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Thread: Advice needed. Budgeting for a small home (gas, electric, water etc)

  1. #1
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    Default Advice needed. Budgeting for a small home (gas, electric, water etc)

    Im looking to upgrade to a small detached house in the $325-400k range at some point. Possibly at the end of the year or next.
    Nothing special 1200sq with a finished basement to rent out.

    Its a bit of a broad question. How much would household bills be? Heating, Electric and Water? Im trying to calculate numbers to see if I can afford it on my own. But I have no frame of reference here (I live in a condo).

    What kind of costs would I be looking at? Also those who have rented out rooms/had lodgers and rented out the basement. What kind of additional costs should would this be. How much would my monthly budget be? (winter and summer).
    Any input is much appreciated.

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    For baseline: 1600 sq ft. detached home, unfinished basement

    TIPP - $266
    Enmax - up to $400 in colder months, up to $250 during summers
    Internet - $90

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    Quote Originally Posted by rx7boi View Post
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    For baseline: 1600 sq ft. detached home, unfinished basement

    TIPP - $266
    Enmax - up to $400 in colder months, up to $250 during summers
    Internet - $90
    Enmax estimate seems like a bit of an overshoot for one person. We are averaging about $500 in winter for a 3000 sqfoot house and 5 people, and about $350 in summer.
    Dont forget home insurance probably $100 for that per month.

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    1600sqft 1976 built house w/ newer HE furnace and water heater. Our easymax bills are $275-400 (summer-winter) which includes water, elec, gas. $100/mo is probably a decent ballpark estimate for home insurance, assuming you're bundling and getting a discount for a car on the same policy.

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    Considering Enmax is nearly 200 per month of fixed fees I don’t see it getting much cheaper than 250-400 a month summer to winter.
    Originally posted by Thales of Miletus

    If you think I have been trying to present myself as intellectually superior, then you truly are a dimwit.
    Originally posted by Toma
    fact.
    Quote Originally Posted by Yolobimmer View Post
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    guessing who I might be, psychologizing me with your non existent degree.

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    The bills for everything are going nowhere but up unfortunately. My Exmax is only a hair under $500/mo. For a single person that should be a little less. TV/internet is $105. Insurance is a little more than $100 I think, but I'm too lazy to dig mine out and de-bundle it.
    Quote Originally Posted by killramos View Post
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    You realize you are talking to the guy who made his own furniture out of salad bowls right?

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    Definitly depends on the efficiency of the house. My old house (century home) was ~1300sqf and my utility was ~$250-$400 for summer/winter and I lived by myself. Now it's ~2100sqf, but much newer build, and still ~$280-480 with 2 adults+1 kid and we are home full time

    Your fixed costs will be:

    - Mortgage
    - Utility ($250-450?)
    - Property tax (~$270?)
    - internet/cable (~$100?)
    - Home insurance (~$100-150?)

    You'll probably want to set aside some money for maintenance around the house, like roof/shingles, deck/fence, furnace, hot water tank, etc...

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    Quote Originally Posted by tonytiger55 View Post
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    Im looking to upgrade to a small detached house in the $325-400k range at some point. Possibly at the end of the year or next.
    Nothing special 1200sq with a finished basement to rent out.
    Does that still exist in the Calgary area?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tik-Tok View Post
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    Does that still exist in the Calgary area?
    Maybe in okatokes
    Originally posted by Thales of Miletus

    If you think I have been trying to present myself as intellectually superior, then you truly are a dimwit.
    Originally posted by Toma
    fact.
    Quote Originally Posted by Yolobimmer View Post
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    guessing who I might be, psychologizing me with your non existent degree.

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    I sometimes wonder if OP even knows how to use the internet.

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    That's the other guy you are thinking of....
    Quote Originally Posted by killramos View Post
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    You realize you are talking to the guy who made his own furniture out of salad bowls right?

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    Really you seem to be asking what costs are over and above what you pay versus a condo I imagine.

    TV/Internet will be a wash since/if you are already paying for it.

    Insurance costs can vary a lot. If you are in an area that has been hammered by hail a lot with shit tons of claims, you will probably be rated higher than an area outside of a hail belt. Myself for example, I live rurally with no access to water for a fire department so I pay through the nose compared to someone in the city across the street from a firehall. I would suspect if you are anyhwhere in the city expect at least $150 a month as a budget but could be more or less depending.

    The prices I see people paying here for utilities seems crazy to me. I never remember paying even close to most of those when living in town and we lived in mostly 70's/80's built houses, but I always was on floating rather than locked in and it was cheap for so maybe that had something to do with it? Still better to budget higher than less so I would say give yourself an average annually of $300/month thinking is will be less in summer and more in winter.

    Property taxes will also vary depending on value and where you live, but in Airdrie we were just over $2000/year at the peak for a house in your value range. Calgary probably more.

    Home repairs and so forth you should save money on a regular basis. If you are handy and can do a lot yourself it can be cheap as chips normally, but you can get slammed with shit too like failing hot water tank, appliances, leaks etc so be ready. There were many years running we didn't have to spend a dime on anything that wasn't a project rather than a repair, but then other years we spent 10k plus fixing issues. Home inspections are your friend to get a good idea where the house stands for all the usual stuff, but shit still happens.

    Really though, it isn't like there are insane expenses to home ownership versus condo ownership. just don't do it on a shoestring budget an stretch so lean that you can't deal with a bit of a financial swing in an emergency. Long term though it tends to even out.

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    Bob, several things have happened to utility prices. It's not the cost of electricity and gas that's gone up, it's mostly everything else. Riders, fees, adjustments, pools, or whatever the fuck else the call it. Plus the cost of your black, green and blue carts.
    Quote Originally Posted by killramos View Post
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    You realize you are talking to the guy who made his own furniture out of salad bowls right?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tik-Tok View Post
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    Does that still exist in the Calgary area?
    If you want a shack and a bit of a fix'er upper. We ended up in Strathmore because we wanted something under $325k and found a good deal.

    And like most people are saying you are pretty much set at a fixed base price for utilities because of the stupid fees and such. Actual bill usage can be less than like $30/month.

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    Here's my enmax bills, actuals:
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    Now that is a 4 person household, so a single person should be less. Interestingly, I don't see much change summer to winter, since I rock AC in the summer and lots of natural gas in the winter.

    My Property taxes are $383/month.
    Quote Originally Posted by killramos View Post
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    You realize you are talking to the guy who made his own furniture out of salad bowls right?

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    @nzwasp

    To be fair, heating a house should be roughly the same whether it's for 1 person or for 3.

    You might use more water and electricity, but both are relatively cheap commodities and it's the distribution fees that get you on each bill.

    Quote Originally Posted by killramos View Post
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    Considering Enmax is nearly 200 per month of fixed fees I don’t see it getting much cheaper than 250-400 a month summer to winter.
    Case in point lol.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tik-Tok View Post
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    Does that still exist in the Calgary area?
    Pretty common in the NE.

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    Beddington, Erin Woods, Shawnessey, or Mckenzie town area, seem to be where these cheap detached houses are located. I have friends in both Erin Woods and Beddington and I would strongly suggest setting up some cameras or some sort of security system in those neighborhoods.

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    Quote Originally Posted by ExtraSlow View Post
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    Bob, several things have happened to utility prices. It's not the cost of electricity and gas that's gone up, it's mostly everything else. Riders, fees, adjustments, pools, or whatever the fuck else the call it. Plus the cost of your black, green and blue carts.
    Ooof! Yeah I can see that being the case.

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    Yeah base fees have gone way up the last couple of years.

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