First visit impressions and neighborhood questions (Sarasota, Bradenton: home, safe area, purchase)

[Macgregorsailor51]

OOOOppppsss YES! Long Day I guess ....Yes 1.5%

Originally Posted by FLHfan

I know you meant .015

[MikeM8560]

Originally Posted by Icemodeled

the homeowner was their. Told us utilities were about 40 for water and 80 electric. We are not home much and conserve a lot. So I do not expect us to pay to much more, as long as everything is newer.

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I assume you meant $40 each id love it if my light bill was that low perhaps the owner hardly ran his AC or had a pool

[QuilterChick]

Originally Posted by MikeM8560

I assume you meant $40 each id love it if my light bill was that low perhaps the owner hardly ran his AC or had a pool

Hmmmm, I would definitely verify those monthly bills with the utility company. Even if you are not home a lot, you should still have your a/c and humidistat operating.

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by ky-guy

When my wife and I were looking for a home, we went to Burnt Store and liked the area.
Then we went into the home depot store to buy a light bulb for the home we were staying in while we home shopped.
A salesman was stocking shelves and ask politely if we needed help.
We told him the kind of bulb we wanted. No, he said..you need a different bulb. It's cheaper he said and the bulb we wanted would "make our skin look bad and fade the wall paint! We knew what we wanted found it and put it in our cart. The salesman went off! "All you rich people come down here and buy homes with no thought of money! Go ahead buy that bulb!
Waste your money I'm sure you got plenty!
Then he turned and walked off in a huff. I don't remember the exact price between the bulbs asI remember it being less than a dollar.
I'd sure hate to buy in that area and have him for a neighbor!
We bought in port Charlotte and people we have met have been extremely nice and welcoming.

Sounds like a loose wire there. I've seen a couple instances (just a couple, thankfully) where store employees have gone off like that on customers they assumed were snowbirds. Doesn't serve anyone well.

[Icemodeled]

Thanks for the tip Mac! We will use that to help estimate while looking.

Concerning utilities, he said his water bill was average of $40 a month and electronic average of 80 a month. No pool. Small home, 1200 sqft and he said his temp was set at 77 degrees. We have looked at several homes with pools. Not sure if we will end up with a pool, but I am expecting it to be much higher if we do. Would averaging $200 a month for utilities be safe for the 2 of us?

We do not have cable and will not have this when we move. We are debating internet, we currently do not have it now. Usually just use free wifi when out. However, we plan to try and grow our business once moved, so may need it more.

[Macgregorsailor]

1800 sq. ft.. Pool.... 11 ceiling fans.... Height of summer lots of outside lights and a fountain and a hose that was not turned off at the wall, that burst .. etc etc $300 total for both .. Most often in or around $75-$90 for water $100-$150 Electric.. Little things add up.. Kitty door between our garage and house adds to A/C and her ceiling fan in garage heaven forbid I ever turn that off hahaha .. Come home 10 PM house looks like FPL Testing Grounds or an Oil Refinery
Electric is one of the cheapest per kilowatt in America.. Realty Taxes here aprox. 1.5% .....Back There almost Double.

Originally Posted by Icemodeled

Thanks for the tip Mac! We will use that to help estimate while looking.

Concerning utilities, he said his water bill was average of $40 a month and electronic average of 80 a month. No pool. Small home, 1200 sqft and he said his temp was set at 77 degrees. We have looked at several homes with pools. Not sure if we will end up with a pool, but I am expecting it to be much higher if we do. Would averaging $200 a month for utilities be safe for the 2 of us?

We do not have cable and will not have this when we move. We are debating internet, we currently do not have it now. Usually just use free wifi when out. However, we plan to try and grow our business once moved, so may need it more.

[MikMal]

Originally Posted by Macgregorsailor

1800 sq. ft.. Pool.... 11 ceiling fans.... . .. Come home 10 PM house looks like FPL Testing Grounds or an Oil Refinery
Electric is one of the cheapest per kilowatt in America.. Realty Taxes here aprox. 1.5% .....Back There almost Double.

So, you're the reason for global warming!

[Macgregorsailor]

No doubt ....my name surely is on the list, somewhere.Lets not mention My Truck or the Outboard.

Originally Posted by MikMal

So, you're the reason for global warming!

[MikMal]

Originally Posted by Macgregorsailor

No doubt ....my name surely is on the list, somewhere.Lets not mention My Truck or the Outboard.

You just need to get that sailboat out there more to offset some of that.

[Icemodeled]

I am trying to figure out some costs..
I called one insurance company so far in PG and got quotes for 2 houses we were interested in. One was on aysen dr (deep creek) 120k range 1500 sqft, 3/2, built 2001 and bank owned with a pool. Quote was $1300. Other house we got quoted was on steele ave in PC 3/2 no pool, built 1988, newer metal roof, 1500sqft, not bank owned and move in ready, quoted at $3000! Is the high quote for steele mainly due to the age of the house? The agent said price could be lower if we do wind mitigation. Both quotes were just homeowners/wind, we did not get quotes for flood as we intend to purchase out of flood zone. I will be calling other insurance agents also. Anyone have opinion on who they found to be cheapest?

auto quote, liability only for 2008 ford escape, 2 drivers with excellent driving record was $800 a year. We also plan to get more quotes. I had read someone on CD that a company was very cheap for auto but I do not remember who it was.. anyone have suggestions for lowest insurance companies? Is it better to go through agent or directly through provider like progressive ect?

I am trying to figure out how much to average for electric. After research, I found 8 to 10 cents a KWh.. does this sound accurate? Right now im not sure what to expect usage will be. We plan to have a average 1500sqft home with or without pool, we are rarely there except evenings and are good at keeping lights off (conserving). Just 2 of us. I know I cant get a exact number, but what should we budget? Maybe $120 monthly average?

Does anyone know what is charged per gallon for water use? Again, hard to figure this up. Any idea how to budget this? I was average 60 a month for water, to low? We again, rarely home and conserve when possible (short showers, ect)

How much is trash per month? I seen some say its part of their taxes. Is that true for all sarasota and Charlotte counties?

I had looking in past posts and found one good topic about utilities but was from 2011 so not as updated.

heres my budget so far: (monthly)

Water $60
Electric $120
Car ins $80
Home ins $120
Phone $54
Property tax $150

Suggestions? Do I need to raise the numbers or should this be fairly average for 2 people in a modest home?