  Boo Member Username: Boo Post Number: 159 Registered: 01-2004 |
i am considering renting a 2/3 bedroom flat in woodbridge and was wondering whether anyone has any idea what a typical detroit gas and water bill costs? (i know it is dependent on usage but i have never paid these bills before since they have always been rolled into apartment rent). thanks. | ||
Gravitymachine Member Username: Gravitymachine Post Number: 1320 Registered: 05-2005 |
how big is the place? is it an upper or lower unit? I live in a ~1500 sq ft. upper unit of a house similar in construction to most of the woodbridge two level duplexes and last winter I had a gas and electric bill of $500 during the coldest month. Keep in mind my particular building has 0 insulation (like many of these era), uninsulated vinyl windows and the rear, northfacing eave is partially exposed from a porch demolition, allowing even more cold air in and more hot air out of the attic space. I'd say mine is probably the worst case scenario. However, natural gas prices are being forcast to be down about 12% this winter so that should help a bit as well as some other preventative measures I'm going to take this time around, including closing off the one unused bedroom for the winter. can't speak to water bill costs as my water is included in the rent. (Message edited by gravitymachine on October 03, 2006) | ||
Hockey_player Member Username: Hockey_player Post Number: 251 Registered: 10-2003 |
If your place is anything like mine, with 12-foot ceilings and leaky holes all over the old place, it will cost you a freaking fortune to heat the damn thing in the winter, whether it's gas or steam. | ||
Gannon Member Username: Gannon Post Number: 6876 Registered: 12-2003 |
Your water should be included. Electricity will be anywhere from $30 to 100, depending upon your appliance and air conditioning use and desire for well-lit spaces, heat could be anywhere upwards of $150 to over 500 depending on how many drafts you can kill and how low you can live with the heat setting. Always find out what kind of heating system a house has before signing any lease. IF you don't have control over the thermostat, then you shouldn't have to pay the bill. I got by with $150 as my HIGHEST heat bill last winter, doing my best to get the most sunlight onto the southern windows and testing to see how many layers I could live under without extreme discomfort. Nobody on the northern half of the building had a heat bill LOWER than that...but they also just left their thermostat set on one temp all the time, too. I only ran the heat when it got very uncomfortable...usually set it on 54', so at least the pipes would never freeze. I experimented with local electrical and kerosene heaters...and will also add a small wood-burner at some point...no reason to heat a large warehouse when you can warm up the spots you currently use, and the 'heat' can always follow you around...like Cafe's old electric radiator on wheels will do for me again this year! | ||
Detroitplanner Member Username: Detroitplanner Post Number: 235 Registered: 04-2006 |
My water bill averages a bit over $15 per month. However I live alone so I use less water than most. I'd use the average of $20 * 12 Months = $240 a year. That is one of the more amazing things about this city, no matter how crappy it is, water is always in my pipe, fresh, clean and cheap. | ||
Boo Member Username: Boo Post Number: 162 Registered: 01-2004 |
cool- thanks guys. the space is an upper, about 3 bedrooms with none of those coveted southern windows. it is forced air (gas) and actually has pretty new windows- which could be huge. i had no idea heating was THAT high- i am going to call dte and smooth-talk the operator into getting me some past amount paid at that address.. | ||
Gravitymachine Member Username: Gravitymachine Post Number: 1322 Registered: 05-2005 |
you could always get on the "budget" whereby you pay a consistant amount all year. 'course that means your paying for heat in the summer and the amount is based on another tenants usage. | ||
Rrl Member Username: Rrl Post Number: 654 Registered: 12-2003 |
Yep, the budget plan is the way to go. True enough, you'll be paying for the winter heat in the summer, but the bill is the same each month all year round and easier to budget for; no BIG surprises. I've been doing that for a few years now. | ||
Supersport Member Username: Supersport Post Number: 10719 Registered: 10-2003 |
$587 was my worst month last winter to heat 2,000 square feet. Take note that gas prices have apparently come done a bit since last winter. Also, you got it good if you're on the second floor. The temperature difference in my house between the first and second floor is VERY noticable. So the lower tennant will actully heat your place some, making your bill lower. Either way, budget for 3 bad months, as I went from $587, for $425 or so, to around $300 before I got back into the $180 range as spring approached. Throughout the rest of the year I'm usually a little over $100 a month for gas/electric. | ||
Barnesfoto Member Username: Barnesfoto Post Number: 2564 Registered: 10-2003 |
Sport's right. If you are going to rent a flat, the upper is the place to be, provided that (a) lower unit is occupied (b)by a non-Siberian. Check the attic of the house. Is there any insulation? If not, much of your heating will warm the tail feathers of the pigeons that sit on your roof. The age of the furnace is also a factor. Older furnaces use more gas. | ||
Jimaz Member Username: Jimaz Post Number: 715 Registered: 12-2005 |
It might not help in Boo's case but it's also nice to have neighbors on both sides. The fewer outside walls the better. Neighbors make nice blankets. ;-) | ||
Lakesuperior Member Username: Lakesuperior Post Number: 140 Registered: 06-2005 |
i rented a flat on the the 2nd and 3rd floors of an old woodbridge house last year, our worst heat bill was $700 for one month! it was insane... we had some new windows and some old-- and there obviously was no insulation... i'm pretty sure you can ask DTE what the heat bills where for the property the previous year- do it! | ||
Boo Member Username: Boo Post Number: 163 Registered: 01-2004 |
i talked to dte- the average gas bill for the previous year was $100 and the average electric was $70. not too shabby compared to the horror stories above. thankfully, there are nice and warm neighbors on each side. | ||
Gannon Member Username: Gannon Post Number: 6877 Registered: 12-2003 |
$100 per month for heating an empty space so the pipes don't freeze IS pretty cheap. Heh. Bettery check that there was someone actually living in that space last year. DTE should be able to get you a FEW previous years. Those 'extra blanket' side neighbors can also make MUCH more noise than the REAL blankets I was wrapping my quiet self with... | ||
Gannon Member Username: Gannon Post Number: 6880 Registered: 12-2003 |
Also...they said "average". You want to know the peaks and troughs. Sport's average for the winter Quarter would be $437. As long as he only got two more of those $180 months before suffering the horrible natural gas bills of, what, $15 per for basic cooking and hot water heating for nearly seven warm months...that would make his AVERAGE merely $148 per month over the course of a year. Don't do the year-'round "budget" plan...create your OWN. Move in during the springtime, and save $150 per month in your own interest-bearing account that you will tap only for this bill. Earn your OWN interest on that cash...at least keep it in YOUR control until you have to spend it. | ||
Ray1936 Member Username: Ray1936 Post Number: 851 Registered: 01-2005 |
I think I made the swap of the century this year out here in the desert. My old house would run 300 bucks a month in the summer for electricity. Two story house, forty years old, even with a newer a/c unit. Sold the house for 300k, bought a brand new Pulte built home in the 'burbs of Vegas for 289k. My power bill for August was $122. I could have kissed the mailman. Heating in winter is pretty much a nickle-and dime thing because of the mild temps here. Just a view on how the other half lives. | ||
Southwestmap Member Username: Southwestmap Post Number: 611 Registered: 01-2005 |
I also created my own 'budget plan" but DTE has outsmarted me. I just sent them, regularly, $70 a pay period, twice a month, all year long. This put me ahead sometimes and behind sometimes, but it always was paid, heat and air conditioning, by August. It was a lot less than what DTE wanted on its Budget Plan. Paying regularly forestalls shut-off in the winter months when you are in the red. However, now DTE is doing full credit reporting on its customers, so being "late" paying the full amount will result in a negative report to the Equifax, et al, for the month. They mean it, too! |
