Cost of Living (Naples: how much, house, buying)

[theSteevo]

Comparing costs. Just received my electric bill on Long Island NY. Approximately 3000 sq foot home with an inground pool. 2 month bill is 845 dollars. Next one will be higher, then it drops down in the winter.
Tell me what you pay in Naples in a similar size home with a pool or hot tub filter.

[The14Homes]

Wow, that's high. We have a 2600sq foot home with a pool, our FPL is $150 a month and in the winter it's more like $60-$80. (it is a newer home, so it's insulated well)

[bokranch]

Originally Posted by The14Homes

Wow, that's high. We have a 2600sq foot home with a pool, our FPL is $150 a month and in the winter it's more like $60-$80. (it is a newer home, so it's insulated well)

The14Homes - that's good to know. Is your home 1 or 2 story? Have heard 2 story is much more expensive to cool. Do you have any idea how much more?

[The14Homes]

Mine is a 2 story, like I said because it's a newer home the insulation is better and the air conditioning runs more efficient. I know that the cost of cooling an older home can be more expensive, this was one of our reasons for choosing a newer home. I leave the air conditioning at 77 and the pool pump runs for 8 hours a day.

[tmozer]

We pay electric in three places: JCP&L (NJ), Santee Cooper (SC) and FPL (FL). The FPL rates are the cheapest......

[hhtamu88]

ok - older home around 2700 sq ft - LOTS of glass - avg summer FPL bill has been $390 - keep the A/C on 74!!!

[bokranch]

OK, so what's considered older vs newer home? Would we be safe looking only at homes built since 2000? Is it considered acceptable to ask to see someone's electric bills of a house we are really interested in?

All of your info has been extremely helpful. Don't think we have to completely rule out 2 story now

[The14Homes]

Sure, if you’re interested in buying a property, I would ask the owner what their payments on the electrical bills are. I can't see why any seller would take offence.
Newer homes or home which have had a new roof put on them often have the vents in the roof, which keeps the home cooler, also the windows make a difference, a cheaper way would be to place a tinted film over the windows, even the way the house is facing makes a big difference, all things to consider. Getting the sellers bills would answer all the questions you have on running costs. Good luck

[bokranch]

Originally Posted by The14Homes

Sure, if you’re interested in buying a property, I would ask the owner what their payments on the electrical bills are. I can't see why any seller would take offence.
Newer homes or home which have had a new roof put on them often have the vents in the roof, which keeps the home cooler, also the windows make a difference, a cheaper way would be to place a tinted film over the windows, even the way the house is facing makes a big difference, all things to consider. Getting the sellers bills would answer all the questions you have on running costs. Good luck

Thanks so much for the info

[BigMunch]

It's a great idea to ask them to get a printout of an entire year's bills for electric and water, they can get the FPL yearly graph printed up from their account online, which will show you what last year's bill was for this month and next month, and it should be similar when you get your next bill. My bills have ranged from 76.00 to 185.00 a month, the hotter it is outside the higher the electric bill.

A new neighbor just had a 1,000.00 water bill last week , and we told him he must have a leak somewhere, sure enough it was under the concrete slab of his house. I showed him my bills for the past year on a chart, which were like 50-70 dollars a month. He knew he had a big problem after seeing a thousand dollar water bill. It helps a lot to know that it is not normal when you get a huge bill out of the blue.