David Schanuel, president and COO of SageWater, joined a sponsored episode of the REIT Report podcast to discuss the importance in the multifamily sector of including plumbing and mechanical infrastructure in capital improvement planning.
SageWater helps multifamily owners protect their investment and improve residents’ quality of life through turnkey plumbing and mechanical infrastructure solutions. With forensic diagnosis, engineering design, and construction services, they upgrade and install critical systems while renters remain in their homes.
Schanuel noted that SageWater primarily focuses on the “substantial amount” of aged infrastructure in the multifamily sector that was delivered in the 1950s-1970s, and sometimes the early 1980s. “Their plumbing and mechanical systems have aged out or phased out of their useful life and really need to be addressed to ensure that the housing stock remains a top-quality asset for the ownership groups that maintain and rent out those facilities.”
Failure to proactively diagnose, analyze, and ultimately service and fix systems could result in property owners “holding an asset that's essentially kind of a ticking time bomb,” Schanuel said.
During the interview, Schanuel also looked at:
· Some of the most common problems created by aging infrastructure and deferred maintenance
· How new legislation or regulation across the country may impact the need for infrastructure improvements
· Trends in the design and composition of the products used today
· How SageWater has endeavored to become a sole source provider for the multifamily space, helping REITs in the phase of diligence before they acquire an asset as well as performing capital improvement planning.
Interested in sponsoring a future episode of Nareit’s REIT Report podcast? Reach out to Nareit here for more information.