How much will bills be for a 3bed house?

Question

i have just bought a 3 bed house and cannot pay the mortgage on my own so am getting in 2 tenants in with me.

the rent i will charge will include bills - but i don't have a clue how much water, electricity and gas bills will be! (i am moving straight from home and am only 19 so have know idea about bills!)

its a 3 bed semi detached house in cambridge.

please help me!!!!

Answer 1

First of all, congratulations on getting a mortgage so early in your life. You won't regret it.

Definitely contact the utility companies but you have to take into account that your tenants may use a lot more - i.e. heating on all night etc.

You could charge them a certain amount (a little over the top) explain that they may get a refund if the bills are kept down and keep a regular check on the meters and costs.

Telephone companies now supply broadband and internet for one cost, so that should be quite easy but check when the calls can be made. They could be evening and weekend calls only.

Check how the water board supply the water, it could be metered.

Definitely suggest that you set up as many direct debits as you can because you may forget to pay the bills otherwise and then land up with late payments on your credit report.

Try and get as much information as you can before you get the tenants, that way there will be no hard feelings.

Good luck and enjoy your home..

Answer 2

I have a large 3 bedroom house and my house payment alone is $700 a month. I live in the City so my utilities and water are more.

Try and get 3 months of old power and water bills for the 3 coldest months and the 3 hottest months. So you can average the total, some months you will not use that much gas or air, and that's fine, put that money up for if/when the bill is higher than you expect. Then divide that between the 3 of you. This is a look of mine:
House $700
Power,gas,water - $685 coldest months {mine}
air, power, water - $350 hot months {mine}

I hope this will help you

Answer 3

I think that $600 should be sufficient.
Electric = $300 divided by 3 = $100 ea.
H2O = $100 divided by 3 = $33
TV, phone, & Internet = $99 (at&t special) divided by 3 = $33
Rent, divide that by 3
Aprox. $600 should be what you would want to charge... DON'T FORGET that even though you might be charging them a little more than the bills, you will be the one to front the BILL IF something breaks. So whatever you don't use, put back for maintenance & repairs!!!!
I would even go as far to say $700 all bills paid. But that's just me...

Answer 4

You should have asked the previous owners.

Your expenses can depend on several factors. How well the house is insulated will determine the usage of what ever fuel you use to heat or cool the house. As will at what temperature you set your thermostat.

Water usage should be around $40 to $60 on average.

Also include the costs of insurance. And something to set aside for maintenance.

Answer 5

Lots of factors could make the amounts vary greatly from one person's home to another.

Your best bet is to contact the previous owner and ask for the average on the utilities. You might also be able to get this information from the utility companies themselves.

Answer 6

ask the power co for previous costs then divide by 3

Answer 7

I rent out 2 houses and Fickles estimates are VERY VERY accurate