Thought I would update this thread for any of those that are thinking about snow birding and making a budget for it, plus to thank those that responded.
Turns out that the reason the new house was running $300/month at 50 degrees for the prior (absent) owner was because the basement thermostats never shut off. They were running wild 24/7.
Once I realized that was the problem and replaced those three thermostats (plus I'm now only heating the basement after draining the water lines) my first snow bird bill (which I just got) was $26 for the heating part.
Thanks for all those that responded to this thread which helped reaffirmed my feeling that something was wrong prior to buying the place that I might be able to fix after the sale.
