home expenses

hi ladies! My husband and I are going back and forth on buying a house in this market. We want to be certain we can cover all the expenses. I was wondering if you ladies can share your monthly bills with me so we can get an idea on actual costs. I think i saw this posted recently but cant seem to find it.
tia

what do these cost on average per month?
electric
hot water
heat
home owners insurance


am i missing any other homeowner expenses?

edit we are looking at a 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom with oil tank

Message edited 5/30/2012 12:16:38 PM.

Re: home expenses

You're missing cable/internet/phone, if you will have those things. We have Fios with 6 TVs and DVRs in every room plus premium channels and its about $180/month.

As for the other expenses, I'm not really sure because we just moved in. I think our homeowners is about $150/month. Expenses for heating, electric, hot water, etc will depend on the size of the house and what type of services the house has - oil heat & hot water, gas heat & water, etc. (We actually saw one house that had electric heat $$$$$)

Message edited 5/30/2012 10:39:44 AM.

Re: home expenses

Aside from mortgage and taxes, you will need to pay all of the items you mentioned, as well as the water bill (which is usually a relatively small expense, compared to heat and electric - like maybe $30 a month). Also, you have yard maintenance, so if you don't plan on doing it yourself, you need to pay landscapers. And of course, incidentials, such as cable/phone/internet.

I am sure people will chime in with their expenses, but I am not sure there's much value in it, because it varies SO much depending on a lot of factors.

For example - Heat is going to vary widely depending on whether it's fueled by gas or oil (gas being significantly cheaper). And if you have oil, it also depends on how you choose to do it -- will you pay for each delivery separately or set up a contract with a specific rate? Also depends on things like how old or new your heating system is (newer being more energy efficient), how many zones of heat you have (more zones = more energy efficient because you can heat the part of the house you are in and keep the other parts cooler), how big your home is, and how warm you like to keep the house.

Electric will vary a lot again based on the size of the house, what you have in it (someone with a 2500 sq foot multi level house with CAC, jacuzzi tubs, a pool, all electric appliances, and lots of major electronics will have a vastly different bill than someone in a 1200 sq foot ranch home with gas cooking, gas dryer, etc.)

Home owners insurance - I usually tell people to roughly figure $100-$125/month, but again it depends on the individual home. Certain items (pool, for example) will make coverage more expensive. Where the home is located is also a factor. If you are south of Merrick Rd., even if not in a flood zone, you often have to pay extra for "wind" coverage (in case of hurricane). A lot of insurance companies will give you a break if you get all of your insurance (car, umbrella policy, etc.) through them.

And aside from utilities, there is home maintenance costs (even when nothing is broken)... getting your heating system serviced, we get our CAC serviced annually, we get our chimney cleaned every other year b/c we have a working fireplace.

Re: home expenses

Our electric and gas averages about $300 a month (we have gas heating and central AC). Our insurance is $100 a month and our water bill is about $100 per quarter. Plus we have a gardener that comes every 3 months as $225 each time.

Re: home expenses

Cable/internet- About $200
Power- Im going to average $300 month/year
water was about $180 for 3 months
Insurance- $4000 year (we are by water)
Exterminator- $130 every 3 months contract
Pool $1600 for season includes open/close
Gas (when we had) $300 average month.
Landscape- $600 cleanup, $70 week

SPEND THE MONEY ON THE EXTERMINATOR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Re: home expenses

Electric: 250-350 every 2 months depending on the season
Heat: around 3 k a year, we have oil and a fossil oil burner
Homeowners:800 a year
Landscapers: 1200 a season ( could be less if no chemical treatments)

Fios :140
Cell phones: 130
Property tax : 1 k a month
Water: 200 a year

The oil is what bugs us the most

Re: home expenses

Cable - $80-$90/month
Oil - $145/month
Water - $30-$40/quarter
Electric - $40-$160/month - will be $124/month after our next bill.

ETA: Insurance is $825/yr but we pay that with our car insurance.

Message edited 5/30/2012 11:45:54 AM.

Re: home expenses

i just bumped the thread for you..

I agree the LIF search feature is terrible. I bookmark practically everything I read..

Re: home expenses

Posted by MrsS1976

i just bumped the thread for you..

I agree the LIF search feature is terrible. I bookmark practically everything I read..