Monthly utility charges and moving to FL (HOA fees, homeowners insurance)

[qb61913]

We are considering moving to FL and I'm interested to know how much it costs to maintain a house. For example, for a 4000 sq ft house...how much would it cost to heat and cool? With a pool.

Then, how about other utilities like internet, water (city / sewer), maintain the grass, HOA?
Then, i was wondering I noticed that some houses have HOA fees like $33/month and others have over $300/month. What would a $33/month HOA fee cover on a house in Florida?

[kyle19125]

Originally Posted by qb61913

We are considering moving to FL and I'm interested to know how much it costs to maintain a house. For example, for a 4000 sq ft house...how much would it cost to heat and cool? With a pool.

Then, how about other utilities like internet, water (city / sewer), maintain the grass, HOA?
Then, i was wondering I noticed that some houses have HOA fees like $33/month and others have over $300/month. What would a $33/month HOA fee cover on a house in Florida?

$350-$400 would be my guess based on that number of square feet and your energy habits in terms of how cool you set the thermostat. Internet/cable about $200 after that first year of better rates. $250 for water/sewer/trash collection for around that size home including yard irrigation. Yard maintenance on that size home is probably $250-$300 a month considering much of the year involves weekly service. A $33 HOA fee wouldn't cover much and is probably indicative of a weaker variety minus a lot of involvement. You really do want some form of oversight and enforcement in place otherwise there isn't much use for an HOA.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by qb61913

We are considering moving to FL and I'm interested to know how much it costs to maintain a house. For example, for a 4000 sq ft house...how much would it cost to heat and cool? With a pool.

Then, how about other utilities like internet, water (city / sewer), maintain the grass, HOA?
Then, i was wondering I noticed that some houses have HOA fees like $33/month and others have over $300/month. What would a $33/month HOA fee cover on a house in Florida?

Electric: $200-500 per month depending on the time of the year

Landscaping: $100-200 per month depending on the size of lot

Lawn Fertilizer / Pest Control / Weed Control: $50-100 per month depending on if you do just your lawn, your plant beds or both

Termite Bond: $20 per month (plus the initial fee around $1,000 for Termidor Treatment, good for 10 years)

Homeowners Insurance: $250-350 per month (includes 2% hurricane deductible)

Internet: $30-120 per month depending on the speed you want

Pool Service: $80-$110 per month

Water: $75-150 per month (if you have a well, it's almost free besides the initial water treatment filter)

HOA: Varies depending on the community, but for single family houses, they generally don't cover anything for the house, it's just the amenities & streets of the community (guard house, gate, sidewalks, streets, street landscaping, ponds, club house, pool, tennis courts, etc)