I am glad to see the world is progressing to less fossil fuel use and electric cars have finally been accepted and taken their rightful place among the fleet of automobiles on the road. Unfortunately, this new adoption has brought up unforeseen issues and as a real estate broker who sells a lot of luxury condos in SC, the question has become more and more prevalent. Where or how can or could I charge an
electric vehicle? With the meteoric rise in popularity of electric cars like not only Tesla, the Chevy Volt, Rivian (, and Toyota Prius just to name a few, and even more on the horizon this problem is going to become more and more an issue for HOAs. As if the condo collapse tragedy in Florida hasn’t opened up Pandora’s box enough, which will certainly change condo ownership regulations going forward, adding charging capability to condo developments is the last thing HOAs need to worry about. However, it goes without saying it has to be addressed sooner than later. From a real estate sales perspective, HOAs would be smart to install them sooner than later, as future buyers will most certainly lean to purchasing in a community that has the charging stations already installed and ready as this ChargePoint article points out. If you are a seller of a condo unit you might find it harder to get your property sold if other similar condominium communities have EV charging in their building.
As the baby boomer generation hits retirement age the popularity of condo ownership has become more and more popular for those who don’t want to worry about living in an SFR. While patio homes are the most popular style of home in America now among baby boomers condos offer a one-story plan with a no-maintenance hassle lifestyle.
Currently, in all the condo developments in my major market of South Carolina, I do not know of any developments that have electric vehicle charging stations or EV plugs in them. I personally sell mostly luxury condos in Charleston SC but my team sells all over the state, but at least here there are none that I know of. I wouldn’t be surprised if one or two of the new construction luxury condos in Greenville SC could potentially have some, but since my market is so much older it makes more sense. The largest condo market in all of South Carolina (Myrtle Beach) would be wise to get on board quickly.
So how do HOAs go about retrofitting for the growth in electric vehicle adoption?
EverCharge says: “even though you may own your parking spot, the electrical infrastructure is a shared resource and the HOA will want to know how adding EV charging affects everyone in the building. To install a charger, you’ll need to run wiring along common walls from a shared electrical source which may require you to put in a formal request to your architectural committee or form a committee to research and make a recommendation on how to implement EV charging.”
From my research, there are a few different options, but most of them will probably be fairly costly to the HOAs. That’s where things get tricky. No one wants their regime fees to go up, but alas that’s going to be inevitable unless the companies that put them in take a fee and install them for free. I am sure this market and change will have its growing pains but change is never easy. Each one of these companies likely has its own different business and pricing model so it might be wise to have some sort of accounting and audit firm perform the analysis for your HOA.
1) SWTCH
A Toronto Canada based company https://swtchenergy.com/multifamily, provides end-to-end EV charging and energy management solutions. Our smart EV charging platform streamlines the charging experience for drivers while optimizing usage and revenue for building owners.
2) CHARGE POINT (CHPT) stock symbol on the NYSE
Charge Point is a more recognizable name in the burgeoning industry. https://www.chargepoint.com/solutions/condos. This company was founded in 2007 and has a serious headstart on the rest. So that should give HOAs a little more peace of mind.
Find out how property owners and developers can benefit from networked solutions and why it’s far better to plan for charging during development than to “rip and replace” later.
3) WALLBOX
Similar to ChargePoint, it would be another great option for condo HOA to consider when shopping around for the best option for their community. https://wallbox.com/en_catalog/about-us/we-are-wallbox
According to their website “Wallbox goes beyond expected electric vehicle charging to give users the power to control their consumption, save money, and live more sustainably. We offer a complete portfolio of charging and energy management solutions for residential, business, and public use.”
4) EVERCHARGE
Evercharge
The self-proclaimed “The only fully-managed EV charging solution designed for condo & apartment communities,” EverCharge is much like the other companies providing a full service from install to management solutions for HOAs. Designed for Multi-Family buildings, EverCharge can avoid the pains of community and public charging by putting charging where you need it most. Leveraging our patented SmartPower technology, EverCharge supports more vehicles than a traditional charging solution by intelligently allocating power.
