monthly utility bill (Anchorage, Fairbanks, Hope: for sale, home owners insurance, how much)

[froggin4colorado]

Would you give me a guesstimate on what your monthly utilities are there? Here in CO, the company takes our first year bill and then averages it per month so its the same monthly. Then, the following year they look at what you used again and then refigure for the next year. This way our bills aren't high in the winter and low in the summer. Do you all do the same?
Thanks for your input.

Oh, and also, your property taxes are so high! For my 135K home, I pay $500 a year! I have been looking at properties for sale in the Eagle River area and noticed that they are about $3k annually.

[Kery7759]

I think if you are comparing apples to apples you would likely find that property taxes in Anchorage/Eagle River are quite comperable to similarly prices properties in Colorado. I know moving from Idaho Falls to Anchorage and doing my house hunt I too was initially shocked at $6,000 taxes, but on the same hand I was comparing a $250k house in Idaho to $500k in Anchorage. It was just about double yet the percentage (about 12%) was quite close.

Now the real shocker for me was the cost of BOTH homeowners and auto insurance, they both are being quoted at almost 3 time my rates back in Idaho. Auto is going from $1100/yr to $3800/year and my home coverage will jump from $480/yr to over $1600/yr (not taking into account the price difference) so be prepared.

Sorry I can't be much help you with the utilities, but I have heard there is a program but you have to ive in the property for a full year before you can enroll.

Hope this helps and good luck.

Kery

[browncoatflan]

I was looking to find out what the median rates were in different areas near Elmendorf.

For Water/Waste etc.. I found Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility - Customer Service

I don't know if that means.. if you don't have a meter, you're charged 69$ + taxes & fees for Water services regardless of how much you use?

I also found this commentary: Utilities (http://www.anchoragechamber.org/anchorage_info/Utilities.htm - broken link)

And I found this for the Chugach company:
Chugach Electric Association - Rate Information (http://www.chugachelectric.com/customer/rate_info.html - broken link)

And here's the Municipal rates: rates and tariff

So you could compare those rates x your current yearly usage and add 20% buffer.




Shan

[froggin4colorado]

Kery, yes, hence why I said for my home..it was 135K I paid $500 so if I double that, it would be a home that is worth $270 at $1k. I am seeing that homes that are that price range have taxes that are 3 times that...hence why I said 3K. Even if I triple my home price..giving it a 405K value, I would only be paying $1500 a year in property taxes here in CO. Do you see why I said wow to the property taxes there in AK? Its 6times more in AK then CO.

For home owners insurance, we pay 900 annually on our 135K home. So, seeing 1600K annually doesn't bother me. The auto insurance does throw me for a loop because we insure 3 cars, a 35ft camper, 3 atvs, and a travel trailer for 4K annually here in CO.

Our monthly utility bill here in CO is $200 monthly...billed seperately from the city and gas company.

[akck]

One thing to consider is that Anchorage doesn't currently have a sales tax, so that might account for higher property taxes.

For unmetered houses, that is the rate whether you use 1 gallon of water or 100,000 gallons.

I don't live in Anchorage so my utility rates wouldn't be comparable.

[Chilkoot]

I just heard on the news last night that we currently pay $12.29 per $1000 in home value in Anchorage. The tax for a $135,000 home in Anchorage would be around $1660/year.

[NorthWord]

My house in Fairbanks:
250k @16.15 mills = $4037.50 borough tax. Gravel road, no trash, sewer, water, etc. Fire service area though.
Heating oil = @$2.00/gal delivered = 140g/month = $280/month (1800sq/ft, 1200sq/ft garage/shop).
Insurance @ $100/month.