Expenses in TX (Van: home owners insurance, coop, houses)

[mom5]

Are there any unexpected expenses that you have in Texas that someone relocating may not know about? I know property taxes are higher....what else? Utilities? Home owners insurance? Any feedback would be great!

[jcl_cls01]

$90/vehicle "New Resident Fee" for registration, even trailers! That was a shocker to me.

[galore]

Electricity is very, very expensive since the deregulation. For larger homes (4000sf+), be prepared for >$500/month to run your AC.

[lh_newbie]

Originally Posted by galore

Electricity is very, very expensive since the deregulation. For larger homes (4000sf+), be prepared for >$500/month to run your AC.

That's why we're blowing in another 12" of insulation this weekend. We'll be up to DOE recommendations for our region - R-49.

[LOK222]

or do like me and leave it set at 80

Originally Posted by galore

Electricity is very, very expensive since the deregulation. For larger homes (4000sf+), be prepared for >$500/month to run your AC.

[clawson26]

The only things I can think of are taxes, ins, utilities. Depending on where you are moving from there could be a huge diff. HM ins can be checked out before you commit to buying because with the freaky weather in Texas there can be a big diff between two prospective houses.

Oh and also the Blue Bell ice cream. If you are moving from a place that doesn't have it DON'T try it. I am a lifelong addict was I was born there so I never even had a chance. Especially don't try the Homemade Vanilla! If you ever made ice cream from scratch (the old hand crank kind...) it really tastes like that. I could have gotten another degree by now and made millions if it weren't for the **** ice cream bills.
Then of course there are the gym memberships...
personal trainers...
lipo...
new clothes...
skinny mirrors...
cavity fillings...

[Grammy Linna]

Adding to "Don't try Blue Bell.. don't even turn into to a Sonic. I swear, they put drugs in their food and MAKE you keep coming back for more.

[kt2le]

Originally Posted by Grammy Linna

Adding to "Don't try Blue Bell.. don't even turn into to a Sonic. I swear, they put drugs in their food and MAKE you keep coming back for more.

That's so funny - we spend a fortune on Blue Bell and all of our cars, I swear, could drive themselves to Sonic!

Seriously, most of the comments I've heard from people who've moved here from somewhere else are about high electric bills. Be aware that we have to run our airconditioning most of the year! Our average electric bill was over $400/mo. for our 2,800 sf house (one story, one zone of a/c, no pool) and, so far this year, it's been HIGHER. Our neighbor's have just over 4,000 sf (two stories, three zones of a/c, pool) and their electric bills last summer were hovering around $900/mo.! Yikes! We don't have a choice, though. Our houses are occupied all day with spouses and kids so the a/c runs and runs and runs to keep everybody cool!

[aceplace]

My most recent combined gas and electric bill from the CoServ coop was $130 for my 1700 square foot one story house. I have a lot of insulation in my attic, I keep my thermostat at 78, and I have lots of small fans in the house.

The technology for solar panels that generate electricity is getting better and better. As itr becomes a more affordable option, we can start putting them on our roofs, and take advantage of one element of Texas summers... lots of sunshine and long days. I know that in California, if you generate some of your power, and if it is sometimes more than your house is using from the power company, the electic utility is required by law to allow their meters to run backward, since your house is actually putting excess electricity on the power grid. In effect, you're selling your excess power at retail rates.

A more low-tech solution is to just plant lots of shade trees in strategic places.

I wonder why people have dark shingles on their roofs. Sure does absorb more heat from the sun.

[aceplace]

Once, I was a California state employee in the state capital of Sacramento. This was in the 1970s, during one of the power shortages, so the state office of building services ordered some thermostat settings to conserve power. Since this was in the winter, they decreed that the office temperatures must be kept under 68 degrees.

Well, it so happened that we had a warm spell for a couple of weeks. The outside air was in the low 70s, and the inside air was somewhat warmer. But the engineers for the building had to comply with the energy czar's orders. So yes, the engineers in all state buildings had to run the air conditioning full blast to bring the air temp down to 68. It was very difficult because the AC equipment was designed to take it down to 74 or so.

The local newspaper had a lot of fun in ridiculing the whole affair, and a couple of days later, the responsible official was forced to issue a new order to "clarify" the old one. It went something like... "...keep the temp at 68 unless you don't have to, in which case you really do have to... ".