalculated once a year and based on water conservation Homeowners should see a 25-45% decrease in these fees. We will also be able to show the difference between potable water (water that goes down a drain) and water used in irrigation further lessening the overall cost to homeowners.
Isolate Costly Leaks Within The Home
When water usage is metered people are much more conscious of the amount of water they use. We monitor water usage and unusually high usage is reported to the homeowners making things like slab or wall leaks easily detectable many times diagnosed before major damage occurs saving hundreds of dollars in the end. Homeowners are also more incline to take care of leaky faucets or toilets and report leaks within the community.
Sustained or Increased Property Values
- When a property is kept in good repair it is more likely to sustain or even increase in value. Homeowners want to know when living or buying a home it’s not going to lose value because the communities HOA is unable to keep the grounds, buildings, pools, etc. looking good.