I haven't been able to find a recent thread on the cost of utilities in Sun City. What is your best guess average amount for a 1000 sq ft home for: Water Sewer Pest Control Electric Gas Trash Are there any other utility costs? Where I currently live we also have to pay for clean streets in our utility bills Thank you
My HOA pays for Water, Pest Control, Gardner, Trash, and a few other items. I pay for Electric, Gas (stove top and water heater), and Internet/Phone. In summer electric is high (for cooling) and in winter gas is high (for heating). I do not pay for tv because I have an antenna. I do not get all the sports channels, but it saves me $40/month. The county is responsible for maintaining our streets (cleaning and resurfacing) I'm anxious to see what other pay. BTW I have a 1,500+ sq ft 2 br 2 ba condo.
Good information peg. It makes a difference what style of attached home you are looking for DDD. Peg's 1500 sq is larger than most 2/2 garden court/vacation specials (there are several different names for them). They average around 1200. To get them to her size usually requires taking part of the large patio area and enclosing it. There are minimal windows in them so that helps. Many have huge 16 foot double doors and if original, they aren't very energy efficient. Replacing them is pretty reasonable when you use a company like Window World who has good package prices and okay windows. You can bundle TV and internet with COX for under $100. If you need higher speeds and more channels it gets more expensive. It also matters what your landscaping outside is. Twin homes and quads are larger and more expensive. 1500 plus square and higher monthly maintenance. Many of those, called Gemini Twins are grass laden and lots of large old trees and bushes. Water costs are driving the monthly fees there to $250 to $300 and will only go higher. More aggressive condo associations have gone to desert landscaping but it is expensive to do and lots of people like seeing the green and are willing to pay for it. The good news is as peg said, some of your monthly costs are included in that. Yearly taxes on garden court units are usually $600 to $800 dependent on what you pay for it (it gets adjusted the year after it sells based on the selling price) . Monthly maintenance fees will be around $170 to $200. Your yearly RCSC fees are $496 and that is whether you are single or married. The elephant in the room is singles subsidize married couples. They explain it wholly different so it doesn't sound so offensive, but that is the reality. If you take a roommate, they will have to pay for a privilege card if they want access to the rec centers. That equates to half what you pay, $248 per year. The only way to get two cards included in the rec fees is if both people are on the deed. There is a $3,500 one time buy-in called the Preservation and Improvement Fund (PIF) plus a $300 transfer fee (both paid at closing) and of course your yearly lot assessment (the $496 we talked about above). You could pay the PIF again if you keep the first property you buy as a rental and then buy a second or third home. There are people that own 6 and 7 houses here and pay the PIF every time they buy another. However, rentals are easy to rent and often are money-makers for those who can afford them. Our winters are pretty mild. If you come from a cold climate, heating is minimal compared to back home. Summers can be a beast, but we keep our house set around 82 degrees so it's not bad. Those who need to cool it down in the 70's will pay through the nose with single family home energy bills running as high as $300. Condo's will be less, dependent on how well insulated it is and what you have done with windows and doors. Last but not least, i will leave you with a saying we saw just before we went on a cruise many, many years ago. We stopped at a little curio shop in Florida and the sign said this: Enjoy the Journey, Not the Destination. I can tell you, as you begin this move to the next step of your life, savor every moment of it. Once you are here, time flies. Rather than agonize over your choices, learn to relish the excitement as you move forward.
