Have You Done Anything “Inside The Box” Lately?

Electric “box”, that is! It’s one thing to say you believe in “saving the planet” by using alternative fuel sources, however it’s quite another to bet your rental yields on it.

Real estate housing developer Kettler, Inc., who is responsible for 20,000 apartments and properties in 82 locations across the country, is banking on the increased usage of electric vehicles, anticipating the service will increase their profits.

The company plans to install electric vehicle charging stations in some of its east coast apartment complexes. Kettler has entered into an agreement with Car Charging Group, a Miami-based company who will be responsible for the installation.

Kettler’s Senior VP Laurel Howell stated that, “Providing our residents and other travelers with a green fueling option is an important step in our sustainability and addition to the other green practices we implement in our properties.”

As they say, nothing in life is free, so users will be required to pay a fee to use the service. It’s unknown which properties will be selected for the “upgrades”, however the equipment that is installed will be state of the line, appropriate for nearly all electric vehicles in the U.S., and will provide quick recharging in the form of 240 volts at 32 amps.

Is Kettler being “proactive” or “forward thinking” by installing the charging stations? Certainly time will tell, but I believe the answer to that depends upon three things (not necessarily in this order):

1. automobile makers putting out electric cars that the average individual (a/k/a living on a minimum wage job or unemployment benefits) can afford;
2. the government allows drilling of our natural resources to get us off of foreign oil while simultaneously
3. making it a priority to get the infrastructure in place to support this kind of venture

I honestly don’t see this turning a profit anytime soon, nor do I see the average “small potatoes” investor adding electric charging stations to existing properties, but who knows...time could certainly prove me wrong!