Peakster's House Efficiency - Page 2

Peakster · 08-10-09, 04:09 PM

July's bills are finally paid for and here's what they look like:

Gas - $14.24
Electricity - $109.04
Water - $43.60

Other expenses:

Cable - $29.96
Telephone - $46.29
Insurance - $22.42
Wireless Internet - $10.00
Condo Fees - $125.00
Mortgage & Property Tax - $1,265.71

Total July '09 Expenses: $1,666.26

Rent collection from roommates: $1,400.00 (rent increased when new roommates replaced previous ones that moved out)

Monthly deficit: $266.26

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Looks like price corrections occurred when actual readings for the utility usages took place. Electricity skyrocketed and the gas bill was much lower than usual.

Daox · 08-11-09, 11:44 AM

Looks like you're doing pretty good for yourself there. $260 plus all the equity you're putting away with the rent from your room mates makes for a nice investment.

Peakster · 08-12-09, 04:13 AM

I'm quite surprised of how fast the mortgage is going down. Right now the amortization is sitting at 11 years, 0 months as long as I keep up the current payments. A comforting thing is that I can always go back to the original 35-year amortization and payments anytime if I ever lost my current day-job, or had a vacancy for a long time, etc.

It will take a while, but I'm hoping that I can eliminate the deficit in the next year or two (or at least on paper. Canada Revenue Agency will probably love me when tax time comes around!). To tell you the truth I'm hooked with this roommate thing. It's not really a 'get-rich-quick scheme' but it's turned out to be pretty easy considering I was a property virgin just 6 months ago!

$1400/month = $1.94/hour whether I'm at home, at work, or out of the city completely. Literally make money while sleeping!

Peakster · 09-10-09, 07:22 PM

August's bills are all tabulated now. Here's what they look like for that month:

Gas - $32.64
Electricity - $52.20
Water - $33.35

Other expenses:

Cable - $51.65
Telephone - $54.55
Insurance - $22.42
Wireless Internet - $0.00
Condo Fees - $125.00
Mortgage + Property Tax - $1406.69

Total August '09 Expenses: $1,778.50

Rent collection from roommates: $1,455.00 (more people moved out and new people moved in with higher rent. Next month will be crazy as there's a young couple moving into the master bedroom!

)

Monthly deficit: $323.50

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The 6-month promotional offers of some of the bills have expired. Looks like gas consumption and electricity are under control (the flat service charges are almost just as much as the usage charges

). Water bill isn't too bad either. Accelerated mortgage payment even further this month.

NiHaoMike · 09-11-09, 06:41 PM

Your cable and phone combined cost almost as much as the electricity, gas, and water combined. Have you thought about losing the cable (and use wireless) and replacing the phone with VoIP?

Peakster · 09-11-09, 10:30 PM

The cable bill should be lower for the end of September... we dropped a bunch of channels as the 6-month promotion expires. Roomates have been hounding me to get wireless internet (which we don't have yet) and considering they're paying for the bulk of the housing expenses, I should get the service. My provider says that the cable and wireless high-speed combined will be around a $85 monthly bill after promotional pricing expires.

As for the phone, we don't have land-line service. The 'phone bill' is actually just my cell phone. It's something like $29.99/month but add the voicemail, call display, taxes, etc. it's often in the $50/month range. I lump it with the household expenses though as I guess you could say I use it somewhat for business use

.

NiHaoMike · 09-11-09, 11:51 PM

Use a DD-WRT wireless router and save the cost of letting them supply the wireless. (Or is it mobile internet?)
Also look at DSL since it might be cheaper.

Peakster · 10-16-09, 03:17 AM

Whoa, that took seemingly forever. Finally my last bill (it's always the water bill controlled by the HOA) came in so I can finally tally this months expenses and income. Here's how it looks:

Natural Gas - $30.89
Electricity - $51.22
Water - $27.47

Other expenses:

Cable/WiFi - $54.59
Telephone - $45.75
Insurance - $22.42
Condo Fees - $125.00
Mortgage + Property Tax - $696.32

Total August '09 Expenses: $1,053.66

Rent collection from roommates: $1,650.00

Monthly Surplus: $596.34

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This month's rental income was CRAZY, I have a young couple in their early 20s going to university paying $715 collectively just for the master bedroom, a guy in his mid 20s paying $455/month for the middle room and an older man in his late 50s paying $480 for the 'reject room' which includes the only parking stall. Talk about a cash cow! Mortgage was decelerated back to normal as winter is starting to set in. I live in the basement for FREE!

No foreseeable rent increases for a while... I just want to nurture what I already have! $1650/month = $2.29/hour.

Daox · 10-16-09, 07:25 AM

Wow, things are looking really good now.

RobertSmalls · 10-17-09, 07:40 PM

Nice. It actually looks like the basement bedroom is the one with the most privacy, too.

If you want to calculate your monthly profit/loss, it's probably better to exclude mortgage principal prepayment. If you do that, it looks like you've been living there for free as long as it's 100% occupied. That's how it should be, since you're in the basement and all.

08-10-09, 04:09 PM	#11
Peakster Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Regina Saskatchewan Canada Posts: 146 Thanks: 0 Thanked 22 Times in 21 Posts	July's bills are finally paid for and here's what they look like: Gas - $14.24 Electricity - $109.04 Water - $43.60 Other expenses: Cable - $29.96 Telephone - $46.29 Insurance - $22.42 Wireless Internet - $10.00 Condo Fees - $125.00 Mortgage & Property Tax - $1,265.71 Total July '09 Expenses: $1,666.26 Rent collection from roommates: $1,400.00 (rent increased when new roommates replaced previous ones that moved out) Monthly deficit: $266.26 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Looks like price corrections occurred when actual readings for the utility usages took place. Electricity skyrocketed and the gas bill was much lower than usual. Last edited by Peakster; 08-10-09 at 04:22 PM..

08-12-09, 04:13 AM	#13
Peakster Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Regina Saskatchewan Canada Posts: 146 Thanks: 0 Thanked 22 Times in 21 Posts	I'm quite surprised of how fast the mortgage is going down. Right now the amortization is sitting at 11 years, 0 months as long as I keep up the current payments. A comforting thing is that I can always go back to the original 35-year amortization and payments anytime if I ever lost my current day-job, or had a vacancy for a long time, etc. It will take a while, but I'm hoping that I can eliminate the deficit in the next year or two (or at least on paper. Canada Revenue Agency will probably love me when tax time comes around!). To tell you the truth I'm hooked with this roommate thing. It's not really a 'get-rich-quick scheme' but it's turned out to be pretty easy considering I was a property virgin just 6 months ago! $1400/month = $1.94/hour whether I'm at home, at work, or out of the city completely. Literally make money while sleeping! Last edited by Peakster; 08-12-09 at 04:19 AM..

09-11-09, 06:41 PM	#15
NiHaoMike Supreme EcoRenovator Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 1,154 Thanks: 14 Thanked 257 Times in 241 Posts	Your cable and phone combined cost almost as much as the electricity, gas, and water combined. Have you thought about losing the cable (and use wireless) and replacing the phone with VoIP? __________________ To my surprise, shortly after Naomi Wu gave me a bit of fame for making good use of solar power, Allie Moore got really jealous of her...

09-11-09, 11:51 PM	#17
NiHaoMike Supreme EcoRenovator Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 1,154 Thanks: 14 Thanked 257 Times in 241 Posts	Use a DD-WRT wireless router and save the cost of letting them supply the wireless. (Or is it mobile internet?) Also look at DSL since it might be cheaper. __________________ To my surprise, shortly after Naomi Wu gave me a bit of fame for making good use of solar power, Allie Moore got really jealous of her...

10-16-09, 03:17 AM	#18
Peakster Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Regina Saskatchewan Canada Posts: 146 Thanks: 0 Thanked 22 Times in 21 Posts	September's bills are FINALLY in!! Whoa, that took seemingly forever. Finally my last bill (it's always the water bill controlled by the HOA) came in so I can finally tally this months expenses and income. Here's how it looks: Natural Gas - $30.89 Electricity - $51.22 Water - $27.47 Other expenses: Cable/WiFi - $54.59 Telephone - $45.75 Insurance - $22.42 Condo Fees - $125.00 Mortgage + Property Tax - $696.32 Total August '09 Expenses: $1,053.66 Rent collection from roommates: $1,650.00 Monthly Surplus: $596.34 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This month's rental income was CRAZY, I have a young couple in their early 20s going to university paying $715 collectively just for the master bedroom, a guy in his mid 20s paying $455/month for the middle room and an older man in his late 50s paying $480 for the 'reject room' which includes the only parking stall. Talk about a cash cow! Mortgage was decelerated back to normal as winter is starting to set in. I live in the basement for FREE! No foreseeable rent increases for a while... I just want to nurture what I already have! $1650/month = $2.29/hour. Last edited by Peakster; 10-16-09 at 03:48 AM..

08-11-09, 11:44 AM	#12
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Looks like you're doing pretty good for yourself there. $260 plus all the equity you're putting away with the rent from your room mates makes for a nice investment.

09-10-09, 07:22 PM	#14
Peakster Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Regina Saskatchewan Canada Posts: 146 Thanks: 0 Thanked 22 Times in 21 Posts	August's bills are all tabulated now. Here's what they look like for that month: Gas - $32.64 Electricity - $52.20 Water - $33.35 Other expenses: Cable - $51.65 Telephone - $54.55 Insurance - $22.42 Wireless Internet - $0.00 Condo Fees - $125.00 Mortgage + Property Tax - $1406.69 Total August '09 Expenses: $1,778.50 Rent collection from roommates: $1,455.00 (more people moved out and new people moved in with higher rent. Next month will be crazy as there's a young couple moving into the master bedroom! ) Monthly deficit: $323.50 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The 6-month promotional offers of some of the bills have expired. Looks like gas consumption and electricity are under control (the flat service charges are almost just as much as the usage charges ). Water bill isn't too bad either. Accelerated mortgage payment even further this month.

09-11-09, 10:30 PM	#16
Peakster Apprentice EcoRenovator Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Regina Saskatchewan Canada Posts: 146 Thanks: 0 Thanked 22 Times in 21 Posts	The cable bill should be lower for the end of September... we dropped a bunch of channels as the 6-month promotion expires. Roomates have been hounding me to get wireless internet (which we don't have yet) and considering they're paying for the bulk of the housing expenses, I should get the service. My provider says that the cable and wireless high-speed combined will be around a $85 monthly bill after promotional pricing expires. As for the phone, we don't have land-line service. The 'phone bill' is actually just my cell phone. It's something like $29.99/month but add the voicemail, call display, taxes, etc. it's often in the $50/month range. I lump it with the household expenses though as I guess you could say I use it somewhat for business use .

10-16-09, 07:25 AM	#19
Daox Administrator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Germantown, WI Posts: 5,525 Thanks: 1,162 Thanked 374 Times in 305 Posts	Wow, things are looking really good now. __________________ Current project - To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. & To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.

10-17-09, 07:40 PM	#20
RobertSmalls Journeyman EcoRenovator Join Date: May 2009 Location: Buffalo, NY Posts: 344 Thanks: 3 Thanked 17 Times in 15 Posts	Nice. It actually looks like the basement bedroom is the one with the most privacy, too. If you want to calculate your monthly profit/loss, it's probably better to exclude mortgage principal prepayment. If you do that, it looks like you've been living there for free as long as it's 100% occupied. That's how it should be, since you're in the basement and all.