electric bills? advice?
Posted by NoIllusions on May 03, 2008 · Member since Dec 2006 · 476 posts
haven't been around for a while...looking to buy a house. HI GUYS :)
found one but the eletric bills run about $250-300 a month!
the owner has radiant heat and were still not sure if she has electric or pipes. not sure if the hot water is electric too.
i live in ny BUT my friend has a 1800sq house and only uses $150 a month. this house is 1300sq... *edit*
any advice? This is driving me crazy and also her radiant heating is since i think its old and hard to replace.
i would definately spend the few hundred bucks and get an inspection before the bid, if you think you are really serious about it. even just talking to one on the phone to see what other questions you should ask the seller would be a good idea.
how is the insulation? is the heat that she does have, stay in the house? is the attic insulated? caulking around windows/ doors/ plug outlets, even?
how efficient is the furnace, is it wrapped in a blanked to conserve the hot water? or is it tankless?
in comparison to your friends house, it prob is electric heat, b/c i cannot imagine spending taht much each month on JUST electricity!
thanks
we actually put a bid but it is very easy to get out of. those are great questions that i am figuring out AFTERWARDS.... ::)
what do you spend on electricty??
She is single travels a lot so i am thinking it is electric heat.
she has radiant heat for the bed, bath and kitchen,on the 1st floor, baseboard oil for the 3 beds upstairs and electric heat for the add on den (150sq) that she NEVER uses. and 3 heating zones.
Wow, that's excessive. Granted we don't live in NY, but it does get pretty darn cold up here, and the most our bill has ever been was $70, and that's gas and electricity combined. Does she still have the old windows? The new doublepaned windows are amazing. And I 2nd everything that LA said.
ack!!! new problem.....
Radiant Heating.....
I am concerned that it is the orginal 58 yrs old...is that possible? (with steel or copper which has been known for leaks and will cost a lot of $ to fix
But the current owner has no idea about it at all
This house has no basement.
Any ideas of how I can find out the material and age and the cost of fixing a leak or replacing it (with no basement to have pipes) would be GREAT! remember I dont own the house yet.
thanks vegwebber's....i really like this house.
Get the inspection, a good inspector will/should? also give you an approximate cost/quote as to how much repairs will cost. Also, at least in CA, often times the seller will chip in for the inspection costs.... I live in a 1000 sqft town house w/ electric everything (heat, hot water, stove, etc) that has crappy insulation/windows/door and window seals and w/ my equal payment plan, I am now paying $90/mo. I blame this mainly on the crappy single paned windows and drafty doors, although the baseboard heating isn't the most efficient forms....gotta love having slumlords as landlords!!!
youre best bet is to have an inspector come in and check things out....they will clue you in to what it willcost to get things fixed. a plumbing/ electrical specialist maybe the one who can thoroughly check the radiant heating...but an inspector should be able to point you to the right pple if it is beyond their own regular inspection. i *think* there is a sensor that they can use that will check for leaks. (im trying to get in touch w/ my bro,who does this sort of stuff...)
But the monthy cost def. seems very high...if you do have a leak, it would make sense. we have a house w/ a bit over 1000sqft, and pay about 100bucks/month.
you guys are the best ;)b
inspection on friday and a plumber who specializes in radiant heat is coming for free. we asked for her utility bills and she got real mad. thanks lucidanne!!!
i *think* she runs her a/c all the time and her stove is electric. they are almost positive the radiant heat is orginal from the 50's since it goes on the slab underneath the floor.
wow mdvegan. here in ny elecricity is I think 16cents and a friend of mines house is $117 a month for 1230 sq.
Electric appliances are very expensive to run. Find out how much it would cost to replace the old installation (like with natural gas or whatever)...the monthly savings on expenses may compensate for your initial outlay.
Over here Spain has gone electric-appliance mad! It's all hallogen stoves, convection ovens, etc. Give me gas every time, but of course that's what I grew up with. I don't grok electric stoves at all! When I was a kid in the Midwest when the Big Storm would come every winter, those with "modern" electric-run houses had to go to shelters while we stayed cosy with steam heat, gas stove, etc. Add a few kerosene lamps--no TV of course, bliss--and a few good books and board games. Our oven was gas too--chocolate chip cookies!!
In Spain you can get a gas stovetop but NOT a gas oven. Apparently sticking one's head in the gas oven was the "women's suicide method of choice" so they don't make them anymore. It would be harder to commit suicide by sticking your head in an electric oven, I guess... ::)
I don't dare get a gas stove. My DH is too careless about leaving burners on low and if the flame went out, the house would become a gas chamber and we'd die! With an all electric three bedroom, two bath fairly large house, our last electric bill was $108. Of course, I'm a fanatic about not leaving lights on when no ones in the room. All the bulbs are compact fluorescent ones now. I'm always going around turning lights off! My DH would leave the house for the whole day with the lights in every room on. I will never understand how come he can't learn something simple like one quick motion to flip the light switch off as he leaves a room! >:(
Wow, that is high! I live in a one bedroom apartment, granted, much smaller space, but my bill during the summer (May to October here, pretty much above 90 every single day) my bill rarely goes over $100 a month, and everything is electric, the stove, water heater, so forth. I keep my apartment at about 78 degrees F. During the winter, it doesn't get cold enough to need heat, or rarely it does so my bills are usually about $35 a month. And I even pay $0.02 extra per kWh becuase I use "green" energy. That means that 100% of my electricity comes from renewable sources like wind. Surprising that they have that option in Texas!
I would check the insulation if I were you. Get an inspection. I think an inspection is always a good idea anyway.
Wow, that is high! I live in a one bedroom apartment, granted, much smaller space, but my bill during the summer (May to October here, pretty much above 90 every single day) my bill rarely goes over $100 a month, and everything is electric, the stove, water heater, so forth. I keep my apartment at about 78 degrees F. During the winter, it doesn't get cold enough to need heat, or rarely it does so my bills are usually about $35 a month. And I even pay $0.02 extra per kWh becuase I use "green" energy. That means that 100% of my electricity comes from renewable sources like wind. Surprising that they have that option in Texas!
I would check the insulation if I were you. Get an inspection. I think an inspection is always a good idea anyway.
living in an apt is different than a house...besides the age of this house, in an apt. you are sharing walls, floors,ceilings, etc w/ other apts...so you are in a sense, sharing the heat/ cooling too.
and yes! dont ever ever buy a house w/o an inspection! ever!
NI... your inspector will obviously know more about the situation, but i spoke to my bro (he does carpentry, etc) and he said its *possible* that if everything is electric,that it could be a realistic cost each month.
Also, how different were the costs in the summer vs.the winter?
Elec heat is very inefficient, once its off, the heat dissipates very fast. Dear Bro said that there are new "electric radiator" type things, they go into rooms like a baseboard, are fairly easy to install (i think you can do it DIY) and have silicone tubes inside. The heat goes thru,heats the silicone and it retains the heat longer.
I hope it goes well! ;)b Keep us updated.
hey!
the inspector said the house had good windows very insulated. she had the fans on when we came in,the tv, the radio. he said it is not the house but her lifestyle and probably the electric appliances. however i am very good about using things conservatively.
it passed pretty well on all things.
lucidanne thanks! I also found about the electric radiator its called hydro sil and if we get the house i plan on buying it ($300). Unfortunately since she has radiant heat on the 1st floor but baseboard heat on the 2nd floor snaking a pipe from upstairs to the den extension would be $ and ripping into walls.
at this point it looks good. of course once the radiant heat goes that will be very $ and a pain in the a** but thats only the real expensive thing.
if i get it i will post pics!!
thanks vegwebbers....your the best! :D
How exciting!!! :w00t!:
I'm really happy for you and glad that it's nothing too major for you! We just bought our first home at the end of 2007 and it's certainly been a learning experience. One thing I would suggest, if you haven't done so already, is to have the sewer lines inspected with a camera. We were told we didn't need to have it done as they thought everything was fine. Well, 2 weeks after we moved in, our toilets strated backing up and overflowing into our tubs and all over the floor. Come to find out when we had to call someone out, there was a busted sewer pipe, so things would run fine...until tp waas flushed down the toilet! So...$3000 later, we were finally able to use use our potties!
I wish you the very best in your new home!:)
I'm really happy for you and glad that it's nothing too major for you! We just bought our first home at the end of 2007 and it's certainly been a learning experience. One thing I would suggest, if you haven't done so already, is to have the sewer lines inspected with a camera. We were told we didn't need to have it done as they thought everything was fine. Well, 2 weeks after we moved in, our toilets strated backing up and overflowing into our tubs and all over the floor. Come to find out when we had to call someone out, there was a busted sewer pipe, so things would run fine...until tp waas flushed down the toilet! So...$3000 later, we were finally able to use use our potties!
I wish you the very best in your new home!:)
Awww... I thought I was the only one with a nasty sewage story from the first month in my new home. Yeah, get that stuff checked!
LOL, Nope, you are definitely not alone in that. I have to say, it was an expensive lesson learned!
You could also see if the electric company in your area has a budget plan. My sister pays $40 a month for 11 months and on the 12th month the bill is balanced. Usually she has a credit and doesn't pay. They also will adjust your bill if you use less/more. Her's started out at $55 a month when she first signed up and it's been adjusted down every year. Actually she has a budget plan for the gas bill too. It just makes it nice so that you don't have huge bills during one season and hardy anything other months.