First Time Buyer Rough Usage

debtfree2be

Hi, I'm in the process of buying my first home.  It's just me and a dog living in a 2 bed house.  I'm just trying to work out roughly what the bills might be.  I'm coming from living at my parents and have just given them a token set amount every month to help save for the deposit so I'm clueless about it all. I've passed the affordability checks for mortgage so I obviously earn enough to cover them and I'm sure they're conscious of the way things are with gas and electricity bills to allow for that, but I'm just trying to create a budget so I know how much (obviously it would be roughly) I would be paying.

Edit: there is 2 log burners, a small one in the living room and a bigger one in the dining room.  There is radiators through the house too, so gas I assume, cooking is all electric (oven and induction hob)  electric shower (3-4 showers per week) I work full time, so am away from the house 50 hrs with travel time. I cook for one but like to meal prep so prefer to cook a lot at once in the oven and microwave as needed.  I don't like to be too warm but I invested in electric throws to "heat the human".  

matelodave

What sort of heating and cooking will you have as an all electric place would cost a lot more to heat than say gas or oil.

Gerry1

You can do the sums based on average usage of 12000kWh gas and 2900kWh electricity using the EDF capped rates, but your usage might be a bit lower because of single occupancy, or higher if you work from home, have poor insulation, prefer it tropical etc, so all you can do is guess and see how it goes.  Similarly, it's a guess what the capped rates will be in October, January, April etc.

In short, register with the incumbent supplier(s) as soon as you take possession, read the meters (including water) yourself (don't let anyone do it for you) and stay on the SVT and don't be bamboozled into accepting an expensive fix.  Then send meter readings monthly, make sure your DD is keeping up with your usage and avoid using electricity for room and water heating.

Enjoy your new home !

debtfree2be

there is 2 log burners, a small one in the living room and a bigger one in the dining room.  There is radiators through the house too, so gas I assume, cooking is all electric (oven and induction hob)  I work full time, so am away from the house 50 hrs with travel time. I cook for one but like to meal prep so prefer to cook a lot at once in the oven and microwave as needed.  I don't like to be too warm but I invested in electric throws to "heat the human".  

Mstty

Don't get bamboozled by words like incumbent either it just means the current energy supplier which will be supplied.as part of your solicitors pack when you buy.

So the current capped rates for the average mentioned above 12000 kWh gas and 2900 kWh electricity is £1971 rising to potentially £2800 in October.

If on your own you use that something is going wrong as that's for a 3 bedroom house with 2-3 people.

That said if your house was electric only with storage heaters and a low EPC rating then your bills could be on the high side if you don't get on top of energy usage quickly.

Let us know some basic info and there will be lots of help available here👍

FreeBear

If you go to somewhere like https://www.moneysupermarket.com/store/gas-and-electricity/enquiry/ historical data will be used to fill in the fields - This will give you a rough idea of what the previous occupants were using/paying.

If you are frugal with gas & electricity, you should be able to get your monthly bill down to under £100. Having a log burner will help to supplement the heating if you can get free wood - Gets expensive if you have to buy the stuff in.

debtfree2be

FreeBear said:

If you go to somewhere like https://www.moneysupermarket.com/store/gas-and-electricity/enquiry/ historical data will be used to fill in the fields - This will give you a rough idea of what the previous occupants were using/paying.

If you are frugal with gas & electricity, you should be able to get your monthly bill down to under £100. Having a log burner will help to supplement the heating if you can get free wood - Gets expensive if you have to buy the stuff in.

I don't think I can use their usage as an idea as the reason they're selling is because they're hardly there and are moving to their holiday home.  I am quite frugal when it comes to things like this so my usage should be low.  Plus my step dad is a joiner so could potentially help out with wood/offcuts

markin

You should probably have been sure of the heating system before making an offer, If its oil the tank could soon need replacing, And if its an Electric boiler it could bankrupt you.

Reed_Richards

debtfree2be said:

There is radiators through the house too, so gas I assume, .  

I know this is your first house but it's absolutely crazy to be buying without knowing what fuel will provide your heating.  Ask the estate agent if this fact is not stated in the particulars.