Utlilties? (Webster Groves, Laclede: apartments, to rent, houses)

[jribe]

Hi Everyone,
I am really trying to decide where to rent and I would appreciate some help one averages paid for the following utilities:

water:
sewer:
trash:
electric:
gas:


The reason i am asking is that i found two houses i am interested in renting in Webster Groves- however one told me to expect to pay around $100-150 for electric in the summer and $50 for gas in summer; then basically reverse of that for the winter. This is an 800 sqft house. Right now i am in 1400 sqft and pay around $100. I'm assuming it's just because of the weather differences and efficiency. But i am concerned about the bill being too much- two of the apartments i am looking at include all utilities except electric.

My rent options are around $1100-1200 for a small 800 sqft house in Webster Groves - and pay all utilities; water sewer trash or- pay around $1300 for 900-1200 sqft which includes parking; water, sewer, trash and gas.

Thoughts??

[billiken]

Here's what my utilities looked like in WG, for a house that is around 1200ish sqft, built in the 1950s, all brick, newer windows. We keep the house around 75 in the summer, and 65 in the winter while we're home. We were also on budget billing for electric & gas I think, so I can't really give you what the difference between summer & winter was.

Ameren Electric: $41/mo
Laclede Gas: $30/mo
Sewer: $20/mo
Waste: $60/quarter
Water: Hard to tell with this one--we were kinda all over the place. Q2 we paid $48, Q3 we paid $84. Maybe from watering the garden all summer?

[aragx6]

The all utilities paid is almost certainly going to be a cheaper deal for you. Keeping your utilities below $200 in the summer and winter is pretty much impossible (when you include water/sewer and trash). It'll probably be about even in the spring and fall when heating/cooling costs are negligible.

So it's really a comfort thing -- do you think you'd be significantly happier in the house? If so, and you can afford it, maybe it's worthwhile.

Though living a little closer in might not be so bad at first -- give you a chance to explore and meet new people before you buy.