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Discovering the average electric bill of an apartment--how?

LadyMLadyM Registered User regular
edited October 2009 in Help / Advice Forum
Short and sweet: Is there a way to find out average electric bill on apartments whilst scouting them? And would the apartment manager be the one to check with or would I check with the utilities company?

LadyM on

Posts

  • ImprovoloneImprovolone Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    Call the utilities company, they should be able to tell you.

    Improvolone on
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  • SosSos Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    Call the utilities company, they should be able to tell you.

    Make sure to get quotes for every season.

    Sos on
  • EncEnc A Fool with Compassion Pronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered User regular
    edited September 2009
    As a general purpose standard, I lived in a moderate sized apartment in Florida and kept my computer on all the time (which means higher than usual rates from constant AC and such) and my bill usually ran $70 in winter to $120 in summer. My town house, which is much larger generally runs $170 to $240 depending on the month.

    The electric company's information is public domain. Just call up with the address and they should disclose it.

    Enc on
  • streeverstreever Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    typically the landlord will tell you!

    you can ask neighbors too

    remember landlords usually have enough inquiries that they don't want someone who can't pay bills! if you ask them the average utility price they will tell you honestly.

    streever on
  • ImprovoloneImprovolone Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    How would the landlord know? He doesn't see my bills or read the meter.

    Improvolone on
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  • EncEnc A Fool with Compassion Pronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered User regular
    edited September 2009
    streever wrote: »
    typically the landlord will tell you!

    you can ask neighbors too

    remember landlords usually have enough inquiries that they don't want someone who can't pay bills! if you ask them the average utility price they will tell you honestly.

    There is no guarantee that the landlord won't lie about it to fill his property. Go to the electric company and remove all doubt.

    Enc on
  • streeverstreever Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    I have never had the landlord lie about this. You can ask the utility company, but my 2 cents is that the landlord has always known, and always told me an accurate average.

    Granted I'm in a low-density high-demand area, but if you are in any area where there is any demand for apartments, the landlord won't lie about this.

    He/she isn't TYPICALLY as stupid as Enc would have you believe: he/she wants a reliable tenant, and that involves a tenant who can pay their bills.

    If the landlord would lie about this (which they will most certainly know: they've asked previous tenants) then you don't want to rent there.

    The other reality is that you are looking for essentially standardized/average pricing. It will be pretty consistent with the type of building & square footage & type of heating.

    streever on
  • LadyMLadyM Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    Enc wrote: »
    As a general purpose standard, I lived in a moderate sized apartment in Florida and kept my computer on all the time (which means higher than usual rates from constant AC and such) and my bill usually ran $70 in winter to $120 in summer. My town house, which is much larger generally runs $170 to $240 depending on the month.

    The electric company's information is public domain. Just call up with the address and they should disclose it.

    I'm in the pacific NW, I think our prices tend to be lower because of the hydroelectric dams. (I'm looking at Seattle apartments, if any Seattalites are reading this. :) ) At my current apartment I pay about $25 in the summer and $50 in the winter, but it's ridiculously well-insulated and I usually only turn the heat/fan on in the bedroom.

    Anyway, thanks for the advice!

    LadyM on
  • EncEnc A Fool with Compassion Pronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered User regular
    edited September 2009
    streever wrote: »
    I have never had the landlord lie about this. You can ask the utility company, but my 2 cents is that the landlord has always known, and always told me an accurate average.

    Granted I'm in a low-density high-demand area, but if you are in any area where there is any demand for apartments, the landlord won't lie about this.

    He/she isn't TYPICALLY as stupid as Enc would have you believe: he/she wants a reliable tenant, and that involves a tenant who can pay their bills.

    If the landlord would lie about this (which they will most certainly know: they've asked previous tenants) then you don't want to rent there.

    The other reality is that you are looking for essentially standardized/average pricing. It will be pretty consistent with the type of building & square footage & type of heating.

    I have had landlords and management companies mislead me about the actual statistics in order for their units to seem more favorable. The point I was trying to make is that a simple 5 minute phone call can pull up the actual, unarguable answer while asking your landlord has no guarantee of being accurate. This is actually fairly common, especially in large-scale managed communities where they can explain their lies as statistical/scale errors. While landlords want to fill their properties, telling you that their units are not well insulated or wired does not help them do that. Once they have the lease signed, whether or not you are able to pay electricity is your own problem, and usually a tenant will give up other things like food and services to ensure electricity.

    In addition, in Florida recently a lawsuit went before the State Legislature concerning this sort of thing where a landlord did not disclose the proper amount of the electric bill and it was ruled in favor of the landlord (with the judge stating it was the tenant's job to ensure their own electrical fees and information were accurate according to their lease).

    In business, it generally isn't a good idea to assume decency. Take the doubt out of the picture and call direct.

    Enc on
  • ImprovoloneImprovolone Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    Argh, Florida. I live in a small studio, keep my ac at about 80 and outside of appliances have a small TV and a netbook.
    100+ a month because of shitty insulation and old appliances.

    Improvolone on
    Voice actor for hire. My time is free if your project is!
  • EncEnc A Fool with Compassion Pronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered User regular
    edited September 2009
    LadyM wrote: »
    Enc wrote: »
    As a general purpose standard, I lived in a moderate sized apartment in Florida and kept my computer on all the time (which means higher than usual rates from constant AC and such) and my bill usually ran $70 in winter to $120 in summer. My town house, which is much larger generally runs $170 to $240 depending on the month.

    The electric company's information is public domain. Just call up with the address and they should disclose it.

    I'm in the pacific NW, I think our prices tend to be lower because of the hydroelectric dams. (I'm looking at Seattle apartments, if any Seattalites are reading this. :) ) At my current apartment I pay about $25 in the summer and $50 in the winter, but it's ridiculously well-insulated and I usually only turn the heat/fan on in the bedroom.

    Anyway, thanks for the advice!

    That sounds closer to what my sister payed when she lived in North Carolina, not needing AC for 8 months of the year is great. :)

    Enc on
  • LadyMLadyM Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    While landlords want to fill their properties, telling you that their units are not well insulated or wired does not help them do that.

    On that note, is there also a third party I can contact to check on wiring for the internets? In eastern Washington Comcast provides a lot (most?) of high speed internet connections, is that also the case in Seattle?

    LadyM on
  • ImprovoloneImprovolone Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    You can call the company you think provides there and ask them to check.

    Improvolone on
    Voice actor for hire. My time is free if your project is!
  • EncEnc A Fool with Compassion Pronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered User regular
    edited September 2009
    LadyM wrote: »
    While landlords want to fill their properties, telling you that their units are not well insulated or wired does not help them do that.

    On that note, is there also a third party I can contact to check on wiring for the internets? In eastern Washington Comcast provides a lot (most?) of high speed internet connections, is that also the case in Seattle?

    The cable company of your area should be able to confirm if a location has a hookup. Same with the phone/DSL company. Usually you can just go to the local provider and call a hotline they have for this specific purpose.

    Enc on
  • Joe ChemoJoe Chemo Registered User regular
    edited September 2009
    LadyM wrote: »
    While landlords want to fill their properties, telling you that their units are not well insulated or wired does not help them do that.

    On that note, is there also a third party I can contact to check on wiring for the internets? In eastern Washington Comcast provides a lot (most?) of high speed internet connections, is that also the case in Seattle?

    Just don't get Clearwire.

    EDIT: And yes Comcast is pretty common.

    Joe Chemo on
  • JasconiusJasconius sword criminal mad onlineRegistered User regular
    edited September 2009
    Most apartment complexes tend to go with the local cable company since they get incentives to not let Verizon and other fiber services lay pipes.

    Just beware because some cheaper apartment complexes have weird ass satellite cable/internet that sucks in every way possible. My mother had an apartment like this. The place was in south florida and the cable provider's billing address was in Oregon.

    Just call up and ask, they will be more than happy to tell you. Same goes for asking about electricity prices, many of these property managers/salespeople actually live on the property anyway so they would know best.

    Jasconius on
  • goodwatastgoodwatast Registered User new member
    edited October 2009
    Keep in mind that different apartments use electricity for different things. If your oven runs on electric, or more importantly your heat, you'll have a completely different electric bill than someone with a gas oven and oil heat.

    goodwatast on
This discussion has been closed.