Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Hello all, my wife and I are looking at relocating to the Columbia area more specifically Irmo. We currently live in NY and cannot take it here anymore, between the winters and the state trying to milk every last penny we have had enough.
I am trying to set up my budget and was wondering if some of you can help. Here are a few items of cost I am looking for and I understand they will be ball park figures.
-Utilities expense per month, gas and electric (1,700 sf +/-)
-Water per month
-Trash pickup per month
-Home taxes (1,700 sf +/-)
-Insurance rates (1,700 sf +/-)
Like I said before I know the numbers will not be exact but I just want to get an idea. I tried calling the utility companies but I was told I would need an actual home address for them to run the average costs.
I am a bit worried on the cost of utilities as I have seen a few recent posts saying their bill has been outrageous.
It will depend on the actual cost of the home you will purchase, but just for a "ballpark," we bought our home for a little over $130K, and it is just over 1700 sq. feet. Also, it is 25 years old; so, that makes a difference in the energy efficiency level. We don't have natural gas or propane. So, electric is the only utility we have, per se. The highest month (Jan.) just ran us $234. Usually, it is around $120. Water is usually $55 to $85. It has been as high as $140 when we've watered the lawn a good bit in the summer. Trash is included in the property tax amount if you live in Richland County. Our taxes were 843 last year, and our insurance was about $880 for last year. Hope this helps!
Utilities will vary depending on heat source and house efficiency. Not all 1700 sf homes are created equal for taxes, they are value based. A 150k (you'll get your 1700 + for that price) home will have taxes that run around 900-1000/yr. Trash is covered by taxes in Richland Co, but costs 40/quarter in Lexington Co. I think my water usually runs around $50 a month.
I am a bit worried on the cost of utilities as I have seen a few recent posts saying their bill has been outrageous.
Thanks, any help is appreciated.
We're from WI, so the winters here were one of the main pulls for us a year ago. And sure the elec bills especially have been high for many the past couple months, i'd attibute that to this being one of the coldest winters here on record. There was a long string of days in the 30's/40's, much lower then average. Then add to the mix many homes ( if not near all ) are built with 4" walls instead of 6", and many use heat pumps only, then yes those bills would go up. Ours have been reasonable, taking into account said temps. No more then we would have expected back home during those long stretches of below zero temps when our gas bills were huge . So I wouldn't let that sway you from the SC area.....
If the utility co ( say "SCE&G" ) wants an address, then troll online thru the houses for sale, pick a couple that could be of interest, and check the utilities for those locations. May not reflect 'your' useage but would give you an idea.
Keep in mind the housing taxes here are much lower then NE or Midwest; yes you will pay property taxes on vehicles ( including boats ), but even taking that into account we are still lower overall then we were back home.
And when they had that "once in 40 years" 6-8" snowfall a couple weeks ago, it was gone within next day or two. So another plus!
Thanks everyone for the information, my wife and I are very excited about the possibility of relocating to the area.
Its funny how much cheaper the taxes are. Here in NY on our $130,000 home we are paying $3,800 a year in taxes alone.
How do they assess property tax on vehicles? Is it paid along with your home tax and also can someone give me an example on what they pay in property tax for their vehicle?
The vehicle tax is based on the value of the vehicle and varies by county. You pay it separate from your property tax (the first time you pay it is a pain, you have to go to the county tax office and pay the tax, then take your receipt to the DMV and pay them for the actual tag. From then on you can just mail it in). IIRC the tax on our 08 vehicle that originally cost $25,000 was $600 last year.
our vehicle taxes are about $130 for an 05 Scion and last year was in the upper $500's for an 08 4runner. I dont know what our boat tax will be, we wont see that until this coming fall. But as you can see, even adding in those other taxes with your home tax the lump sum is better then up north ( on a dollar vs dollar basis, not taking into account any services rendered, etc for those taxes paid )
It will depend on the actual cost of the home you will purchase, but just for a "ballpark," we bought our home for a little over $130K, and it is just over 1700 sq. feet. Also, it is 25 years old; so, that makes a difference in the energy efficiency level. We don't have natural gas or propane. So, electric is the only utility we have, per se. The highest month (Jan.) just ran us $234. Usually, it is around $120. Water is usually $55 to $85. It has been as high as $140 when we've watered the lawn a good bit in the summer. Trash is included in the property tax amount if you live in Richland County. Our taxes were 843 last year, and our insurance was about $880 for last year. Hope this helps!
$880 for insurance on a 1700 square foot house ! Our house is 1500+ square feet and we only pay $410/year, you might want to shop around for a better rate unless you are like in a flood zone or something!
OP - we budget about $1,800 or so/year for utilities (electric, gas & water). It's just me & my wife and we live inside City of Cola...so our water rate is lower (FYI though, we try to be green/conservative minded in all that we do, so for instance thermostat is 60 all day during the winter which means it doesn't run most days while we're at work and 78-80 during the summer); water tends to be $25-30/month and the highest months in most years for the electric & gas are the summer months which tend to be in the $150 range, while the winter months tend to be in the $100-$125 range (a bit higher this year as it's been colder than usual) and the other months in the $65-$80 range.
Property taxes are much lower here as ranger17 pointed out than the midwest/NE US; we too pay less even taking into account vehicle taxes than we did while living in Ohio - not to mention OH cities have a burdensome local income tax (generally around 2%). Our property tax bill was like $930 and that includes city taxes and our house was built 8 or 9 years ago.
How do they assess property tax on vehicles? Is it paid along with your home tax and also can someone give me an example on what they pay in property tax for their vehicle?
Yeah, 880 does sound high. I agree with Buckeye that you should shop that.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
! Our house is 1500+ square feet and we only pay $410/year, you might want to shop around for a better rate unless you are like in a flood zone or something! 
