Electical Heating a TurnOFF for Tenants?

[Erika A.]

Hi All, 

Im thinking of purchasing to buy and hold. Its a 3 fam. Two of the units have electrical heating. Ive read about the landlord pros and cons but was recently told that tenants will not want this rental because of the electrical heating and the high electrical bills. Has anyone had experience with this? Is it enough to discourage a large pool of good quality tenants from leasing?

Thanks 

[Anna Watkins]

Ditto what @Michaela G. said about all-electric.  Personally, I prefer gas, but lower income tenants tend to prefer all-electric because it's one less bill to pay, one less deposit to come up with. Most of my houses came with gas heat, but I'm putting a heat pump into a HVAC-less house in TN for this reason.  I've seen instances where the tenant never established a gas account, and lived with no hot water, no stove, no furnace -- a house full of electric space heaters, and a lot of mildew (due to humidity and poor air circulation).  My lease now requires establishment of electric, water AND gas accounts.