Oil costs? (Portland, China, Mexico: 2013, how much, buying a house)

[srq_mainiac]

Hi-
My wife and I are looking at buying a house in the greater Portland area. Trying to figure out a budget for a house so we can ensure we don't borrow too much and become house poor.
We are looking at homes between 1100-1400 sqf. Trying to stick with 1950's or newer construction.
What would people recommend for an annual heating oil budget? Thanks for any input.

~Mike

[WhoFanMe]

Originally Posted by srq_mainiac

Hi-
My wife and I are looking at buying a house in the greater Portland area. Trying to figure out a budget for a house so we can ensure we don't borrow too much and become house poor.
We are looking at homes between 1100-1400 sqf. Trying to stick with 1950's or newer construction.
What would people recommend for an annual heating oil budget? Thanks for any input.

~Mike

Mike, get a copy of the Seller's Property Disclosure for houses that you are interested in. There you can see the gallons, cords, kilowatt hours etc. for the last 12 months and then make a determination based on what you think fuel will cost in 2012-2013.

[retiredtinbender]

Originally Posted by srq_mainiac

Hi-
My wife and I are looking at buying a house in the greater Portland area. Trying to figure out a budget for a house so we can ensure we don't borrow too much and become house poor.
We are looking at homes between 1100-1400 sqf. Trying to stick with 1950's or newer construction.
What would people recommend for an annual heating oil budget? Thanks for any input.

~Mike

That's a difficult question IMHO. With recent price fluctuations a budget is rough to figure. Plus, not knowing how tight the house is doesn't help. Ask the realtor or owners how many gallons of fuel they used the last few winters then use the chart below to figure approximate cost. Personally, I used about 900-1000 gallons the last 5 years (not just winter) I don't supplement with wood but the water is heated off the furnace. Best bet is talk to the owners. Good luck to you. Welcome to the forum.

Oil Prices

[RMoore007]

My sister lives in an 1850's farmhouse and uses about 900-1000 gallons a year in heating oil. She also heats her hot water from the furnace. No supplemental wood either.

[srq_mainiac]

Thanks for the reply's. I also did a search (should of done this first) and saw a similar thread. From the information provided in both threads it looks like I should expect to use around 1000 gallons a year. This helps with budgeting. Thanks.

[WhoFanMe]

It's a good idea to estimate high, but for that size house you shouldn't burn more than 600-700 gallons unless you leave the windows and doors open all winter.

[399083453]

Depends. If the hot water is off the boiler, you will burn oil all year. Could be 1700 oil gallons per year. Find out how much oil the seller buys per year. Call the oil company if you have to.

[retiredtinbender]

Originally Posted by 399083453

Depends. If the hot water is off the boiler, you will burn oil all year. Could be 1700 oil gallons per year. Find out how much oil the seller buys per year. Call the oil company if you have to.

My hot water is off the boiler. WHen it warms enough that I don't need to heat teh house I reach in the cellar door and shut off the furnace. I turn it on for a while in the morning then shut it back off. The water stays hot throughout the day. But there is only 2 of us and only a few dishes and 2 showers. It save a bit of oil annually but at $4 a gallon it adds up. Quite a few people here do that.

[Zymer]

When I moved into this house 4 years ago, I put a hundred gallons in the tank. It didn't last a week (in Jan.). No way I could afford to heat with oil. I shut the furnace off and it hasn't been turned on since. Hot water is a separate oil-fired unit, 5 gallons a week in Winter, stretches to 2 weeks in Summer.

2 woodstoves, burned less than 3 cord this past Winter, it was fairly mild and I never fired up the second stove. Pellet stove will be hooked up this Summer, already in place, just waiting for gasket/igniter replacement and a hole to be bored in the wall.

[beltrams]

Srq_Mainiac,

The reality of the world wide oil situation is that oil production has hit a plateau in terms of daily barrels of production, all while the Developing World such as China, India, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, etc. all continue to radically increase their own consumption. (We've discussed this subject much already on the Maine City-Data Forum, so I won't belabor the point further, so as not to drive others crazy. )

What I would say to you is make plans for heating that don't include oil. Either right now, but especially going forward. Oil will never (yes, I said never) be long-term affordable for heating again in Maine.