Renting my house? - Northern Virginia - Virginia (VA) - Page 2 - City-Data Forum

DaffodilLR · 03-19-2009, 07:53 AM

The rent prices here are outrageous!! I'm thinking as the person above mentioned....the renter gets screwed paying your mortgage cause you got screwed paying so much back when prices were so high. Sucks for us renters especially us military who have NO choice but to live on the economy. I can't wait to move from here. I did find our rental on militarybyowner most homes are WAY overpriced on there. I found a reasonably priced home but the electricity here is killing us and we are VERY aware to only use lights when needed etc. we do not waste electricty in the least and our electric bill so far has been $350 & a huge jump to $450..not sure why cause we did nothing different. I could only imagine what it'd be if we were like most ppl and left every light on in the house, t.v.'s running etc.!!! I hate the DC area!!

oneasterisk · 03-19-2009, 08:07 AM

What kind of heating do you have? I'm assuming it's a heat pump. Heat pumps don't work very well in below freezing temps. I know we had some cold spells lately, so that may have done it. I remember a post where someone complained the same thing, and apparently when it's really cold heat pumps go into an "emergency mode" and use heat coils to assist. The heat coils are very inefficient and use up a lot of electriciy. Only thing I can suggest is to better insulate your home. Maybe put plastic shrink wrap on your windows. Insulate your water heater if that's electric too. Get a programmable thermostat and program it so it heats/cools only when you're in the home, or drop in temp while you sleep etc.

In contrast I have gas heat and gas water heater. In the winter, my electric bill is like $50-$70, but my gas bill can jump up to $350. It evens out though because in the summer, my electric bill can go up to $120 and my gas bill drops to like $30.

novahousehunter · 03-19-2009, 08:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slduvall

FYI...if your's is a 2 car garage in kingstowne proper...I'm interested

OP is in Kingsbrooke which is part of Bristow and way further out (like, probably almost an hour) than Kingstowne, despite the similar sounding names.

DaffodilLR · 03-19-2009, 03:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by oneasterisk

What kind of heating do you have? I'm assuming it's a heat pump. Heat pumps don't work very well in below freezing temps. I know we had some cold spells lately, so that may have done it. I remember a post where someone complained the same thing, and apparently when it's really cold heat pumps go into an "emergency mode" and use heat coils to assist. The heat coils are very inefficient and use up a lot of electriciy. Only thing I can suggest is to better insulate your home. Maybe put plastic shrink wrap on your windows. Insulate your water heater if that's electric too. Get a programmable thermostat and program it so it heats/cools only when you're in the home, or drop in temp while you sleep etc.

In contrast I have gas heat and gas water heater. In the winter, my electric bill is like $50-$70, but my gas bill can jump up to $350. It evens out though because in the summer, my electric bill can go up to $120 and my gas bill drops to like $30.

Hi, Wow.. that is cheap!! We have electric w/Dominion Va Power. The odd thing is the "a/c unit" outside kicks on when the heat kicks on which I've never seen before. Although only the heat is on, not the a/c.. kinda strange to me. The house is fairly big and yes I'm certain the insulation is not good w/the windows & doors. I cant imagine what the bills gonna be in the summer time.. haha eekkk! I guess thats the price ya pay for the beautiful area we live in!

(We are only renting so I have no plans to put any more money into this house than I already have, shouldnt be our responsibility, but you know how that goes *sigh*)

oneasterisk · 03-19-2009, 06:15 PM

You don't have to spend a lot of money to help insulate your homes. One of the biggest places of heat loss is windows, especially if you have older single pane windows. You can buy the plastic window sheet kits from home depot or lowes. They are very cheap and relatively easy to apply. Essentially you tape them over your windows, then use a blow dryer to "shrink wrap" them tight. If you have really drafty windows, you can actually see the plastic move during heavy winds. The kits are less than $20 and can cover multiple windows and you can get them for different sizes, including sliding glass doors. The blanket for your hot water heater is also inexpensive and easy to put on.

Here is a link on how heat pumps operate: Heat Pumps - How Well Do They Work? Verify with your landlord if that's what you have, but from your description it sounds like it.

nwlv · 03-19-2009, 07:13 PM

Honeywell Programmable Thermostats, that you can buy at Walmart, HD, or Lowe's, will cut your energy bills by 10%--easily. They will also keep the air in your house more consistent by not having to work all at once.

Denton56 · 03-19-2009, 11:01 PM

If it looks like your AC unit is kicking on when the heat is on, it's a heat pump. They are expensive in the winter when it's very cold, but cheaper in the summer. You will save money in the summer over a regular AC unit.

My house has both a furnace and a heat pump and an AC unit. The furnace and AC unit heat the main level and the heat pump does the upstairs. So far this winter our electric bills have been pretty reasonable. The heat pump doesn't seem to kick on all that often, perhaps because the warm air is rising from the main floor since it's all open floorplan. Just guessing.

Denton56 · 03-19-2009, 11:03 PM

I have a four year old house with double pane windows. Some seem to leak air in the middle, even when they are locked. I can feel the cold air pouring in. Is there anything I can do to fix that?

Thanks!

DaffodilLR · 03-20-2009, 01:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Denton56

If it looks like your AC unit is kicking on when the heat is on, it's a heat pump. They are expensive in the winter when it's very cold, but cheaper in the summer. You will save money in the summer over a regular AC unit.

My house has both a furnace and a heat pump and an AC unit. The furnace and AC unit heat the main level and the heat pump does the upstairs. So far this winter our electric bills have been pretty reasonable. The heat pump doesn't seem to kick on all that often, perhaps because the warm air is rising from the main floor since it's all open floorplan. Just guessing.

Ha! Interesting, I didnt know that. I was really worried about what the bill would be this summer so that makes me feel better. It does have a separate a/c unit & thermostat for the upstairs, but it doesnt work so its usually quite chilly up there, but on these few warm days we've had its been stifling hot upstairs even when the a/c was on downstairs (just enough to cool it down).. go figure.. haha Its ok, it'll all work out!!

About your windows (and someone else had suggested) you can get that plastic wrap to cover them.

imisscarlsbadcalifornia · 03-20-2009, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Colsn

Thanks for all the great info. I am aware I will lose money each month as the rent will not equal the payment, but that's the way it goes. I'm just happy to hear the rental market is still reasonably robust as I don't want to pay both rent and mortgage for a long stretch.

Thanks again.....this site is a great resource.

We were/are in the same position you're in; my husband landed his dream job here in NOVA seven months ago and we were unable to sell our house in Denver. Like you, we knew we'd rent it at a bit of a loss but like you, were happy to be getting something rather than taking a complete bath on the property. While this has nothing to do with your original question I thought I'd share an experience we had just last month with you if you are going to be in the market for new tenants: If you have an applicant who has adult children run a criminal and credit background check on them in addition to your applicant.

We had a "single mom" with "three grown kids who were out on their own" apply to rent our house in Denver. Her credit was good and she had a great job, earned more than enough to pay the rent, so we had our property mgmt. company write a lease with her...three months later, we learn from our neighbors there that all three "boys" (all in their mid twenties) have not only been living there, but that the chief of police, a CSI team, and eight squad cars were in front of our house because the "boys" had just held up a restaurant (armed robbery). The guns and money involved int he crime were found in the back yard and as it happened, these "boys" were gang members, had criminal records, had no jobs, claimed our house as their "permanent address", and were connected to several car jackings, two other armed robberies, and several breakins in the surrounding area. As a result of the things found in our back yard, seven other men were arrested (other gang members) and are all in jail.

You can imagine how unhappy we were; we had/have good relationships with our neighbors and they are all older/elderly and unable to defend themselves against such people. We evicted the tenant within three weeks of the incident and are once again looking for new tenants. There was some damage to our house that is being repaired right now and we are going to have to sue the former tenant for the remainder of the rent that she owes; she's spending her money on lawyers for her "boys"....

That, and four bucks will buy you a cup of coffee, but I thought I'd share that in the event that it could help you or anyone else in their quest to rent their home safely and with an eye toward the welfare of their neighbors, neighborhood, and property preservation.

Good luck to you renting your home; I have two friends in real estate here who tell me the NOVA rental market is very good right now for owners due to so many people being in foreclosure. Lots of good tenants who unfortunately, had their interest rates reset.