Combining individual coop gas meters into one meter. Mistake?
I wanted to post a question, and the following is some information which I think is necessary to know first. We are a small, 15 unit brownstone coop building and are considering doing some minor plumbing work to change our individual gas meters (dedicated to cooking only) to a single meter. This would presumably garner…
I wanted to post a question, and the following is some information which I think is necessary to know first.
We are a small, 15 unit brownstone coop building and are considering doing some minor plumbing work to change our individual gas meters (dedicated to cooking only) to a single meter. This would presumably garner individual tenants a combined net savings of $1750/yr (partially kicked back to coop reserves), since it seems that a very large part of our individual monthly gas bills is for service of individual meters and carry charges and not for the actual gas usage. Apartments would still have their own shut off valves, in case isolated work was necessary on an individual line.
Our calculations are that we would recoup the costs for the plumbing work within a couple of years, and then the coop would get $1000/yr additional directly to our reserves.
SO… my question. Someone in the building felt that this alteration could negatively affect the re-sale value of an individual’s unit. Can anyone here offer informed feedback on this issue? And otherwise if you have any comments about this plan, please feel free to chime in.
Reminds me of a building I looked at coops in where the electricity wasn’t separately metered – a real estate agent used to joke people could run copy shops at home. While I could see how people might use more electricity if not paying directly (though even that not a given – many, like me, don’t use much and so don’t try to conserve that much), it is hard to see how free gas would make people cook more – I have it now where I live, and it makes absolutely no difference in how much I cook.
Hard to see how someone could operate a commercial bakery out of the typical coop residential kitchen – they aren’t usually large enough – you’d have to renovate the whole place to really run a bakery. If someone were going to run a small cake-making business out of home, cooking gas is cheap, so I wouldn’t think free gas would be a factor in deciding to start such a business.
Even if some cook more than others, it appears you’d still reap savings from combining. Gas dryers add a bit to the bill – but not as much as you’d think (running one for 5-6 peoples’ clothes washing added less than $5 monthly to my bill over the cost of cooking gas). If you have a few gas dryers, and people were unhappy with the disparity, you could charge a small monthly supplement to those with gas dryers – though I wouldn’t recommend doing so, as the cost is quite minimal.
And, before someone says it, I can’t imagine someone running a washing service out the home – the days of my grandmother taking in washing to get by during the depression are long over.
Would definitely not matter on resale, no. Yes, people in coops will always find something to complain about, even when others are doing all the work.
I can’t imagine that most buyers even check whether the gas is metered separately. I’d be willing to say most people would assume it is. People in co-ops will complain about anything.
Have any of the units added gas dryers?
It would only help resale, the gas for the unit would be included in the maintenance.
I hope your calcs take into account that when something is free people use more of it.
does the commingled water bill have an effect on resale value?
i am not sure how cooking gas affects resale unless someone is operating a full scale commercial bakery out of their apartment.
Most people, me included, love it when cooking gas is included in maintenance. Just make sure you get charged the correct rate – our condo building gets two bills one for heat and one for cooking gas. The cooking gas rate is residential, non-heat. We have over forty apartments and cooking gas is included in maintenance.The monthly gas bill for cooking is a pittance.