What $250,000 Buys You Around the Country

[KSpan]

Just got a good deal on 3800 sq. ft. (including basement) on a quarter acre cul-de-sac lot here in KC suburbs for a little over that, still a 10-15% discount compared to the neighborhood comps... owners are divorcing and needed a quick sale. Our house is the 'lower end' of the neighborhood too, which is funny to say.

This is our long-term house and we will soon have three boys under 3.5 years old, plus I work from home every day. It's a big house but every inch of it is functional space and has a 95% efficient furnace, granite, great bedrooms, and a partially-finished basement in an awesome school district.

[Carolina Husker]

Btw, my house is 20 minutes drive from downtown but they turning independence into highway so it probably will be 7-10 minutes drive in 1-2 years.

lol yeah fuging right

[Ja Rhule]

lol yeah fuging right

 

You think it will be heavy traffic anyway?

[PandaPancake]

Running a pool several hours a day has my electric bill often around $325 a month.  :sick:

 

That's almost what I pay in a year.

[Cat]

That's almost what I pay in a year.

I've been researching solar. Not only is it draining my purse but i hate using so much energy, goes against my beliefs.

[MadHatter]

Not to mention a 3.6% 30 yr mortgage rate, no points.  It's a good situation financially, but my wife is starting to chirp for a new house.  Trying to fend her off as long as possible.

 

Although...it is not a bad time to buy a home.  Prices are still pretty reasonable.  Expect to see decent appreciation over the next few years.

 

But, you existing home would appreciate as well.

[MadHatter]

Running a pool several hours a day has my electric bill often around $325 a month.  :sick:

 

I wish my electric bill were $325 per month.

 

I am a person who gets too damn hot.  So, I like to keep the temp down around 72.  During the summer, by power bill is over $450 per month.

 

But then again, my wife and kids have a BAD habit of leaving every light and TV on in the house...all the time.

 

Just kills me.

[PandaPancake]

I've been researching solar. Not only is it draining my purse but i hate using so much energy, goes against my beliefs.

 

 

They didn't have a graph for it but I'm using 417kw last month.

[Niner National]

I wish my electric bill were $325 per month.

 

I am a person who gets too damn hot.  So, I like to keep the temp down around 72.  During the summer, by power bill is over $450 per month.

 

But then again, my wife and kids have a BAD habit of leaving every light and TV on in the house...all the time.

 

Just kills me.

Eh, lights don't really use THAT much electricity.

 

Heating and cooling systems and water heaters are the biggest users of electricity. The best thing you could probably do to lessen that (if you don't have this already) would be to zone your heating/cooling system so you're not heating/cooling the whole house all the time and install a super efficient water heating system.

 

Zoning your HVAC system would have the most impact though and I don't think it is terribly expensive to do.

[pstall]

Tankless water heater is a great investment as well.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using CarolinaHuddle mobile app

[Niner National]

I'm thinking about selling my place. I bought in a fringe area near Uptown and I think I can turn a quick $30,000 profit on my place. Not too bad for only being there for 2.5 years. I want to build a bungalow a little bit closer to Plaza-Midwood. There is a builder in the area that will build 3BR/2BA bungalow homes starting at $152k. I'd probably spend 25-30k more to get some upgraded features thrown in though.

 

I kind of want a yard now, although not a big one, so I want to get out of my townhome. 

[Cat]

I wish my electric bill were $325 per month.

 

I am a person who gets too damn hot.  So, I like to keep the temp down around 72.  During the summer, by power bill is over $450 per month.

 

But then again, my wife and kids have a BAD habit of leaving every light and TV on in the house...all the time.

 

Just kills me.

 

 

Yeah we keep it around 74-76. My husband lost 50lbs a few years ago and now he's cold all the time and I'm always sweating and hot. 

[Cat]

I wish my electric bill were $325 per month.

 

I am a person who gets too damn hot.  So, I like to keep the temp down around 72.  During the summer, by power bill is over $450 per month.

 

But then again, my wife and kids have a BAD habit of leaving every light and TV on in the house...all the time.

 

Just kills me.

 

 

Eh, lights don't really use THAT much electricity.

 

Heating and cooling systems and water heaters are the biggest users of electricity. The best thing you could probably do to lessen that (if you don't have this already) would be to zone your heating/cooling system so you're not heating/cooling the whole house all the time and install a super efficient water heating system.

 

Zoning your HVAC system would have the most impact though and I don't think it is terribly expensive to do.

 

 

This is what I do for a living but in commercial spaces. With a house as large as Madhatters it's likely worth the money to zone it out and have a control system. 

[PandaPancake]

Tankless water heater is a great investment as well.

Sent from my SPH-L710 using CarolinaHuddle mobile app

 

 

I've always heard it's only worth it to install it when building new. But I've heard you can save money by installing a timer on the water heater and using electricity for it during non peak times.