Landlord,Advice,Cutting,Costs, DIY Landlord Advice: Cutting Costs and Building Relationships.
When starting a new work at home business it is very easy to become consumed by it. We spend so much time trying to get the business up and running that we may end up becoming burned out and lose our motivation. There is so much to learn and Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-parent:"";mso-padding-alt:0in
Landlord¼s and tenants may not always see eye to eye, but there is one topic that theycan always agree on: the lower the bills the better.From a landlord¼s perspective it makes sense to encourage tenants to use as littlepower and water as possible. The landlord may be charging a flat rate for utilities so itsplain that they would want the bill from the utility company to be as low as possible.Even if they do not charge a flat rate, when the utilities usage decreases it implies thatthe amenities are also getting used less. When they get used less they break less andso in the long run could save a landlord a lot of money.Encouraging tenants to use less power is an easy conversation. Since the environmentis on the forefront on everybody¼s mind these days consensus building becomes easywhen you broach the topic by saying, It would be great if we could use less water andenergy, it will save on bills AND it¼s good for the environment.From a tenant¼s perspective it also makes a lot of sense to cut down the bills. Obviouslyif the tenant is paying their own utilities they will want the bill to be as low as possible.Even if the Landlord is paying the utilities (utilities included in rent) it still makes a lot ofsense for the tenant - if for no other reason, It¼s good for the environment.Here are some examples of easy ways to save on utility expenses in any property:1. Fix leaking toilets. First check if it¼s leaking. It¼s easy to do. Just add some die intothe tank and wait an hour. If if the die appears in the bowl the toilet is leaking. Moreoften than not it is just a case of a worn out plunger. Most any hardware store will beable to sell you a replacement for $20 or less. They¼re even easy to instal.2. Instal high efficiency toilets and showers. Some municipalities even offercompensation for people replacing old toilets with new high efficiency models. Highefficiency shower heads can be a tough sell, but improvements in design have madeit possible to create the same feeling of pressure while still using less water.3. Instal low flow aerators in all the taps. This just mixes more air with the water so youuse less every time you turn on a tap.4. Buy a drying rack. Especially in dry cities like Calgary a drying rack not only savesenormous amounts of energy by limiting the use of a drying machine it also ads afragrant (Tide, Gain, or whatever you wash you clothes in) source of humidity to theair.5. If you¼re going to use the drying machine, make sure the vents and filters are all clear.The more readily air can come in and out of the machine the less energy it takes todry the clothes.There are many other ideas to cut the bills that I¼m sure you can think of. There¼s ahidden benefit to having this discussion with your tenant or landlord, too: this is an easytopic that may open the door to deal with the issues that you¼re really concerned with,but don¼t want to bring up.
Landlord,Advice,Cutting,Costs,