Whose Name Should Utilities Be In??

Question

Hello,

I am wondering if there are any reasons for or against having the utilities in my name vs our property manager.

Thanks!

Leslie Anne Morris · Answer

I own a property management company and I require utilities in owners name. Much easier this way if we part ways in the future.

Nancy Bachety · Answer

STR so obviously not the guest (tenant). My only concern with PM paying them is an assurance they were paid so I opt to pay them myself, my credit card, (my rewards and protections), and keep it on autopay. I know it’s paid and no services will ever be turned off or taxes unpaid.

Jeffrey Albaum · Answer

Hi @Courtney Murphy!

It can be either - if your property manager is cool with it it might be easier for you to not have to worry about paying the bill - they'll pay it and than show you how much it cost every month on your owner statement. The con of this option is that they might not be as pro-active as you might be if your water bill trends up or shoots up one month (indicative of a leak).

TLDR - either way works it just depends on how active/passive you want to be! Hope this is helpful!

Drew Sygit · Answer

@Courtney Murphy we're a property management company and require utilities to be in the owner's name, not ours - but, we have everything mailed to us or we have online access to their account, so we can manage and pay them.

We do NOT want to be financially liable for the bills as we've had to chase owners for funds in the past and it oftn ends relationships.

Anthony Napier · Answer

Tenants should always be responsible for their use of utilities. In Springfield, Ohio owners are ultimately responsible for the water bills that tenants may not pay. I always request of the water department to forward a copy of all of my tenants' bills. In the alternative I have the tenant give me access to their online water bill account to verify bills are current. Either way, that saves me from a big water bill surprise!

John Underwood · Answer

Your name.

Paul Sandhu · Answer

Your name.  How can you expect a short term rental tenant to put utilities in their name?  And when they leave, how are you going to clean it.  Ignore post 2 and 4.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

It's unlikely the PM will put utilities in their name, but they may be willing to pay the bills on your behalf. See if you can keep utilities in your name but mail them to the PM for payment.

Theresa Harris · Answer

Probably easiest to have them in your name for the short term rental.  For my long term rentals where I have a PM, they have access to the account, so when the tenants turnover, both myself and the PM get a notice to let us know the new tenant has put it in their name and if there are problems with the tenants paying the bills.

Sergey A. Petrov · Answer

Keep the account in your name but have the bills sent to your management company for payment and inclusion on your financials

Whose Name Should Utilities Be In??

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