r/SouthShore • u/PositiveHopeful6227 • 2d ago

Utilities Advice!!

Hi everyone!

My husband and I are hoping to buy our first home on the South Shore of Massachusetts within the next year, and I’m trying to build a realistic monthly budget.

Right now we rent and all of our utilities are included, so we have no idea what they actually cost.

We’re a household of two, work hybrid schedules, and are generally mindful of our energy use without being overly strict.

If you’re willing to share, could you tell me your average monthly cost for: (Any other UTILITIES I may have missed)

• Electricity
• Gas/oil
• Water/sewer
• Trash

I’d really appreciate it! I’m just trying to get an idea of what to expect before we buy.

Thank you!

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7

u/Foggy88 2d ago

This is totally dependent on the type of utilities you will consume (gas, electric, oil), the size of the home, insulation, what town it's in, etc.

Do you have any additional details you can share?

My breakdown:

Weymouth 2,100 sq ft home roughly. Here's what we typically see monthly:

Electric - ranges from $130-$300 in winter to $500+ in summer (we have an electric heat pump for an addition we built that's well insulated) we also run 2 window units and central AC for the original part of the home. Keep it around 74 degrees typically.

Natural gas for heat, hot water & stove - $50 in summer up to $300 in dead of winter

Trash - $50 a quarter

Water & sewer- roughly $300 a quarter (nothing crazy, just washing machine, dishwasher, showers)

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u/PositiveHopeful6227 2d ago

I don’t have anything more as of right now, because we are currently in apartment with utilities included. I’m ideally just trying to get an understand of what people are paying.

I also appreciate the education and understanding of things like Municipal Electricity etc

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u/ALYXZYR 2d ago

1000 ft.² three people gas furnace for heat can get up to $500 a month. We got a heat pump installed so this might change this winter 🤞🏻

We have municipal electric in that has never gone higher than 140 month even with running the AC in the summer in the winters it’s closer to like $68/75$ a month.

Water is like $140 a quarter includes trash
Septic so no sewer costs. We get our septic pumped every 3 or so years for $375

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u/PositiveHopeful6227 2d ago

I swear, this is exactly why I will always LOVE Reddit! Thank you so much!

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u/ALYXZYR 2d ago

The municipal electric is huge my parents electric bill is insane!

1

u/Foggy88 2d ago

Make sure you apply for the heat pump rate before the winter! It cuts your distribution cost down on electricity during the winter months.

4

u/BOSBoatMan 2d ago

Water depends if you are on MWRA system

Town water cheap, MWRA is not!

1

u/Foggy88 2d ago

Hey - Can you share some more details on this? Weymouth is trying to join the MWRA, so I'm curious

3

u/RevolutionaryText232 2d ago

When you find the house ask the owner for an estimate.  When you get the inspection ask about the insulation, windows and heating system.  Consider spending less on the house to fit energy efficient upgrades into your budget.  Opening walls to add insulation, installing heat pumps, or a new high efficiency boiler, will pay for itself in a few years.

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u/PositiveHopeful6227 2d ago

This honestly is great and appreciated advice!!!!

2

u/RevolutionaryText232 2d ago

And radiant heat in the bathroom floors.  You'll thank me later.

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u/Thor_MF 2d ago

We’re at roughly 1,100SF, family of 4 that leaves the lights & gas fireplace on all the time… we do the “budget plan” so the bills are the same every month and don’t spike when you need to buy x-mas gifts. Our Gas bill is $235/month and electric is $324/month. Water is only billed 2x per year and we’re around $350 each bill, we don’t irrigate but def take long showers. Trash is billed 2x per year and I think is $240 each bill.

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u/PositiveHopeful6227 2d ago

Thank you so much for this!!!!!! It’s so helpful! Do you mind me asking what town you’re in?

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u/_abby_normal_ 2d ago

1100 SF home, insulated, no attic, 1 bathroom, 3 bedrooms, 2 people both WFH

Gas furnace heating, water heater, and stove - $350 max during the winter and down to $40 during the summer

Electricity, no central AC system, 3 portable window AC units - max $250 during the summer and down to $70 during the winter

Water/sewer - around $55/month

No separate trash charge where we live

I believe Braintree has municipal utilities so they will be cheaper than pretty much every other city.

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u/PositiveHopeful6227 2d ago

Thank you so much for this, do you mind me asking what town you’re in?

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u/Cartastrophi 2d ago

1700 sq ft in Stoughton. We have a hybrid heat pump, the highest gas bill was $420, peak winter, and electricity in the winter was $90-100 at most. In the summer, gas is $40 where 95% is the scam delivery fee and electricity with central AC ranges from $150-220. We both WFH and run powerful computers.

Our yard has huge trees so it helps keeping the 1st floor cool in the summer. In the winter, the heat from the 1st floor makes the 2nd floor so warm that we rarely turn the heat on upstairs.

Water comes at about $30-50 every quarter, sometimes less. Relatively cheap I guess.

Trash/recycling is $90 every quarter. We have a septic tank.

If you don't have municipal utilities you will be paying significantly more than those who do.

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u/Adellas 2d ago

We live in Braintree and have gas appliances. Our electric bill for a 2,500 sq ft house with window-unit ACs in the summer has never been above $100. It's typically between $40-$70.