Water Bill and Sewer Bill
 

Hi all, can someone tell me how often you have to pay the water and sewer bill? How expensive is it? Is it higher in different villages?? I was reading something and it says it is about $235.00 a month?

Thanks!

Water / Sewer are billed as part of monthly Amenity fee ($150.00), & Trash ($17.90).

The only charges on that monthly bill that have not increased in the 11 years that I lived here is the cost for trash.

My observation is that while the amenity fees continue to increase so does the population and hence an increase on competing demands for tee times, court times, etc. (ie less bang for your buck)

You pay them monthly. The cost will vary, depending on your water usage, of course. The size of your lot also becomes a factor, when it comes to irrigation, if you have a pool, etc.

The monthly water/sewer bill includes potable water for the house, non-potable water for irrigation and the sewer bill. Irrigation usage depends on the size of the lot and the settings on the irrigation control. The outside water spigots also are potable water same as inside the house.

The bill comes monthly along with the amenity fee (around $150) and trash pick-up ($17.90). Our total monthly CSU bill runs $250-260 for our designer with an average size lot.

Thank you all! I am looking at a house in Osceola Hills, a designer for around $265,000 We live in RI right now and our condo is up for sale as we are trying to get to TV. Are there lots of fees? Some people have told us different things and I have asked my real estate agent and other real estate agents and they all say something different lol. I'm not sure what to expect for monthly bills, so a rough idea for electric, gas, water/sewer, amenity fee, trash pick-up is ???????? Grass and Pest control you pay separate???

Thank you so much!

First of all, compared to RI, I think you will find it much cheaper here. I own a designer on an average lot and here's an approximation of fees:

Amenity fee: $150
Average water/irrigation/sewer $ 77
Trash $ 18
Electric (we use a lot) average $ 190

Taxes:
Sumter Co. millage rate for county/school/fire
is 11.70, so on $265K that's $3100/year. Lake Co. may be different
Our Villages fire dept. tax is $83/year
Bond---varies by Village and unit, as does the interest rate if you don't pay it off---check with realtor or county assessor
Homeowner's insurance will probably be about 6-700/year, probably only need flood insurance for peace of mind
Make sure your homeowners policy has sinkhole coverage---not just the catastrophic kind. Yes, there's a 10% deductible, but better than getting the whole bill
Golf cart insurance is about $110/year
Nothing else comes to mind at this time

Thank you all soooo much. Your answers are so helpful while I am trying to make my decisions it gets confusing. Could you tell me what CSU stands for?

Here's an estimate of our utilities and other expenses that I think you may be interested in. Except for the utilities you have options and can select providers that may be higher or lower.

$260 - Amenities, water, irrigation, sewer, sanitization
$180 - Cable, internet, home phone bundle
$125 - Electricity (actual bills ranged from $92 - $172)
$50 - Monthly lawn mowing
$615 - Paid annually for bi-monthly lawn and pest treatment
$150 - Annual termite treatment
$430 - Annual flood insurance
$732 - Annual Maintenance (on tax bill)
$81 - Annual Fire Department (on tax bill)
Gas is not available in our area.

Of course your property taxes and home owners insurance are dependent on your home value.

Every new house has a bond that can be paid (with interest) with their property taxes. Ours was approximately $22K. Interest rate was 5.5% so we elected to pay it off rather than pay the interest. This saves you money if you don't plan to sell your house, but if there's any chance you will want to sell, this may not be a good idea. Most people don't pay it off for that reason. The interest is not tax deductible.

Hope this helps. I remember trying to plan a budget before moving. Hard to compare when moving to a new area. Because we down sized so much our utilities were considerably lower automatically.

Outside yard maintenance - separate or bundled services to include: grass cutting, weed treatment, weed pulling, hedge trimming, termite treatment, .. these blogs are filled with praises and complaints from the myriad of services different companies provide .. and whether oyu need termite protection on block houses etc .. but unless you plan on doing all this yourself, the combination can easily run 1500-2000 per year. I originally believed the under 100 / month water bill, but after my grass started looking like Arizona, now have budgeted in the 125-200 range for the dry season .. and of course, you need some version of cable and internet, which also has ongoing debates on who to select and not select ..

You may also have a bond and if you do their is annual charges for maintenance of the items the bond was used for. The maintenance goes on even after the bond is paid.

Oh Wow, you all have been so helpful!! Thank you so much!! Just trying to get ideas before moving. Our condo is up for sale now so as soon as it sells we will there in TV!! Hey, here is another question for you all, do you have lots of snakes there?? lol I know it sounds crazy but I DO NOT like snakes lol I was reading that you have black racers, YIKES!!

We have seen a snake around our house this year for the first time, but not often. I think he is afraid of us.

We haven't had any close encounters with alligators either. Or Palm rats. We do see and enjoy the four foot tall birds called Sandhill Cranes. They mate for life and have sweet little kids.

The developer used to issue in their packet, a reasonable assessment of living expenses here. I haven't ever heard anyone disagreeing with it.

If you plan to eat out a lot, buy a lot of alcoholic drinks and take a lot of vacations and cruises, then you will spend more than if you didn't.

I think it fair to remind you that there are a lot of people here older than fifty. I don't want you to be unhappy with us. Some look it and some don't.

We all have sixteen year olds hidden inside.

Central Sumter Utilities---It's the entity that bills amenity fees, trash, water and sewer. I also forgot to mention lawn pest and termite treatment---$127 every other month. I had them mowing the lawn and trimming bushes for $85/ month, but fired them after 3 years because they sub contracted out to a company that SUCKS--now I just do it myself.

I could give an answer about snakes, but your best reply will be from a TOTV member with the screen name "NUCKY". He was also afraid of snakes before moving here. Send him a PM and he'll put your fears to rest.

I closed on my house 3 p.m May 22. They gave me a bill from service May 22 to June 5, 2017 for 11,190 gallons! I did not live there at all , no renters, only irrigation 2xweek. This is only 15 days. My neighbor checked the house for me, no water leaking. Holly,... I called the water company they said this is low consumption and normal. They lied. I asked my neighbor, she sent me her consumption graph and told me that was 30 days for 12,010 gallons. She lives there everyday!

The water company always deny the facts? Any help? Not much money, but don't want to be robbed again.

Sounds as though your irrigation was on for more than 2 days a week or for much longer times per zone. Maybe there is an underground leak that your neighbor could not see.

Have the irrigation set for 2xweeks. Have rain sensor too. But, turn off irrigation off since June 6.

And in VA, if you have toilet runs or pipe leaks, the water company adjusts the bill for you. Not here?

This had to be a bill based on estimates. Not possible for the water company to read your meter, prepare a bill and get it to you, all on the same day.

We had some of the same (estimated) water bill issues right after we moved into our new home.

Is this a new home or resale?

If resale, what has the history been?

How are you sure the irrigation system is only running 2 times a week?

What size lot?

Water leaks are not uncommon in new homes. Both irrigation and inside.

We had a potable water leak 3 years after moving in. At a joint in the meter box. Not evident from the outside. Water bill went to 4x in one billing period.

Why would the water company lie to you?

There are many factors that impact your “water” bill.

If you are now living in your home you can periodically check both meters to see what your actual usage is.

You concerns are understandable and should be easy to get answered. Don’t be too discouraged, it will get worked out.

Enjoy the TV lifestyle. :welcome:

Don

You said you recently closed. We bought a preowned in February and our first bill was huge! When I called to ask for an explanation, they said they estimate line items and usually refund you once the "real" bills come in. Sure enough, about 5 or 6 weeks later, we received a check in the mail for about $300. That was nice. I think it also depends on the day of the month you close. Hope this helps. And I hope you get a check. Congratulations on your new home!

I respectfully disagree. The water company helped me immensely. My lawn was getting dry two months ago so I asked someone who supposedly knew what they were doing to help me adjust the irrigation system. This was a paid "expert."

Three weeks later I received a call from the H2O dept to tell me I had used 65,000 gallons of water. I made an adjustment and asked them to check the next week. They called one week later - use was now about 45,000 gallons. Turns out the "expert" had set the system for 4 days/week. On Three programs! My bill over 6 weeks was almost $1000.

They have since called again to check - nice service, and very pleasant staff.

I now have become my own expert.


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I was put into a state of pure panic by family members who knew I HATE SNAKES. GE, dbussone, Tal, Mrs Gracie and Mrs Barefoot calmed me down. So far it has really been a non issue but still fun to kid about. We have seen several black racers but they live next door because we stripped the property of the overgrown ugly bushes. It looks good now. Neat and clean and modest. Most plants in beautiful pots instead of in the ground. Welcome to TV you will love it here probably even in the heat. PM me if you need a hand.:thumbup:

Before moving here I lived on a TPC course in NC. I carried the standard clubs and a machete which I used several times on snakes


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Thank you Don. A resale home, not a big lot. I called them when I saw 11,190 gallons on my bill. She said, yes, it's low and normal even though I told her no one lived there. And this was only 15 days and I did not even flush a toilet there after closing. My neighbor is great. After I told her she went to check for any leaks and found none. Her consumption for 30 days was about 12,000 gallons which was on a high side for her.

The superior was supposed to call me. Did not get a call back today. Will see about the near future. Keeping optimism:)

We have rats & mice in TV?


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If you have the Hunter irrigation controller with "Solar Synch", you need to disable it ASAP! That program will cost you big bucks for water. It seems like a neat thing BUT given that we were in a drought situation earlier this year, the Solar Synch took control of our irrigation and overrode the times and duration. Went thru 40,000 gallons plus of irrigation water in 3 weeks before I found this cause.

There is a setting where you can disable the system for 99 days. I just keep adding days to make sure it doesn't come on. Manuals are on line at hunter.com

[QUOTE=photo1902;1419005]I think you're confused about how Solar Sync functions. Solar Sync works in conjunction with the Seasonal Adjustment setting on your irrigation controller. Solar Sync does not and cannot add days or times to your irrigation schedule. During the drought, if we looked, most, if not all of us around here, would have seen our Seasonal Adjustment at 100%. Meaning if you had Zone 1 set to run for 40 minutes, that zone would actually run the entire duration. If we had cooler temps, or rain, Solar Sync and the Seasonal Adjustment quite possibly would lower the setting from 100% to any less percentage, thereby shortening the run time of your zones. The Seasonal Adjustment setting can be permanently disabled by disconnecting a wire in the control box. That way, if you set it to 100%, it never changes. Lastly, disabling the Solar Sync will result in you being "that guy" whose irrigation is running when it's pouring rain.

I have seen posts about the Hunter controller before. It is a dumb controller meaning it does what you tell it to do with some input from the rain sensor.

I have suggested this before, consider a smart controller. One that knows (because you tell it) the type of soil, what you are watering (shrubs or grass, type of grass) slope and sprinkler heads. What it does -this is the smart part- is calculate the evaporation rate (because of the temp) the rain measured or reported by the weather station, looks to the past rain that has fallen, it looks to the future. After all this it decides if your grass needs the water. It can text or email you if it does skip a water cycle. It will give you a running tally of estimated water used and water saved. $199.00 at Amazon Rachio.

Almost forgot you control this all remotely. From you Lanai or your home in California.

[QUOTE=photo1902;1419013]I was actually advised of this by the water utility people and I have heard the same from other residents. If Solar Synch sees the area is in drought status it will increase the length of watering duration, at least on the newest controllers. And shutting off Solar Synch does not disable the rain sensor.

[QUOTE=Aloha1;1419802]It will never increase watering time longer that your individual zone setting. It will only decrease it, depending on the conditions. Hunter Tech Support is fantastic, by the way, and I would suggest contacting them for accurate information on the product. And how does the rain sensor work without Solar Sync being active?

House behind me has been empty since last year when the owner died. Everything was shut off except the electric. The only water the lawn has seen is the FREE stuff that falls from the sky. Guess what the grass is green and gets cut every week.