CONDO LIFE
What to expect with condo utilities.
Moving into a luxury condominium means knowing what to expect financially beyond the basics, and that includes your utilities.
Utilities, where some are can be covered by homeowners associations and doesn’t always include everything needed for your home, are the choices you’ll make as the resident.
Kim Smith, general manager at The Wilshire, explained the situation for their homeowners.
“The residents have a choice of their electricity provider. We provide them with a link that compares prices with multiple electricity providers. All other utilities such as gas, water, and garbage are provided by the condominium association and included in their monthly condominium fee,” Smith said.
Residents are also able to choose their own cable and internet providers for their homes Smith added.
“Our building is wired with AT&T and Comcast. We also have an MDU installed, which allows our residents to have DirectTV,” said Smith.
What’s good to know is that your condo fees do cover some utilities in addition to numerous items according to Mashvisor.com’s article, What Do Condo Fees Cover?
These range from water to electricity, gas, shared utilities, pool cleaning, gardening, landscaping, repairs and more.
Also important to note is that though most development condo fees do cover a variety of items, the more utilities and such that are included, the more your fees will probably be as reported in the story, What Do Condo
Fees Cover? A Lot More Than You Think by Realtor.com.
For electricity, exploring your options is easy to do and compare with the website, https://comparepower.com/providers/ texas-electricity-energycompanies.
Knowing your facts to what is important to you can aid in making a good choice for your home.
Paul Paras, co-founder of Real Simple Energy, said their data-driven platform allows condo residents that have a choice of an energy provider to search all Texas electricity plans on a daily basis to make sure they aren’t overpaying.
“Our fixed rate service is geared towards for larger condo residences,” said Paras. “Our newly launched fixed bill service is perfect for smaller condos with lower energy users or those on a fixed income.
“We manage their account monthly to ensure accuracy, then find the cheapest publicly available rate plan upon renewal.”
SmartAsset.com stated that according to Numbeo.com (May 2019), a basic utilities package for a 915-square foot residence in Houston will cost $133 a month including electricity, heating, water and garbage, at a price that’s $18.58 below the national average ($152).
With the addition of the internet to monthly expenses, expect to pay an extra $60.