Is 1400 a month too high for a house in nyc?

amother

Sun, Jun 02 2019, 12:10 pm

If I have a house in bklyn, its small 3 bedroom like 1400 square feet, if the mortgage is all paid already, does it make sense that my monthly bill for taxes, electricity, gas, ac or heat, and water is around $ 1400 a month? I thought once my mortgage is paid, ill be paying much less per month. Maybe im using too much water or....

Or, is this a normal amount??

groisamomma

Sun, Jun 02 2019, 12:11 pm

Utilities don't take your mortgage into account. You pay for what you're using.

ETA...1400 is very high, especially for a house that size. I live in a house way bigger and pay less than half of that in utilities per month. Is someone sharing the bill with you?

sky

Sun, Jun 02 2019, 12:19 pm

groisamomma wrote:

It includes Taxes. In Lakewood for sure you could pay at least 1000 a month in taxes before utilities.

What is your yearly taxes on the home.

FranticFrummie

Sun, Jun 02 2019, 12:23 pm

I believe that you call call the electric company, and have someone come over and inspect your house for "energy drains". Drafty windows, poor insulation, clogged air filters, old appliances, etc. They'll give you a list of improvements you can do to improve your home's value while decreasing your bill.

At least, they used to have that program. It's worth calling to find out if they still do that.

I recently cut my electricity bill down quite a bit just by installing heavier curtains. I have single pane windows, and the improvement in air conditioning and heating bills is really impressive. You can put your hand between the curtain and the window, and feel the difference in temperature.

Amarante

Sun, Jun 02 2019, 12:24 pm

You monthly payments would have decreased by exactly the amount of your monthly mortgage payments.

However, your utility bills might have gone up as they are constantly increasing rates and your taxes generally go up a bit each year as well.

I don't understand how you don't know what your monthly utility bills are for each type. You can generally get someone to audit them once you have the individual bills. Water bills can be high because there are small leaks you don't know about - a toilet (for example) constantly running uses a LOT of water.

naturalmom5

Sun, Jun 02 2019, 12:31 pm

Maybe get solar panels

Or maybe sell it for a fortune and buy something in Tom's River lol

amother

Azure

Sun, Jun 02 2019, 12:34 pm

You should definitely call the electric company. When I moved into my last apartment (a one bedroom with a small 2nd bed room walled off one end) I felt my electric bills were very high. Con Ed came and found that another apartment had somehow hooked up to my electricity, so I was paying for theirs as well!

amother

Turquoise

Sun, Jun 02 2019, 12:41 pm

You’re not breaking down the expenses. If you’re paying a lot in heating, it could be that the house is not properly insulated or you don’t have new windows installed. If it’s the water bill, then you could have a leak. Electricity - are you running a/c and a lot of appliances a whole day? What’s included in that bill ? $1400 does sound high.

ra_mom

Sun, Jun 02 2019, 12:49 pm

The only expense that you don't have to pay anymore is your mortgage. You may have expected to just have to pay utilities now because your taxes were previously included in your mortgage payment. But the dollar amount you quoted makes sense for RE taxes and utilities combined.

amother

Sapphire

Sun, Jun 02 2019, 2:06 pm

FranticFrummie wrote:

I recently cut my electricity bill down quite a bit just by installing heavier curtains. I have single pane windows, and the improvement in air conditioning and heating bills is really impressive. You can put your hand between the curtain and the window, and feel the difference in temperature.

Now FF, now you just stepped on my veeery sensitive toe called single paned windows (Dear L-rd how I hate them Banging head

But I'll remember your advice about curtains.

amother

Jade

Sun, Jun 02 2019, 4:33 pm

Doesn't sound high. How much is your taxes? If it's 12 k/ yr that's a grand a month per year.

amother

Goldenrod

Sun, Jun 02 2019, 7:34 pm

not sure it is possible to have $12k a year property tax on a 1400 sq ft home in Bklyn. Way too high

cnc

Sun, Jun 02 2019, 7:52 pm

amother [ Goldenrod ] wrote:

not sure it is possible to have $12k a year property tax on a 1400 sq ft home in Bklyn. Way too high

Agree.