That is pretty high for an area like Austin that has a fairly low cost of living. I am in the Nashville area and will have a hookup of 2k in a rural area where they have pipe across the road to install the meter. 3.5k should be the most you should pay in most areas of the country. Sadly its not like a bid you can go out and ask another company. GL

how far are they running the supply ? does not sound to crazy to me - but I don't know the area

here's the crap fees I have found that will need to get paid on my empty lot just outside Chicago (Arlington Heights) , see if you have any of these types of things as well

- 2500 for Comed (electric )
- 500 or so for Nicor ( natural gas)
- 9300 for Land dedication fee ( schools ?? etc I think )
- 12000 for Water, sewer , land management ( runoff ) - this was paid by the seller of our lot thank god

Then - there is going to be a building permit fee around 5000 !!!

how far are they running the supply ? does not sound to crazy to me - but I don't know the area

here's the crap fees I have found that will need to get paid on my empty lot just outside Chicago (Arlington Heights) , see if you have any of these types of things as well

- 2500 for Comed (electric )
- 500 or so for Nicor ( natural gas)
- 9300 for Land dedication fee ( schools ?? etc I think )
- 12000 for Water, sewer , land management ( runoff ) - this was paid by the seller of our lot thank god

Then - there is going to be a building permit fee around 5000 !!!

That doesn't sound to high to me. Im in central California ( not bay or southern where things are even more expensive), and to hook up in a subdivision here is 5500. I thought that for Texas, Austin was on the more expensive side of things?

I paid $3000 in Dallas (this was required to be paid to the city of Dallas before the permit was approved).
This was for a new house on an infill lot that already had water and sewer since 1964 (I tore down the previous house). This paid for having a city contractor come out and excavate from the lot line to the city sewer (6 feet long and 8 feet deep), hook up the new sewer line and backfill the hole. They didn't have to do anything for water (same meter).

About 15 years ago when they brought city water through our old neighborhood, it was about $2000 to hook onto the system -- I mean that was just for the junction that allowed us later to add the pipes to our individual house. When the actual plumbing-to-our-house came later, it was less than that -- I want to say more like $1500.

So, yes, given that we paid about $3500 15 years ago, I can believe it'd be in the $6000 range today.

Ok - now I feel a bit better. Not about having to spend $6k, but at least knowing that it's not crazy out of the norm.

dgruzew - I feel for you! Wow, that's a lot of expenses.

mrsfireman - you're right, for TX, Austin is high. But compared to other areas of the country it's pretty low.

I just found out that the prices are based on our plat being dated 2007, and if it had been Nov 2012 or later the hookup fees would have been $12k! So I guess I'll count my blessings and cut the check.

Thanks everyone for the great input as always!