Property Management Toolbox

Rental Budgets - What about utility increases?

As you know I am a big fan of "Pride of Ownership" when it comes to rental properties. I have always found that spending the right investments over time to keep properties up to date, fresh and ready to rent DOES pay off in increased rental rates. However, as you are thinking about your 2014 rental budgets and how much you have to invest in your rental properties Don't Forget to think about the utility increases that will occur this year. According to the Consumer Price Index  in the past 5 years Electricity is up as much as 6.4%,  Gas is up as much as 13.8%, Water/Sewer  is up as much as 7.4% and Trash is up as much as 5.5%. According to the US Department of Energy's forecasts for retail price increases for 2014: Electricity up 1.4%, and Natural gas up 10.6%.