"Utilities"

[AROBERTSON]

I'm moving to Abilene from a very small town near Memphis Tennessee, and I am a little confused about the utility provider situation. I'm so used to paying a monopoly type of utility company that the freedom of choice is a little tricky. Could you guys please give me some advice as far as who the good providers are, and who to stay away from and also, are the Hunters Ridge Apartments a good starter rental until I can purchase a home?

[sparkys4]

I just talked to a Realtor friend of mine and due to the credit crunch there are a couple hundred more homes on the market for sale this year than last year at this time.
It is a buyers market and some homes have been for sale for awhile and I am hearing of people willing to deal on the prices.
I don't know much about Hunter's Ridge apartments so I can't say.
If you plan on being here for 5 years or more, I would try to buy a home instead of rent.

on the electricity, go to http://www.powertochoose.com/

That will show you the rates of all of the providers here in this area that you can buy from

Right now I think Reliant Energy, WTU and TXU are some of the bigger names.
We are on a fixed rate contract with WTU for .145 cents per kilowatt hour and we were just offered .125 from Reliant but we can't switch until November when our agreement with WTU runs out.
If you can get anything under .15 cents you are doing real good.
If you are moving here, try to bring maybe a letter of credit from your bank there, that may keep you from having to plop down deposits on your utility providers that might ask for a deposit or even a credit check.

Hope things go smooth, keep us posted!

[SLAPSHOT]

I rented at Country Club Villas while I was between houses (my house sold in less than a week, and I wasn't prepared for such a quick sale). They were a stand-up complex and a good start, plus you're right in the middle of everything. As far as electricity goes, be ready to pay alot more than what you pay in Tennessee. When I talk to my mom and dad and tell them how much my bill is, they are astounded (I'm originally from Tennessee, Nashville area....Go PREDATORS!). You pretty much get raped on electricity here in West Texas, so you might as well factor a couple hundred bucks into what you're willing to pay (monthly) for an apartment or house. All these damned windmills around here and yet you still get raped on your electric bill. :mad:

[sparkys4]

Slapper, I don't know about raped, but we pay $250 a month in July and August for my 1400 square foot house which isn't really insulated good.

An apartment should be much less