Home Ownership Answers

Zahra is anxious to save money on her utility bills and knows that changing the temperature of the water when she does laundry can help save money. Right now three-fourths of all her laundry is done with the hotter water. Use the table below to determine how much she currently pays in utility costs for laundry. Assume 1 load of wash per day. Clothes washer w/electric water heaterCost per loadHot wash & warm rinse71 cents per loadWarm wash & cold rinse25 cents per loadIf she cuts down the amount of laundry that she does in hot water to one-half, about how much will she save every year?

The national average utility cost is $270.48 per month. If the average phone bill is 12.6% of the total amount and the average utility cost for Dallas is $326, what would be the cost of a typical Dallas home phone bill?

Noah has just purchased a previously owned home. He put $5,000 towards a down payment and took out a $65,000 mortgage. Noah knows that his older home will need maintenance right away and wants to budget enough for this coming year for unexpected expenses. When estimating costs for home repair and maintenance, a good estimate is to budget 1% of the purchase price of a house. What would be a good yearly estimate of repairs and maintenance for Noah’s home?

The climate in which Jonah lives is mild all year long except during the hotter summer months. For 3 months out of the year, Jonah needs to use 4 portable fans to cool his home. If the electricity to use one fan costs 1 cent per hour and each fan is on for about 96 hours per month, what is his total electricity cost for the fans during one year?

Chyou has heard that gas appliances are cheaper to use and can lower utility costs. She is interested in purchasing a new gas dryer to replace her electric dryer. Assuming that the dryer drys one load per day, use the following chart to determine how much Chyou will save each year in utility costs by purchasing the gas appliance.Electric Dryer45 cents per loadGas Dryer16 cents per load

Bao has been notified by his electric company that his rates are going up on his graduated fee schedule. He currently pays:Standard Use Plan6.5 cents/kWh for the first 600 kWh12 cents/kWh for the next 600 kWhIf his rates go up 1 cent in each category, find how much he will pay if he uses 875 kWh per month. Round to the nearest dollar.

The Picketts have lived in their house for about 13 years. They like to keep a well-maintained property and have noticed that the paint on the exterior of their house is starting to peel. They get two bids for painting services from two different contractors. Based on the fee schedule below, which option would be the cheapest and by how much?Handyman’s Paint ServicePainting Plus Service$2250 all supplies and labor included for a 2-day jobTwo day job estimate $300 preparation work $765 labor per day $225 paint and supplies

The Baum and the Freeman families are comparing their electric bills for the past month. The Baum family is on a standard use plan and the Freeman family is on an interval use plan. Each family’s usage is listed on the chart below:Standard Use PlanInterval Use Plan8.5 cents/kWh for the first 400 kWh12 cents/kWh for the next 400 kWh14.5 cents/kWh for anything over 800 kWhOn-peak hours - 13 cents/kWhOff-peak hours - 2 cents/kWhBoth families use 1250 kWh for the given 30 day period. The Freeman family uses 400 kWh during on-peak hours and 850 during off-peak hours. Which family ends up paying more for their utilities? How much more?

The Hendersons have just bought a home that requires some monthly yard maintenance. They are trying to decide if they should hire a professional lawn care service to maintain the property or do it themselves. Below are the costs associated with both options:Professional Service OptionDo-It-Yourself Option$75 for the first month$250 lawnmower $45 per month after initial visit$135 edgerIncludes mowing and edging the lawn, trimming the bushes, and raking the leaves.$69 hedge trimmer $25 rakeHow long would it take before the Hendersons would recover their costs if they chose to do it themselves over the professional service?

Given the graph below, predict the cost of utilities for Seattle, WA for the month of September based on the relationship with the other plotted line for Baltimore, MD.

What is not an example of a cost related to home ownership?

Samantha is trying to determine how she can save money by cutting her electricity bill. She is currently on a standard use plan for electricity and pays 8.5 cents per kWh. She keeps track of when she uses electricity and is thinking about switching to an interval use plan for electricity which costs 2 cents per kWh for off-peak use and 13 cents per kWh for on-peak use. Off-peak hours are from 8PM - 8AM and on-peak hours are from 8AM - 8PM. Below is the chart of her electricity usage:Samantha’s Electricity Usage Per Month1100 kWh between 8PM and 8AM800 kWh between 8AM and 8PMExplain and justify which plan would best suit her needs.

The Picketts have lived in their house for about 13 years. They like to keep a well-maintained property and have noticed that the paint on the exterior of their house is starting to peel. They get two bids for painting services from two different contractors. Based on the fee schedule below, which option would be the cheapest and by how much?Handyman’s Paint ServicePainting Plus Service$2250 all supplies and labor included for a 2-day jobTwo day job estimate $300 preparation work $765 labor per day $225 paint and supplies

Isaiah is trying to decide if the interval use plan is better than the standard use plan for his electricity consumption. Calculate the monthly costs of both plans if he uses 1,275 kWh of electricity per month with 575 kWh on-peak usage and the rest off-peak usage.Standard Use PlanInterval Use Plan7.5 cents/kWh for the first 400 kWh10 cents/kWh for anything over 400 kWhOn-peak hours - 15 cents/kWhOff-peak hours - 3 cents/kWh

The average national utility price is $270.48. Over a 6-month period, what is the average utility price in Orlando? How does this compare with the national average?

The Reed and the Merrill families are comparing their utility costs for the past month. The following is a list of the appliances that the families are using to make their comparisons:Reed Family AppliancesMerrill Family AppliancesGas range5 cents per dayElectric range13 cents per dayGas dryer - 1 load per day10 cents per loadGas dryer - 1 load per day10 cents per loadElectric water heater90 cents per dayGas water heater40 cents per dayTypical later model refrigerator16 cents per dayEnergy Star-labeled refrigerator12 cents per dayAssuming that the families use the same appliances in the same way, who spends more to run these appliances in a given 30 day period and by how much?