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The numbers I threw up there were, as I mentioned, for ease of calculation for people responding. I could have said just as easily that my cars are worth 1,000, 10,000 or 1,000,000. Sorry for the misunderstanding. But in all honesty, if a family owns a 30k Rav4, a 25k Accord or Camry and maybe a 15k motorcycle, you have 70k worth of vehicles not owning a single luxury or feature packed vehicle. Vehicle prices have become outrageous these days while compensation is staying behind for most of these county's working people.
Anyway, so it seems like I'm pretty much understanding the big items except how State Tax is calculated. I've tried a few sites but they all show me 7% and a couple throw a lower number (5-6%) for the actual. I'm thinking I can just create a new TurboTax account and use my current compensation numbers as if I lived in Charleston to see what the State Tax would be.
So I need to look more into some of the other things that you guys recommended (utilities, irrigation etc). But I struggle to see though how cooling a home can cost $400 a month. I currently have a 2400 sf home in Pittsburgh and even in July/August when we stay in between 80 and 90 degrees, with the thermostat set at 74 degrees 24/7 my electrical bill never goes above $100/month. This tells me that the cost of electricity is much higher per kilowatt.
On James Isl I'm paying 13.3c per kw for the first 800kw and 14.7c after that. My most recent bill was less than $150 and I live in a 1959, 1700 sqft house. (I do zone a couple of rooms off with minimal AC)
That's great to know, thank you! I'll compare it with my current cost later this evening.
I hope I'm not asking for too much, but could you guys please give me a couple of examples of auto insurance cost? Clearly circumstances are different (own house vs rent, driving record, age, credit score etc) but currently I have no idea of what to expect. Online searches give me the rankings by state and they are really meaningless.
Also, what would be a common home/hurricane/flood insurance rate? This has been one of the most difficult things to research.
Last edited by tech13579; 09-02-2016 at 02:12 PM..
I like this post and the answers - especially those by Ziggy100. The responses to the state income tax are extremely valuable and will make that 7% seem not nearly as bad. This is a very good thing as it was scaring the crap out of me.
I regards to the cars, assuming that the 100K is the depreciated cost for your cars, that would be correct -but I bet it will be lowers as no used (even 1 day) is worth the new cost.
My car insurance is close to what I paid in Philly. Maybe about $400 a year higher but for more coverage.
The numbers I threw up there were, as I mentioned, for ease of calculation for people responding. I could have said just as easily that my cars are worth 1,000, 10,000 or 1,000,000. Sorry for the misunderstanding. But in all honesty, if a family owns a 30k Rav4, a 25k Accord or Camry and maybe a 15k motorcycle, you have 70k worth of vehicles not owning a single luxury or feature packed vehicle. Vehicle prices have become outrageous these days while compensation is staying behind for most of these county's working people.
Anyway, so it seems like I'm pretty much understanding the big items except how State Tax is calculated. I've tried a few sites but they all show me 7% and a couple throw a lower number (5-6%) for the actual. I'm thinking I can just create a new TurboTax account and use my current compensation numbers as if I lived in Charleston to see what the State Tax would be.
So I need to look more into some of the other things that you guys recommended (utilities, irrigation etc). But I struggle to see though how cooling a home can cost $400 a month. I currently have a 2400 sf home in Pittsburgh and even in July/August when we stay in between 80 and 90 degrees, with the thermostat set at 74 degrees 24/7 my electrical bill never goes above $100/month. This tells me that the cost of electricity is much higher per kilowatt.
Electricity here is a bit high per kW but it doesn't cost $400 per month. I have about 3000 sq ft and my electricity and gas comes out to around $260 for the worse month in the summer, $270 in the worse winter month. The swing seasons are around $160 per month.
Car insurance for my 3 cars is about $140 for full coverage. Home insurance (covers hurricane, wind and hail) is about $180 a month and I don't need flood. Flood insurance depending on which zone your in and age of home, elevation, etc can range from $300 a year to $5k or more. When cross shopping homes in Mt. Pleasant, keep that in mind as the monthly cost of 2 different homes of the same price can be substantially different.
A couple tips, but if you have an eye on a home in Mt P, you can call the electric company and they'll tell you how much they're paying per month. You can also get quotes online for insurance and see what flood zone they're in. Flood Zone X means flood insurance isn't required.
Ziggy is right about the irrigation being the culprit. We are a family of 2 and our water bill is over $100/mos. We were on the builder's pre-set 3x/week for 20 min watering schedule, and have since shut the system off and are monitoring it manually until we get a rain monitor.
Utilities are not BIG costs but they will affect your cash flow so good to get an idea. We've found electricity is also high here, due to the need for A/C. We have a very small house, are careful with lights, keep our A/C temp reasonable, and our bill runs @ $200/mos. Other people in the same development are paying upwards of $400/mos.
We have found that insurance - car insurance at least - is much cheaper here than at home, homeowner's insurance we'll see, as we were told it was going to increase next year, but we are not in a flood zone so less expensive than some. We have found groceries to be higher here as well.
Mac..
I have a farm house up in Huger .. built in 1926 ... so not great insulation .. 1600 sq ft... my daughter lives there ..added A/C in 2006... and pay 11.7 cents a kw... totally about $130 a summer month...(Berkeley Coop)....don't forget ... rarely has the heat on from early Oct thru Apr... if needed .. lights the fire..her non A/C monthly bill runs about $45 dollars during that period ...SCE@G will do an energy audit for you which I believe is a free bee...then ask for a level annual billing per cycle...
Annual comparison is the only legit way to measure the cost to you of power and the annual billing rate helps budget as well.
As an aside ... SC's average kwh rate is 12.2 cents
Ma's ( 'home") if I recall.. is 19.1 cents
and for the original poster ... PA's average rate is 14.5 cents
The highest rate in the continental US .. is CT's .. at 22.3 cents
All are residential rates...
Electricity here is a bit high per kW but it doesn't cost $400 per month. I have about 3000 sq ft and my electricity and gas comes out to around $260 for the worse month in the summer, $270 in the worse winter month. The swing seasons are around $160 per month.
Car insurance for my 3 cars is about $140 for full coverage. Home insurance (covers hurricane, wind and hail) is about $180 a month and I don't need flood. Flood insurance depending on which zone your in and age of home, elevation, etc can range from $300 a year to $5k or more. When cross shopping homes in Mt. Pleasant, keep that in mind as the monthly cost of 2 different homes of the same price can be substantially different.
A couple tips, but if you have an eye on a home in Mt P, you can call the electric company and they'll tell you how much they're paying per month. You can also get quotes online for insurance and see what flood zone they're in. Flood Zone X means flood insurance isn't required.
Hope that helps
This is good to know. My wife and I were initially looking at Tampa and also Jacksonville (St John's County - Ponte Vedra/St Augustine) and I am learning that the cost of flood insurance is starting to become prohibitive in Florida especially after FEMA significantly raised the rates in 2015. I can afford to pay 1-2-3k per year especially with the lack of state and local income tax, but I cannot afford or consider paying 10-20-30k just to be close to the coast. Here around Pittsburgh we don't really have to worry much about it, it rains all the time and we get very little sun but a french drain around your house will keep the basement dry longer than you'll be alive.
Ziggy, I think you need to come do energy audits for some of us here in CP. What do you keep your A/C set at to get those rates? Who is your builder? Maybe different builders insulate better than others.
When our electric bill hit $200 (more than double what we ever paid back home, even in Summer with A/C running 24/7), I asked others in CP if that was normal, and the response I got was "Yes!" and here are the rates others said they were paying - just for electric - $200, $295, $240, $300, and $402. These are all new houses or not more than a year old.
We have, I think, the smallest house in CP. 1,587 sf. One story. New house, so insulation/energy efficiency should not be an issue. Just 2 of us. No vaulted ceilings other than the master BR which is small. We keep the A/C at 74 pretty much 24/7. If it gets really hot, we might drop it to 73, but never below that. We are careful with lights (turning them off when we leave rooms) and have a very bright house, so rarely use lights until it gets dark. No plethora of electronics, (one TV, toaster, couple lamps). All of our appliances are new and are Energy Star. Our dryer is electric, but with just 2 of us our wash loads are likely a lot less frequent than a family with kids.
Our gas in the Summer (haven't been here in the Winter) runs $16/mos. Water/sewer (with the irrigation system turned off) runs $103/month.
Car insurance for one 2014 Volkswagen runs $62/mos and homeowner's insurance (with no flood) runs $78/mos.
We pay $250/year for a Termite Bond, and $35/month for Qtrly Pest Treatments.
Cable and Internet is on the high side - we have one TV, the basic "Starter" cable package (no pay channels), DVR, and high speed internet through Comcast and pay $125/mos. Included in that is $10 to "rent" the modem/router which I've learned is not necessary, even though Comcast told us they would not guarantee service if we used our own.
Our biggest monthly outlay other than our mortgage by far is our grocery bill, which is almost double what it was back home in MA. For 2 people who don't eat junk food, processed food (other than cereal, peanut butter, bread) snacks (other than yogurt and nuts), desserts, or drink anything but water, even with taking advantage of BOGO, tracking sales, and taking advantage of the 5% off for seniors on Wed, we can't seem to get our monthly bill under $800/mos (this is just groceries, not including eating out).
Our effective State Tax Rate is @2-3%.
All in all (just our personal experience) we have found car and homeowner's insurance and property taxes lower (substantially) than where we used to live, and RE costs much lower for home purchase. Sales tax is higher, utilities and groceries substantially higher, and my husband's pension is taxed here where it was not in MA.
Winter weather is better though - can't put a price on that!
Ziggy, I think you need to come do energy audits for some of us here in CP. What do you keep your A/C set at to get those rates? Who is your builder? Maybe different builders insulate better than others.
When our electric bill hit $200 (more than double what we ever paid back home, even in Summer with A/C running 24/7), I asked others in CP if that was normal, and the response I got was "Yes!" and here are the rates others said they were paying - just for electric - $200, $295, $240, $300, and $402. These are all new houses or not more than a year old.
We have, I think, the smallest house in CP. 1,587 sf. One story. New house, so insulation/energy efficiency should not be an issue. Just 2 of us. No vaulted ceilings other than the master BR which is small. We keep the A/C at 74 pretty much 24/7. If it gets really hot, we might drop it to 73, but never below that. We are careful with lights (turning them off when we leave rooms) and have a very bright house, so rarely use lights until it gets dark. No plethora of electronics, (one TV, toaster, couple lamps). All of our appliances are new and are Energy Star. Our dryer is electric, but with just 2 of us our wash loads are likely a lot less frequent than a family with kids.
Our gas in the Summer (haven't been here in the Winter) runs $16/mos. Water/sewer (with the irrigation system turned off) runs $103/month.
Car insurance for one 2014 Volkswagen runs $62/mos and homeowner's insurance (with no flood) runs $78/mos.
We pay $250/year for a Termite Bond, and $35/month for Qtrly Pest Treatments.
Cable and Internet is on the high side - we have one TV, the basic "Starter" cable package (no pay channels), DVR, and high speed internet through Comcast and pay $125/mos. Included in that is $10 to "rent" the modem/router which I've learned is not necessary, even though Comcast told us they would not guarantee service if we used our own.
Our biggest monthly outlay other than our mortgage by far is our grocery bill, which is almost double what it was back home in MA. For 2 people who don't eat junk food, processed food (other than cereal, peanut butter, bread) snacks (other than yogurt and nuts), desserts, or drink anything but water, even with taking advantage of BOGO, tracking sales, and taking advantage of the 5% off for seniors on Wed, we can't seem to get our monthly bill under $800/mos (this is just groceries, not including eating out).
Our effective State Tax Rate is @2-3%.
All in all (just our personal experience) we have found car and homeowner's insurance and property taxes lower (substantially) than where we used to live, and RE costs much lower for home purchase. Sales tax is higher, utilities and groceries substantially higher, and my husband's pension is taxed here where it was not in MA.
Winter weather is better though - can't put a price on that!
Hi thanks for the in depth response. I have been following this thread as I am moving from PA at the end of the month. I just have a quick question, you said that you have the smallest house in Carolina Park (1 story, 1500 square feet). Carolina Park is my first choice (and looking for least expensive) but the smallest house I have seen has been 2 story approx 1750 square feet (420k) . What model is yours? Thanks in advance.
Go to the Carolina Park website & look under Floor Plans.
Last edited by macalan; 09-03-2016 at 07:45 AM..
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