How much agains?!?

October 5, 2011 10:43 AM

[Average Bill Question] Soon to be moving out on my own. Trying to figure out average monthly costs of things. More of course after the fold.

So I am going to be moving out. Looking at renting a house (ideally) or an apartment. Need to figure out monthly bills for utilities.

More information:
Looking in South eastern Michigan.
Looks like three of us.

I know people can't give me an exact answer, and I know prices fluctuate (heat use in the winter drives up gas bills, and so on). The only expense I am positive of is internet use, and maybe cable, but maybe not (none of us really watch tv, plus I have a home media server which can download anything)

How much should I figure of the following:
Electric
Gas
Water
Renters insurance

I know I need to do some home work, but I am a bit overwhelmed as I need a new job (working on that front), and I am in grad school while working.

Thanks for your answers and time!

posted by handbanana to Home & Garden (7 answers total)

Some utility companies let you look up how much previous accounts paid each month (YMMV with electricity usage, companies etc.). When I was looking at renting places, I looked up all of the utilities online (i.e. electricity was estimated to be about ~$100 a month for the place I rented, although our usage was lower on average). If you are looking at an apartment, lots of places I saw had utilities (either heat and/or electricity included. Maybe that is an option?

Don't forget to budget for utility deposits if you are hooking up with a company for the first time. They are given them back after a certain period of good standing (12 months for my company or when you close the account) but is something I totally forgot about when I moved out into my own place.
posted by snowysoul at 10:54 AM on October 5, 2011 [1 favorite]

I live with two other people in New York City (so these figures will probably be higher than what you'd pay in Michigan, though I don't know how heat/gas/hot water will come into it). Each of the three of us pays a flat $50 per month in utilities, which covers internet, electricity, and gas. According to my one roommate who does the actual paying of the bills with the said $150, the electricity and gas fluctuate with the seasons, but it all evens out in the long term.

That said, our heat is provided by radiators. Our landlord is responsible for the water bill, so we don't have to deal with heating oil costs or wildly fluctuating water use.
posted by Sara C. at 10:59 AM on October 5, 2011

I don't think people will be able to give you very good answers because utility costs vary widely by region, use and factors related to the dwelling you live in (e.g., heating costs vary widely depending on how well the house is insulated, just for one example). Once you decide on a house or apartment, you may be able to call the utility companies and get the previous year's use.

Anyway, as a data point, my bills are approximately as follows:

Electric ~ $200/mo, more in the summer
Gas ~ we have oil heat, but we spend between $6,000 and $10,000 a year on oil
Water ~ we have a well, so $0
Renter's Insurance ~ we have homeowner's insurance that's around $800/yr. When I rented, my renter's insurance was around $100/year.

We live in Connecticut, so our winters are probably pretty similar to yours. Electricity is expensive in Connecticut, so I'd guess your electric bills will be lower than ours. For reference, we're 2 adults living in an approximately 2100 sq. foot house. Our house isn't very energy efficient and we work from home, so we have the heat up during the day. Good luck!
posted by Maisie at 11:01 AM on October 5, 2011

Re: utilities--you may be able to set up a budget plan that will allow you to pay a fixed rate, so you don't have to spend $300 for heating in the winter and $0 in the summer (nice in the summer, hard on the wallet in the winter).
posted by thomas j wise at 11:12 AM on October 5, 2011

Heat really depends on the kind of heat and the kind of place you're renting. In Michigan I would just assume it was going to be a few hundred a month in the winter.
posted by that girl at 11:15 AM on October 5, 2011

Try your best to stay away from places with electric baseboard heat, that gets crazy expensive here in Michigan. If you end up looking at apartment complexes, most of them include water/sewer in the rent. Gas and electric ran around $175/month for a 1200sq ft apartment when I was a student. I believe you can call Consumers / Detroit Edison and they will give you an estimate of what other apartments in a complex use, if you can find the right person to talk to. Landlords also often have that information available.

Renters insurance here is super inexpensive. I got great coverage as a renter for $125 a year.
posted by Nickel Pickle at 12:02 PM on October 5, 2011

Water in SE MI is pretty cheap. A few years ago in Ann Arbor I paid about $130/year total (billed quarterly).
posted by shiny blue object at 1:39 PM on October 5, 2011