Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa December/ January 2018/2019 | Page 32

UTILITIES
ADVERTORIAL
Prepaid the
answer for
student
housing
Solving the problem of re-
couping electricity costs from
students with a prepaid utility
system
P
rivate student accommodation remains an attractive
property investment opportunity in 2019 as tertiary in-
stitutions across South Africa remain unable to accom-
modate the number of new and returning students.
Apart from the obvious challenges of working with
residents who have never lived on their own before, there are
a number of other unique operational issues. A key one being
the consistent recouping of monthly utility costs such as water
and electricity.
One common way to address this is to include a fixed cost
of utilities in the rent. This deals with the admin and stress
of recouping water and electricity but can often leave the
property owners out of pocket as tenants usage can be erratic,
and water and electricity costs can be unpredictable.
An alternative is to measure usage and add it to the monthly
rent bill, which is admin intensive, time-consuming, prone to
dispute and does not guarantee payment.
“Another, much simpler solution, is installing Citiq Prepaid
meters,” says Raymond Rorich, National Key Accounts
Manager at Citiq Prepaid. “As the devices are backed by our
extensive Citiq Prepaid system, which includes an online
portals for both owners and tenants to manage usage, bills and
payments, our friendly call centre and countrywide recharge
network, utility billing and payment become a non-issue,” says
Rorich.
The Citiq Prepaid system is perfect for larger, purpose-built,
developments with many single units as well as houses that
have been transformed into student spaces.
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DECEMBER 2018/JANUARY 2019 SA Real Estate Investor Magazine
The key benefits of a Citiq Prepaid utility system include:
Students never spend more than they budgeted: No
unexpected bills at the end of the month.
Perfect utility collection and payment: Property owners and
managers always receive exactly what was used.
No Admin: No need to split bills, distribute invoices, chase
payment and work with disputes.
Easy allocation of monthly utility allowance: Citiq Prepaid’s
system enables property owners and managers to allocate
utility allowances and distribute voucher codes to the students.
Easy tracking of costs: In addition to the detailed statements
which are emailed each month, the online portal offers 24/7
access to real-time payment and usage information.
National network of recharge points: Citiq Prepaid has the
largest national network of over 80 000 recharge points.
Mobile recharge options: Students can purchase tokens
online via many mobile options such as online banking apps
and the Citiq Prepaid portal.
Call centre support: Citiq Prepaid’s call centre agents are
available seven days a week to support students with any utility
issues they have.
“Managing utilities payments doesn’t have to have a hassle.
Let Citiq Prepaid partner with you and take the admin,
frustration and time out of managing utility costs,” concludes
Rorich.
SOURCE www.citiqprepaid.co.za