Buying a home, need advice

[Greengirl]

Hi Guys,

I'm planning to buy a place in the next 6 months and I need some advice to maintain my level of fish keeping. I currently rent in a coop where water and electricity are included. I have no idea how much it would cost to do bi-weekly water changes and have electricity running air and filters 24/7. For those of you who pay separate electricity and water, how much more do you think you pay because you are in the hobby? Would anyone be willing to tell me how much they pay?

Is there anything else I should consider when looking to buy a place. I am thinking condo/townhome for my new place in the bethesda/rockville area. I would love some input. I still only plan to keep 5 tanks at most. No more.

Thanks,

Greengirl

 

[Becca]

Our current level (150, 55, 29, 20, 15, 10, 6, 3) adds, essentially, another person. You can look at the typical gallon usage per person on the WSSC website and then multiply by 2.

For a family of 3, 2 large dogs, and gallons of fish, we come in at about $100-120 every 3 months (at least we did in the old house - new house will be less because there's no sewer fee).

As for electricity - your biggest cost will be running your heaters. Something to consider is whether you have enough tanks that running a 1500 watt heater to keep your fish room at the right temp is worthwhile. If you have 10 tanks and a 300 watt heater in each, a space heater is well worth the investment.

Electric for a family of 3 with all those tanks (minus the 55) in a 2-story townhome with a basement ran between $140 and $180 a month - that included heat and AC.

If you're looking at townhomes and condos, remember that being in the interior INSULATES you. Sure, it's nice to have the corner unit, but that's 2 exposed walls which means heat-loss in the winter and extra sun exposure in the summer.

From experience - You're better off in a nice area of Frederick County (or a more rural part of Montgomery) than buying the only place you can afford in Rockville or Bethesda. When you're in a townhome or condo, there's no escaping your neighbors and bad neighbors can ruin your community, property, cars, home values, etc. There are definitely bad parts of MoCo and a lot of MoCo peaked years ago and has been on the decline since. Before you buy, look at county development plans, talk to some local police officers, and visit places between 3 and 5 pm on nice days (between when schools let out and parents get home), and on HOT Friday and Saturday nights, to get a feel for what the "worst" of the community is going to be.

If you haven't found an agent yet, my father in law is pretty good and grew up in this area.

 

[Greengirl]

Wow thanks, that is a lot of great information! I just got an agent, but I never considered asking police about the area and checking out let out times for schools and communities. Thanks a lot.

 

[verbal]

For water it looks like your cost is around 1 cent/gallon

http://www.wsscwater.com/home/jsp/content/rates.faces

The electric looks like 8 to 9 cents/kilowatt hour
http://www.pepco.com/_res/documents/MDRates_R.pdf

An AC 110 uses 14 watts so it would cost roughly $1/month. Light and heating are where you have to look out for a bump in your power bill.

 

[dogofwar]

My 50+ tank fishroom runs less than $100 per month but I use almost all air and few heaters and lights.

Heaters, fancy lights and large water pumps are what use electricity.

Our water bill for 2 adults and 3 kids and the fishroom + garbage + sewer (City of Rockville) is a little over $100 per month.

One thing to look at when buying a house are HOA (Home Owner Association) dues. They can be pricey, depending on what you get for them.

Matt

 

[JLW]

A very easy rule of thumb for electrical usage is that each watt of electricity you use will cost you $1 per year, assuming it runs 24/7 (so, a filter that uses 20 watts will cost you $20 per year. However, a heater that is rated for 300 watts will NOT cost you $300 a year, because it is only on, meh, a quarter of the time -- it'll therefore cost you $75 per year. Similarly, a light fixture that uses 120-watts, but runs for 12 hours a day, will cost you $60 per year. It's on half the time, so 120$ * 12/24). Every single piece of electrical equipment you own will tell you either the watts used or the amperage. If it is the amperage, just multiple it by 120 to get the wattage. If it is in milliamps, multiply by 0.120 to get wattage. Look on the item near where the cord attaches to it.

You can also get a device that'll log the electrical use of stuff plugged into it, usually called a "Watt Minder." You can find tonnes of these on amazon. Run the tanks for a month plugged into it, and you'll see how much you're using.

As to water usage, the cost for tanks isn't that much. You can recycle a lot of your water in the summer, too. Use it to water your lawn.

J.

 

[willyb1972020]

A very easy rule of thumb for electrical usage is that each watt of electricity you use will cost you $1 per year, assuming it runs 24/7 (so, a filter that uses 20 watts will cost you $20 per year. However, a heater that is rated for 300 watts will NOT cost you $300 a year, because it is only on, meh, a quarter of the time -- it'll therefore cost you $75 per year. Similarly, a light fixture that uses 120-watts, but runs for 12 hours a day, will cost you $60 per year. It's on half the time, so 120$ * 12/24). Every single piece of electrical equipment you own will tell you either the watts used or the amperage. If it is the amperage, just multiple it by 120 to get the wattage. If it is in milliamps, multiply by 0.120 to get wattage. Look on the item near where the cord attaches to it.

You can also get a device that'll log the electrical use of stuff plugged into it, usually called a "Watt Minder." You can find tonnes of these on amazon. Run the tanks for a month plugged into it, and you'll see how much you're using.

As to water usage, the cost for tanks isn't that much. You can recycle a lot of your water in the summer, too. Use it to water your lawn.

J.

Or garden

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[Andrewtfw]

I would go town home over condo. I am biased, since my condo development is plagued with sprinkler pipe bursts every winter and a shoddy condo board. Couple that with HOA fees totalling $220 a month. I pay electric but water is part of the condo fee. My pepco bill this month was $104. That covers six tanks, ten reptile bins and the electricity that I otherwise use myself.

 

[ddavila06]

I would go town home over condo. I am biased, since my condo development is plagued with sprinkler pipe bursts every winter and a shoddy condo board. Couple that with HOA fees totalling $220 a month. I pay electric but water is part of the condo fee. My pepco bill this month was $104. That covers six tanks, ten reptile bins and the electricity that I otherwise use myself.

definitely townhome over condo...
noise, oh **** noise! i am glad i sold my condo over a year ago...**** kids wouldnt stop jumping upstairs!!!!
i didnt mind the condo fee dues since it took care of gas and water but electricity was a pain cause the AC/Furnace were trash. GET the expensive detailed home inspection, a bad furnace is not worth having... get the seller to pay your repairs/replacement as needed AND ask them to pay you a warranty for a year (covers all appliances and in case of leaks)

plus, if u do townhouse u might have room for a fishroom, is easiert to maintain temperature in a smaller room and u dont have to worry about heaters all over..

good luck, if u need advice i have two and then some years experience in real estate.

 

[halak]

I loved living in my three bedroom condo and always thought that that was a much better choice than a townhouse (no stairs inside, much better parking than at a townhome's parking lot, much lower price for the unit). I was probably lucky that I never had noisy neighbors though. I never needed a heater for my tanks (I hardly had to turn on the thermostat as I was living on the middle floor), had lots of room for tanks (I had nine tanks and 1,392 square feet in my place), but the condo fee was high ($613 a month, yes, you read it is correctly).

Anyway, definitely look into the schools when you are looking for a new home (greatschools.org).

 

[DougGosnell]

So, I guess you do not want my lean-to when I get the boat and disappear.

Electric heaters are a nightmare. There is a reason why all the tanks on the wall are insulated, it was running $100 a month just to heat that section. I think I pay 300 a month during the winter to heat the tanks and about another $100 for the electrical. You have seen my room many times, you judge.

 

[Becca]

So, I guess you do not want my lean-to when I get the boat and disappear.

Electric heaters are a nightmare. There is a reason why all the tanks on the wall are insulated, it was running $100 a month just to heat that section. I think I pay 300 a month during the winter to heat the tanks and about another $100 for the electrical. You have seen my room many times, you judge.

Who wouldn't want it? I still dream about working at the old Hatchery. Guess you'd better find that boat before Alexandra gets suckered into a place with an HOA.

Also - an aside - I strongly believe HOAs are a waste of money, so avoid them if you can. Pick the wrong neighborhood and you'll end up paying for the fact that your neighbors make security patrols run by off-duty cops and multiple extra trash pick ups each week a necessity.