Successful landlords are by necessity savvy financial operators. Regardless of their market or target clientele, all residential investors need to carefully balance their operating costs, maintain their properties, and forge positive relationships with their tenants. Unlike ordinary homeowners, these entrepreneurs have little room to splurge on additions, upgrades, or anything more expensive than a quick polish-and-fix. Understandably, making sustainable alterations tends to rest low on their priority list. That said, Jason Cohen of the real estate advising forum Jason Cohen Pittsburgh would argue that investing in sustainable measures makes long-term financial sense, even if the up-front bill is intimidating.

Consider this: According to analysts at the Energy Resource Center, a water faucet that drips once per second wastes approximately 2,700 gallons of water per year – an insane financial waste by anyone’s standards. Moreover, even that hypothetical number doesn’t take into account the cost imposed by ineffective heating systems or old lightbulbs. The costs of unsustainable living are quiet and easy to miss: a leaky faucet here, a poorly-maintained water heater there. Switching to more sustainable systems can help landlords save thousands on a single property, and is thus well-worth the time, effort, and money conversion requires. Here, Jason Cohen outlines a few ideas that sustainably-minded landlords should consider adopting.