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We're checking out a 1920's house in Seattle tomorrow, and one of our dealbreakers is electric heating/cooking (esp. baseboard). This is the first listing we've seen in our areaof interest that did not mention gas whatsoever in the listing. Heat, stove, water heater... all were listed as electric. However, knowing that most Seattle neighborhoods are hooked up for gas, I called Puget Sound Energy to inquire about this address. They looked up the records on the property and said there was definitely a gas meter on the house, and it had not been shut off or anything. So we are trying to figure this mystery out before we get our hopes up too much... the house is in great shape otherwise, updated systems, etc.
Isn't gas (even just presence on the property, if not hooked up to the house yet) a big selling point for realtors? If so, why does this listing refer entirely to electric and not mention gas whatsoever? I would imagine most buyers aren't going to be ringing up the gas company to double-check things, but who knows. Are there any explanations out there that you can think of for this?
We're checking out a 1920's house in Seattle tomorrow, and one of our dealbreakers is electric heating/cooking (esp. baseboard). This is the first listing we've seen in our areaof interest that did not mention gas whatsoever in the listing. Heat, stove, water heater... all were listed as electric. However, knowing that most Seattle neighborhoods are hooked up for gas, I called Puget Sound Energy to inquire about this address. They looked up the records on the property and said there was definitely a gas meter on the house, and it had not been shut off or anything. So we are trying to figure this mystery out before we get our hopes up too much... the house is in great shape otherwise, updated systems, etc.
Isn't gas (even just presence on the property, if not hooked up to the house yet) a big selling point for realtors? If so, why does this listing refer entirely to electric and not mention gas whatsoever? I would imagine most buyers aren't going to be ringing up the gas company to double-check things, but who knows. Are there any explanations out there that you can think of for this?
It could be a mistake by the agent ... most of us aren't robots. (Well there is ONE out here that could be a fembot with her molded weekend tv anchor hair, overly lined lips and Glamour Shots business cards ...)
It could be that the owners preferred electric.
I know pretty much zilch about the Seattle area but I will say that my FIL was laughing his arse off several years back. We always picked on him for having all electric everything when there was a gas line run to the house - he had the last laugh when gas prices skyrocketed and he was saving a chunk of change.
I would always do your own research exactly as you have been. Some agents aren't so careful about what they enter (or do not enter) into their MLS. As far as gas, I know some people moving from different areas are scared of gas and do not want anything to do with a gas water heater or gas furnace, etc. Other people like yourself like it and want to fry a nice egg over gas heat. Either way, it should be easy enough to convert the stove back to gas if its already metered to the house. A lot of gas companies will run 25' of line for free to hook up certain appliances so you'll use more of their product
Didn't you go and see the property? What did you see? Was there a electric line going to the water heater? Was it baseboard heat? Did your agent not tell you?
It could be they hit the wrong checkbox. It could be that they have a heat pump, which is electric, and quite frankly the PNW is a really good place to have one.
I hate cooking with electric and much prefer gas to cooking, but out here I'd be fine with an electric heat pump. I wouldn't walk away from a house over it. If there was gas to the property I would just have someone bring the line to my stove, but that is my personal preference.
Baseboard heat that would be a deal breaker, unless I had a chunk of change to covert to a furnace.
Hi folks, thanks for the replies. We are going to see the property in a few hours from now, so hopefully the selling agent will know what's going on and be able to tell us. The photos online clearly show an electric stove, baseboard heaters, and all the rest.
I guess to me, I always thought gas was incomparably better/cheaper than electric, at the very least when it comes to a furnace vs. baseboard heating. Have I been wrong in thinking that gas is cheaper than electric baseboard for heating a house?...
We do prefer gas for cooking overall, and to have a gas fireplace rather than a wood-burning one... don't really care/know about water heaters, but assume that if we were to convert the whole house to gas, might as well do it all in one fell swoop. How much does your average electric-to-gas conversion run, anyone know?... assuming the gas line is already at the house.
Hi folks, thanks for the replies. We are going to see the property in a few hours from now, so hopefully the selling agent will know what's going on and be able to tell us. The photos online clearly show an electric stove, baseboard heaters, and all the rest.
I guess to me, I always thought gas was incomparably better/cheaper than electric, at the very least when it comes to a furnace vs. baseboard heating. Have I been wrong in thinking that gas is cheaper than electric baseboard for heating a house?...
We do prefer gas for cooking overall, and to have a gas fireplace rather than a wood-burning one... don't really care/know about water heaters, but assume that if we were to convert the whole house to gas, might as well do it all in one fell swoop. How much does your average electric-to-gas conversion run, anyone know?... assuming the gas line is already at the house.
Yes a furnace is significantly cheaper than baseboard heat out here in the PNW. The problem you have is that if there is baseboard heat there is no duct work. Down here we can get an 80% efficiency furnace for $1600 or so installed. It's the duct work that adds a few thousand into that. I'd plan on $5,000-$6,000 to convert.
Also the NW Energy Trust covers Washington too. They offer rebates for going more energy efficient. When we had to replace our furnace a couple of years ago we actually upgraded to a 97% efficiency furnace because it came with so many rebates and tax credits that it was actually cheaper than the less efficient furnace.
If this house is great in every other way, check out the NW Energy Trust and see how they can help you convert.
Yes a furnace is significantly cheaper than baseboard heat out here in the PNW. The problem you have is that if there is baseboard heat there is no duct work. Down here we can get an 80% efficiency furnace for $1600 or so installed. It's the duct work that adds a few thousand into that. I'd plan on $5,000-$6,000 to convert.
Also the NW Energy Trust covers Washington too. They offer rebates for going more energy efficient. When we had to replace our furnace a couple of years ago we actually upgraded to a 97% efficiency furnace because it came with so many rebates and tax credits that it was actually cheaper than the less efficient furnace.
If this house is great in every other way, check out the NW Energy Trust and see how they can help you convert.
Thanks, this is very helpful information. By the way, I meant to ask what a heat pump was... I've lived in Seattle most of my life, but we've always had either baseboard, wood-burning, kerosene, pellet-stove, or gas furnace heat... and I have seen some houses with oil heat. Haven't heard of a heat-pump, though!
We are not too worried about the cost of furnace + ductwork, as my dad is a contractor/plumber/jack-of-all-trades and has friends everywhere--including a guy who recently installed a furnace + ductwork for him (replacing baseboard) for $3-4K. So that's not too bad of a deal--makes it feel like less of a dealbreaker for me. My dad did say we could also install forced-air electric fan heaters in the walls if we decided to stay with electric (if we got this house, obviously)... it would be far, far more efficient than baseboard. So this gas vs. electric thing is not a dealbreaker, since there is indeed a gas line to the house and we could hook it up to our stove or whatever. I am just so amazed that the owners did not use their gas line whatsoever... really not very common around here to do that, from what I've seen.
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