Hello everyone, new Leaf owner here as of a few weeks ago. As one who lives in a multi-unit dwelling, I thought I'd share my story with fellow EV drivers.
I moved into my current apartment last year which happens to be managed by Oaks Properties who handle several properties in Minnesota and Texas. Like with nearly everything I tend to do some research before taking the plunge as I'm sure every one of you here have done before acquiring our favorite Nissan vehicle, living space is just as important. I came across many apartments that looked nice enough until I see no small number of complaints about the applicable management company. Oaks, unlike the aforementioned, happened to be well respected and I can see why. Even in this older complex that these guys have brought back to life things have been fantastic for the most part when it comes to addressing tenant needs.
Now, I've been interested in electric cars for some time and have been looking into all the issues that people run into, more recently in apartments and condos, idly musing "what if" if nothing else. I kept my ear to the ground with advancements in technology, advancements in infrastructure, discussions on where to go next, insults that we are all fools; you know, EV stuff. There's a company up in this neck of the woods called PlugInConnect run by a very motivated fellow who strives to break down the barriers that keep EVs from the hands of so many people. He also put up MultiHousingCharging.com which provides invaluable resources in how to approach acquiring a charging solution. I spotted Oak Properties' newest complex in the case studies second of that site that's set up right from the get go for vehicle charging. I later learned that this fellow from PlugInConnect has worked with the people at the top of Oak Properties and that they are familiar with all of the worksheets. That's encouraging because it shows they at least aren't against the idea...
When I caught wind of this latest Leaf leasing promotion I started asking my local site's management a lot of questions for what kind of charging solutions can this old place take. How complicated will adding a charger to my garage stall be? Can the system handle level 2 without leveling the building? How much to run a dedicated circuit to provide an outlet for 240v? 120v? There was a lot of back and fourth between my resident manager and the main office, naturally. After much discussion I was finally given a quote and I said if I had enough equity on my ICE vehicle to cover the lease down payment *and* the charger then I'd do it. The good news was the dealer actually cut me a deal that would actually work.
I requested the work to start and I acquired the Leaf. Now I admit, I have been lucky enough to drive a Tesla Model S, I even know someone who owns one, but even he is still able to appreciate what the Leaf has to offer, especially at that price point. I digress. Work on my charger circuit didn't start because I was told to hold on.
The next day I learned that the VP of Oaks Properties completely shot the circuit installation down even though I was going to pay for it. Why? Well they say they can easily handle one of these, but when they get to about half a dozen then they'll hit the limit of their current electrical service without having to add another leg of power which doesn't run cheap. So? So they claim this is a Fair Housing issue, if a couple people can pay to get a charging circuit installed and then someone else can't due to capacity constraints, that opens the door to Fair Housing a lawsuit. I admit I found this sketchy, but no matter, limited timers, products that cut power from one circuit when the residents' usage is high, lower amp circuits, hey they could pretty much give level 1 to anyone who wanted it. There are many possible solutions... but that really doesn't matter, this VP was adamant.
Obviously this is a pretty serious issue so I press for a solution as I've already had neighbors excitedly check out my leaf and I want them to be able to live here and drive electric. Even my resident manager was interested in the Leaf when I first started asking about charging solutions and was more than willing to see what kind of charging solution could be rendered here. Unfortunately so long as this issue stands nobody here can get an EV.
The VP's idea was to instead put a Chargepoint curbside station (ten thousand dollars installed) in the small common area lot outside so anyone can access it, but they budget these things at least a year in advance and it may take even longer for it to appear. As it stands it's merely a suggested alternative. It also means you can't lease a garage and use the charger at the same time (parking in the common lot is prohibited if you have a garage). A good portion of tenants who don't lease garage stalls park in the street as it is, but the idea was more for the publicity that they can say they have a charging station.
Nothing is to be done in the garages period. In other words my Nissan lease will likely be up before I can charge here. I'm beginning to wonder if they merely hung out with PlugInConnect just for the publicity as well.
At this point I actually got in contact with the founder of PlugInConnect and he was quite surprised with this whole situation as he knows these people and told me that they know all about the MultiHousingCharging worksheets designed to handle this very situation. He reassured me that once he gets in touch with those at the helm of Oaks Properties that we'll be able to work something out. I continued pressing my local manager but he honestly did all he could, his boss will not budge even after I've informed him that I've been shopping around at other apartments. With all my pressing and with the attitude of his boss it was practically enough to make the man cry.
Eventually I was given the VP's contact information, but that has so far yielded no result. I know she was there because she was responding to my resident manager's inquiries with a very strong message that she has no intention to negotiate at all and has yet to even respond to the inquires from either myself or the founder of PlugInConnect regarding this issue. The silent message I'm getting from the VP here is that she just finds me as a nuisance and is more than eager to see me gone.
I cannot wait years to charge my car so here I am typing this while my poor Leaf sits in the rain plugged into the station at the neighborhood library so I can have enough juice to get to work and back tomorrow. Obviously I have an escape plan in place having discovered another apartment where the manager there actually own his own Nissan Leaf. I like my neighborhood and I don't like the hassle moving, but there's only so much one can do. There's still months left on my lease, but this is where I am at the moment. In the mean time, I'm going to be filing a complaint in the very near future.
P.S. In spite of all of this there is no way I'm giving up my leaf. <3
UPDATE - 6/5/2014: Wow, so I had a very pleasant surprise yesterday. Just as I was about to decide which other apartment I wanted to sign up for, it turns out that Oaks ultimately decided to stand by their commitment to multi-dwelling charging and will move forward with getting that circuit added to the garage. I feel a lot better now.
I moved into my current apartment last year which happens to be managed by Oaks Properties who handle several properties in Minnesota and Texas. Like with nearly everything I tend to do some research before taking the plunge as I'm sure every one of you here have done before acquiring our favorite Nissan vehicle, living space is just as important. I came across many apartments that looked nice enough until I see no small number of complaints about the applicable management company. Oaks, unlike the aforementioned, happened to be well respected and I can see why. Even in this older complex that these guys have brought back to life things have been fantastic for the most part when it comes to addressing tenant needs.
Now, I've been interested in electric cars for some time and have been looking into all the issues that people run into, more recently in apartments and condos, idly musing "what if" if nothing else. I kept my ear to the ground with advancements in technology, advancements in infrastructure, discussions on where to go next, insults that we are all fools; you know, EV stuff. There's a company up in this neck of the woods called PlugInConnect run by a very motivated fellow who strives to break down the barriers that keep EVs from the hands of so many people. He also put up MultiHousingCharging.com which provides invaluable resources in how to approach acquiring a charging solution. I spotted Oak Properties' newest complex in the case studies second of that site that's set up right from the get go for vehicle charging. I later learned that this fellow from PlugInConnect has worked with the people at the top of Oak Properties and that they are familiar with all of the worksheets. That's encouraging because it shows they at least aren't against the idea...
When I caught wind of this latest Leaf leasing promotion I started asking my local site's management a lot of questions for what kind of charging solutions can this old place take. How complicated will adding a charger to my garage stall be? Can the system handle level 2 without leveling the building? How much to run a dedicated circuit to provide an outlet for 240v? 120v? There was a lot of back and fourth between my resident manager and the main office, naturally. After much discussion I was finally given a quote and I said if I had enough equity on my ICE vehicle to cover the lease down payment *and* the charger then I'd do it. The good news was the dealer actually cut me a deal that would actually work.
I requested the work to start and I acquired the Leaf. Now I admit, I have been lucky enough to drive a Tesla Model S, I even know someone who owns one, but even he is still able to appreciate what the Leaf has to offer, especially at that price point. I digress. Work on my charger circuit didn't start because I was told to hold on.
The next day I learned that the VP of Oaks Properties completely shot the circuit installation down even though I was going to pay for it. Why? Well they say they can easily handle one of these, but when they get to about half a dozen then they'll hit the limit of their current electrical service without having to add another leg of power which doesn't run cheap. So? So they claim this is a Fair Housing issue, if a couple people can pay to get a charging circuit installed and then someone else can't due to capacity constraints, that opens the door to Fair Housing a lawsuit. I admit I found this sketchy, but no matter, limited timers, products that cut power from one circuit when the residents' usage is high, lower amp circuits, hey they could pretty much give level 1 to anyone who wanted it. There are many possible solutions... but that really doesn't matter, this VP was adamant.
Obviously this is a pretty serious issue so I press for a solution as I've already had neighbors excitedly check out my leaf and I want them to be able to live here and drive electric. Even my resident manager was interested in the Leaf when I first started asking about charging solutions and was more than willing to see what kind of charging solution could be rendered here. Unfortunately so long as this issue stands nobody here can get an EV.
The VP's idea was to instead put a Chargepoint curbside station (ten thousand dollars installed) in the small common area lot outside so anyone can access it, but they budget these things at least a year in advance and it may take even longer for it to appear. As it stands it's merely a suggested alternative. It also means you can't lease a garage and use the charger at the same time (parking in the common lot is prohibited if you have a garage). A good portion of tenants who don't lease garage stalls park in the street as it is, but the idea was more for the publicity that they can say they have a charging station.
Nothing is to be done in the garages period. In other words my Nissan lease will likely be up before I can charge here. I'm beginning to wonder if they merely hung out with PlugInConnect just for the publicity as well.
At this point I actually got in contact with the founder of PlugInConnect and he was quite surprised with this whole situation as he knows these people and told me that they know all about the MultiHousingCharging worksheets designed to handle this very situation. He reassured me that once he gets in touch with those at the helm of Oaks Properties that we'll be able to work something out. I continued pressing my local manager but he honestly did all he could, his boss will not budge even after I've informed him that I've been shopping around at other apartments. With all my pressing and with the attitude of his boss it was practically enough to make the man cry.
Eventually I was given the VP's contact information, but that has so far yielded no result. I know she was there because she was responding to my resident manager's inquiries with a very strong message that she has no intention to negotiate at all and has yet to even respond to the inquires from either myself or the founder of PlugInConnect regarding this issue. The silent message I'm getting from the VP here is that she just finds me as a nuisance and is more than eager to see me gone.
I cannot wait years to charge my car so here I am typing this while my poor Leaf sits in the rain plugged into the station at the neighborhood library so I can have enough juice to get to work and back tomorrow. Obviously I have an escape plan in place having discovered another apartment where the manager there actually own his own Nissan Leaf. I like my neighborhood and I don't like the hassle moving, but there's only so much one can do. There's still months left on my lease, but this is where I am at the moment. In the mean time, I'm going to be filing a complaint in the very near future.
P.S. In spite of all of this there is no way I'm giving up my leaf. <3
UPDATE - 6/5/2014: Wow, so I had a very pleasant surprise yesterday. Just as I was about to decide which other apartment I wanted to sign up for, it turns out that Oaks ultimately decided to stand by their commitment to multi-dwelling charging and will move forward with getting that circuit added to the garage. I feel a lot better now.
