Buying Bigger Home & Need Help Estimating Utility Costs (Moreno Valley: apartment, house)

[Cade]

Hi everyone

My mother is selling her house and moving with us to a bigger place. The homes we're looking at are between 2300-3300 sq ft. My mom's home is around 1600 sq ft, and I currently live in a small apartment (1000 sq ft).

My mom is curious what people spend on electric, gas, water/trash. gardeners, in the bigger homes.

I realize every family is different in their power usage and homes have varied grounds-keeping needs, but if any of you would be willing to share a range of what you pay, my mom and I would appreciate it

For instance, in my apartment, my electric runs around $40 per mo, except in a couple of the summer months where it triples to $100.

I know a bigger place = bigger bills - I just don't know what to expect.

Thanks for reading!

[Danalysd]

where are you buying said house? that will make a difference

[Cade]

Oh sorry. We're in the IE. I didn't think it would matter too much where. My mom is in San Dimas (San Gabriel Valley). We're in Eastvale, and we're looking in the Rancho Belago section of Moreno Valley.

[USAGeorge]

All things being equal...Whatever the power source
Divide her sq footage to the utility bill for btu's per sq foot....Multiply that by new sq footage,then determine the monthly kw hours. New energy supplier multiple that by their cost....All energy sources can be turned into btu's be it electric oil,natural gas ect..Conversion plug and play calculators are on the Internet.
Forget what your apartment cost's are,,,they usually only have one outside wall.

[Danalysd]

Originally Posted by Cade

Oh sorry. We're in the IE. I didn't think it would matter too much where. My mom is in San Dimas (San Gabriel Valley). We're in Eastvale, and we're looking in the Rancho Belago section of Moreno Valley.

IE is HUGE, I am in South IE in Temecula and my Electric Bills for a 2650 sq ft. house are usually 750 per YEAR. I don't think this is the same all over the IE. Lake Elsinore is much hotter as are other areas and we get a cool afternoon breeze in Southern Temecula that cools off the area. Just trying to be more specific for you as all areas are not equal IMO.

[Syberia]

We have an 1800 sf house in rural Perris. Built in 1939, terrible insulation.

Electric ranges from $250 - $350, highest in summer, but would probably be significantly lower if we didn't have a pool pump to run and several animals requiring heat lamps. Also I work from home, and air condition my office 8 hours a day in the summer, which doesn't help.

Water ranges from $25 - $35, including the pool and use of a swamp cooler. Our yard is dirt; we do not have any landscaping that requires irrigation.

Gas for all but a couple months out of the year when heat is required is right around $20. That's for cooking, water heater, and clothes dryer. Last year we tried to keep the house at a constant 70 degrees over the span of about 2 months in the winter and were hit for about $100 a month; this year we will put on warm clothes and not try that again.

[Cade]

Hi everyone,

Thank you for replying to this. I've meant to get back but we had a death in our family so there were funeral arrangements etc. It is nice to do something recreational again, like visit forums

We are looking to buy in Moreno Valley, probably the Rancho Beloago area. I've called Edison and told them that I live in Eastvale and they said electric rates per kw hour are the same there as here. But I realize we'll be heating/cooling a bigger space.

I've spoken with friends and then looked at the replies here which helps me get an average.

Thank you all very much

[underdog50]

Originally Posted by Cade

Hi everyone

I know a bigger place = bigger bills - I just don't know what to expect.

Thanks for reading!

I own a 2550 sq ft home in Alta Loma (NW part of Rancho Cucamonga) built in the late 1970's. It has a pool, and we run the pump a few hours a day on average. I work from home, and as a family we have 2-3 PCs constantly running. I hate the heat, so we have the A/C on for quite a bit of the day during the summer, and even through the night in Aug and September. We have a fairly large yard for SoCal (1/3 of an acre) with a lot of vegetation, trees, etc., and front lawn and a backyard lawn that we water 4 times a week. So considering those things:

Our electricity bill averages $425 in Jul/Aug/Sep, $325 in April/May/Jun, and for the other 6 months out of the year, $175-$250. This is with me trying (halfheartedly) to keep my electric bill down. My wife takes care of the water/gas bill, but I think on average it is $75/mo for water and $25/mo for gas.

Hope that helps.

[Cade]

Thank you for the reply Underdog.

Alta Loma is a beautiful area (I used to live in RC).

Thank you for sharing. This thread is so helpful to us 2500 sq ft is what we're looking for, but my mother wants a master bedroom also and I notice the homes that offer that are at least that size (from what I see for MoVal on Redfin) but also larger.

You guys are paying more than we do in our little apartment, but not that much more than what my mom is paying in her 1500 sq ft home, so that's comforting.

Thanx!

[underdog50]

No problem, Cade!

I also just noticed that you asked for the costs of a gardener. We pay $80/mo for a weekly visit to mow 2 smallish lawns, weedwack, and trim a bunch of bushes. This seems to be the going rate for our neighborhood.