Should I add a submeter to a house hacked duplex in Minneapolis?
Hi all - I'm closing on my first house hack soon, and had a question about splitting water. My plumber mentioned that a lot of landlords he's seen don't actually split the water since checking the meter monthly is a bit of a hassle if you don't live there.
He said the city of Minneapolis won't provide separate meters themselves, but that you can split it yourself. He estimated that it would cost about $1,500 to do the work to split the water and add a submeter to measure tenant water usage.
Should I add the submeter while the plumber is already replacing a corroded pipe, and just get it over with, or would it make sense to use an alternative method of splitting the water?
I've read that some landlords do a 50:50 split, or a split based on the number of people living in each unit.
Another method I saw on bigger pockets was to ask the utility company for last year's average monthly cost, and charge the tenant half of that monthly, and add a clause saying if their actual use exceeds the historical average, they'll be charged for the difference.
For context, I'm hoping to scale up later on, so I won't be living in this property for more than 1-2 years. Thanks in advance for any advice on this!