Utilities for a single family home?

[winnieofpooh]

My husband and I are starting the search for our first home and are trying to come up with our budget. We’re purposefully trying to keep our mortgage + fees + utilities fairly low so we can save more for vacations and retirement.

That being said, we’ve only ever lived in apartments, so have no idea what an estimate for utilities would be. I know it varies widely by location, but can you give me an estimate for your monthly utilities? Utilities being electric/gas/water/sewage/trash. We have an estimate for internet and cable already.

We’re in PA and are looking at 2 story single family homes around 2,000 sq ft. We’re pretty conservative with our heat/AC, typically keeping it around 78 in the summer and 68 in the winter. Is $250 too low of an estimate? Right now we average around $100 for our one bedroom apartment just for gas and electric.

 

[easyas123]

I think there are so many things that can affect monthly utility costs. BUT if this helps, there is nothing at all that says you can't ask for an accounting of utility costs prior to making a offer on a house! We've done this, and when selling our two most recent homes (2014 and 2009 I think it was) prospective buyers asked us for this info.

Good luck!

 

[winnieofpooh]

I think there are so many things that can affect monthly utility costs. BUT if this helps, there is nothing at all that says you can't ask for an accounting of utility costs prior to making a offer on a house! We've done this, and when selling our two most recent homes (2014 and 2009 I think it was) prospective buyers asked us for this info.

Good luck!

Thanks! That’s good to know, I didn’t know we could do that.

 

[Alesia]

I think there are so many things that can affect monthly utility costs. BUT if this helps, there is nothing at all that says you can't ask for an accounting of utility costs prior to making a offer on a house! We've done this, and when selling our two most recent homes (2014 and 2009 I think it was) prospective buyers asked us for this info.

Good luck!

We didn't have to ask, it was just a standard part of the disclosure.

Nobody can give you an estimate that is anything close to accurate unless they live in your city. Have you tried asking people you know locally?

 

[winnieofpooh]

We didn't have to ask, it was just a standard part of the disclosure.

Nobody can give you an estimate that is anything close to accurate unless they live in your city. Have you tried asking people you know locally?

Everyone I know locally is in an apartment like us, but I could search around for a local forum somewhere.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Your Realtor should know, or be able to find out.

 

[SG131]

I’m in PA. My trash is $75 quarterly. When I lived in the city it was just included in my taxes. I have never had gas. In my old house I had radiators and now I have a heat pump which is much more efficient. My house is double the size but I pay about the same because of the efficiency of the system and having insulation in the ceiling (old house was 90 years old). The setup of the house makes a big difference. Water/sewer really shouldn’t be any different than what you’re paying now unless you’re big on landscaping. You will still do the same amount of laundry and take the same number of showers etc. Mine is under $200 for the two. My electric tends to range anywhere from $115 to $300 depending on weather.

 

[HopperFan]

Put in a decade in NJ .... now in South.

Agree with above, any house you look at be sure to get the last year or two bills to see. What can greatly impact your heating/AC bills ....
- How old is house, what is the construction on the outside (brick is great) and what kind of insulation in walls?
- How old is heating system? Radiators? Central? A/C? What kind?
- How old are the windows and what kind? Old single pane or newer double pane?

 

[DisLiss]

Getting those numbers from the current owners is your best bet. My utilities vary from even people in my same town, even if their home is somewhat similar in size to mine. There are just so many variables. When we moved into our current home our realtor was able to get average monthly utility costs from the people who lived here before us. And even then there is some difference based on how we use the utilities, but it's closer than you'll get from other people.

 

[tvguy]

Getting those numbers from the current owners is your best bet. My utilities vary from even people in my same town, even if their home is somewhat similar in size to mine. There are just so many variables. When we moved into our current home our realtor was able to get average monthly utility costs from the people who lived here before us. And even then there is some difference based on how we use the utilities, but it's closer than you'll get from other people.

Exactly. That is information your realtor should get, and too many variables as far as usage and rates for prices outside your area to be much help
I have seen people here post that their gas and electric bills run $400 a month year round. I have an all electric house and my bill runs from $80 a month in winter to $180 a month in summer, but my wife likes the house at 68 degrees year round. So we don't heat much in winter, but with 100 degree days we run the ac alot.
Garbage, Sewer and trash are one bill, $175 every other month.
Water is about $70 every other month in winter, and $180 every other month in summer when I am watering the lawn.
Don't forget property taxes. I pay $2,200 a year on a house with a market value of $450,000, but I'm in California where you base property taxes are based on what you paid for the house,with a maximum 5% tax increase per year. We've been in ours 37 years so we have a tax advantage. Someone buying my house today would face property taxes of $4,500.

 

[SG131]

Someone buying my house today would face property taxes of $4,500.

Wow that’s all????? Does that include school district taxes? Mine are about $5,500 on a 300k house!

 

[tvguy]

Wow that’s all????? Does that include school district taxes? Mine are about $5,500 on a 300k house!

That is everything. K-12 school district tax and a tax that goes to the Community College district and various Bonds.

 

[barkley]

you might want to call the power company for any specific area you are looking at b/c one big variable that can occur w/in a single area happens if the power company has different rates for peak vs. non peak usage. i knew people who lived in identical homes (all built at same time on the same street so identical energy efficiency on windows/insulation...) w/comparable household size and habits w/the exception of when they ran their laundry. the stay at home moms could do it during the non peak mid day hours vs. post 5 p.m. peak or weekends (also peak) resulting in noticeably lower cost.

another factor will be your appliances vs. existing owner. older vs. new more energy efficient washer/dryer/fridges/freezers/dishwashers make a big difference.

 

[mjkacmom]

Wow that’s all????? Does that include school district taxes? Mine are about $5,500 on a 300k house!

Mine just went up to $13,000.

 

[tvguy]

Mine just went up to $13,000.

We had a Property Tax revolt in California in 1978. Voters passed Proposition 13 which limits Property taxes to 1% of original purchase price. A 5% increase is allowed each year.
The driving force behind the measure was the shocking reality that many long time homeowners property taxes per year were more than the owners paid for the house. Almost all were senior citizens on fixed incomes.

 

[tzolkin]

You may also be able to contact the local utilities to get estimates. I know our electric company sends out graphs every quarter with three lines "your house, average house in your neighborhood, and energy efficient house" so they must be keeping statistics on what an average usage for a 2000sqft home in your area is.

That said, things can vary widely from one family to another. Our bills have generally been about half of what our neighbors are because we are a bit more conservative on things like AC and water usage. There was recently a huge uproar on social media and every person stated that their water bills were over $300. I have never once had a water bill over $100. Some were watering lawns, but most were not.

 

[Chickinvic]

Everyone I know locally is in an apartment like us, but I could search around for a local forum somewhere.

Most neighbourhoods have a Facebook group where I live (Ottawa). Perhaps try that. It is a common question on the Facebook groups. Include size of house and any pertinent information (age of home, have the windows been replaced, etc). The insulation in the home can make a huge difference too. I agree with previous posters about asking for the amounts from previous owners (of course your habits would be different, but should give you some idea).

 

[Chickinvic]

Property taxes here in Canada are based on the home's Property Assessment. I find it weird the way California does it. Seems grossly unfair to me. If some senior is sitting on a $2Mil home in Vancouver that they paid $50,000 for 40 years ago - I really don't feel sorry for them. They can pay their taxes the same as everyone else or sell and cash in their huge gain (which is not taxed here in Canada as long as it is your primary residence).

Each city has different rates based on the property assessment. Here in Ottawa it is pricy. Taxes on a $500K home would be about $5K. In more expensive cities like Toronto, their rates are much lower. A home valued at twice that ($1Mil) might cost the same $5K.

 

[Brett Wyman]

1700 sq ft 3 bedroom. Heat set to 69 in winter. AC set to 74 day and 72 night during Summer.

Power is roughly $100 fall/winter/spring $250 in Summer.
Gas is $75 spring/summer/fall $150 Winter
Water is $60-70 fall/winter/spring $150 Summer

 

[barkley]

with trash pickup inquire of the company what your options are. many people just automatically default to the traditional sized 'can' w/ a weekly pickup when they might save significantly doing the next sized larger w/ a bi-weekly pickup. we are a household of 3 and bi-weekly works fine for us (if it's a holiday period and we will have a much larger amount i can call and opt for an extra pickup off my normal cycle).