What do you pay in TOTAL for your house?

[mattsk42]

Including taxes, insurance, and anything specific to owning the house. Everything other than 3rd party bills like water, electric, etc.

Please also include the money you put down, and the cost of the house.

So, something like: I put 10,000 down on a 320,000 house. I pay 1500 per month after insurance and taxes (yearly, but factored into monthly), hoa, closing costs, and whatever else. (not bills)

Also, type of house, location, and neighborhood type would be helpful, thanks!

Just looking to get ideas on what we can spend, and YES I know it's really all over the place.

 

[Selta]

You should likely talk to brokers and relators in the area you're looking to buy. It's not only very specific to the community, but also your entire personal finance picture. If you can get with a CPA, all the better.

 

[pedroims]

$1550 is the monthly payment I make in a 15 years loan, that includes: principal, insurance and taxes. House value is probably 200K.

I am not including maintenance costs, they are high, this year I spent $900 in a new garage door, 13K in new windows, 2K in new floors and 5K in kitchen refacing, another 1K per year to keep a green , healthy and beautiful lawn.

I have

 

[jmattbassplaya]

I have a feeling this thread is going to convince me to continue renting

 

[Winfred]

Don't buy a house. Unless you can renovate it, and flip it, (sell it) very quickly at a 30% profit (or more).

A house is a money pit. You get a huge tax break, on loan interest, when you first purchase it, but that lessens as the years pass.

Appliances, yard work, furniture, painting, taxes, insurance, plumbing, electrical, etc etc. It never ends. Something always need to be replaced or repaired.

 

[sissy kathy]

Don't buy a house. Unless you can renovate it, and flip it, (sell it) very quickly at a 30% profit (or more).

A house is a money pit. You get a huge tax break, on loan interest, when you first purchase it, but that lessens as the years pass.

Appliances, yard work, furniture, painting, taxes, insurance, plumbing, electrical, etc etc. It never ends. Something always need to be replaced or repaired.

Do you seriously think those costs aren't factored into any rent you'd pay? You are omitting the biggest benefit of all, once your reach 65 you can take a one time capital gains write off on the sale of your home when you retire to Florida or where ever.

I bought in '93 when I retired from the army. The house has appreciated over 150% in that time (what would it be worth with no housing crash.) I have paid my 'rent' and made money at the same time.

When I first bought, the mortgage was a little more than renting, now 20 years later it is absurdly low. My closing costs were probably about double what you would need for a security deposit. I have had the furnace replaced (4,500) the windows replaced (4,200) and the trim on the back porch painted (1,200.) Those were expenses I hadn't expected but which had to be made. Still after 20 years even those expenses total less than $9k and amortised over 20 years are less than $45 per month. Still cheaper than renting AND I still have a huge tax write off coming.

I didn't include having the roof replaced as I knew that going in and negotiated a reduced price to have that taken care of.

 

[sissy kathy]

When I was buying, my financial advisor said I shouldn't be paying more than 35% of my monthly income for the house payment, here in MD they allow a little more because MOST lenders require that your house insurance/property taxes be included w/the mortgage payment.

 

[duff beer]

Don't buy a house. Unless you can renovate it, and flip it, (sell it) very quickly at a 30% profit (or more).

A house is a money pit. You get a huge tax break, on loan interest, when you first purchase it, but that lessens as the years pass.

Appliances, yard work, furniture, painting, taxes, insurance, plumbing, electrical, etc etc. It never ends. Something always need to be replaced or repaired.

A house "can" be a money pit if you're not handy. For those of us who are, the vast majority of repairs, maintenance and renos are relatively inexpensive. I do all my own renos and upgrades at a fraction of the cost of hiring someone. You can paint a room in 2 hours for $30. A light switch or plug costs $1.49 and can be replaced in 5 minutes. A new tap costs $30 - $80 and can be replaced in 20 minutes. I have 1.5 acres and it takes 1 hour a week on a riding mower.

With rent, you are paying off someone else's mortgage. At least when you own a house, you are building your own equity. The mortgage on my house (when I had one) was less than renting, but:

I have 3 decks on my house...you can't get that in an apartment.

Two bands practice in my house...you can't do that in an apartment.

I don't share a common wall, so if I want to crank the stereo at 3 AM, no one will complain.

I can invite 30 people over for a party without disturbing the neighbors.

 

[Tony Flow MMMM]

This is stupid.... A house a money pit? You mean that thing that nearly every human has had at one point? Don't buy a house that'll obviously be a money pit.

0 down 256 a week 165k 25 year loan new house. 200 year hoa fee. I think I bought a bag of lawn fertilizer and an air filter. Huge money pit

 

[zontar]

Don't buy a house. Unless you can renovate it, and flip it, (sell it) very quickly at a 30% profit (or more).

A house is a money pit. You get a huge tax break, on loan interest, when you first purchase it, but that lessens as the years pass.

Appliances, yard work, furniture, painting, taxes, insurance, plumbing, electrical, etc etc. It never ends. Something always need to be replaced or repaired.

There are pros & cons to owning a home and pros & cons to renting.
Part of it depends where you are, how much you make, whether you have a family or are a single person, whether you are somewhere long term or short term, etc.

A while back the local housing market went crazy (prices went up drastically in a short period) & rents soared-even with landlords that had paid off their mortgages or had low mortgages--partly because property taxes went way up)
Those who owned homes before this happened were better off than those looking to buy & those looking to rent.
They already had a home for an affordable mortgage, which was quite a bit lower than the going rent on a home that wasn't as nice.
At other times housing prices have fallen and vacancy rates cause rent prices to drop and you can get a good rental for cheap.
But overall the rent is at least as much as a mortgage.
the reason some people don't buy is that they can't save up a deposit--because their rent is more than a mortgage would be.

But other places aren't like that--and the pros & cons could change there.

 

[JMacBass65]

I own because I don't move around frequently. I don't want to be at the mercy of a landlord. I want to put down roots and raise my family, be a part of my community.

I think homeownership is such a good thing, I eventually went into the business. I'm a Realtor.

It also, over the long term, makes significantly more sense financially. Of course, one needs to be sensible. I'm not a big fan of 3% (or less) down loans, although that very FHA program allowed us to buy our first home. Made good money on that sale and was able to put 28% down on the purchase of our next home. When the housing bubble burst, we never were underwater, not even close. I feel for those who got caught out - I deal with them frequently. The free market is a bitch, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

This is from NAR

 

[JMacBass65]

Those who owned homes before this happened were better off than those looking to buy & those looking to rent.
They already had a home for an affordable mortgage, which was quite a bit lower than the going rent on a home that wasn't as nice.

We bought our home in 2001, w/ 28% down. We carry a very reasonable mortgage.

If we wanted to rent in our neighborhood, we would pay just about $1,000 more per month.

And next year, the difference will be even greater, and so on.......

 

[fdeck]

Ah, the National Association of Realtors. They don't have an agenda, do they?

 

[fdeck]

I'm not a financial advisor. My family owns our house. With that said, there are some pitfalls and things to consider. First, anybody who tells you how much you can "afford" is making a commission that's a percentage of the sale. That would be bankers and brokers, neither of whom care how much risk you're taking.

Maintenance... as mentioned above. How much of it can you do yourself? That makes a pretty big difference.

How are your finances right now? My view is that a house will amplify your financial situation. If your finances are in great shape, a house might make them better. If your finances are in bad shape, a house will make them worse. Most people will spend money to fill up their house with stuff. Most Americans are in rotten financial shape.

 

[BawanaRik]

According to zillow it would cost about 2 grand a month to rent my house. I'm running it soup to nuts for right about a grand a month. Mostly taxes. But I get hit with a couple grand a year in oil and I generally allow a couple grand for maintenance.

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

Not putting in the size and amenities of the house makes it impossible to compare here, but mine:
1800 sqft. 4 bdr 2 bath 2 car garage, but 7 ft deeper than standard.
$6K down on $130K. After a couple of refis, $1099 per month all up + $410 this year for HOA (just got the bill).
Purchased new construction Sep 2005.
Money put in:
Replace applicances $6500
Replace fence $3000
Replace living room capret $1200
Complete interior repaint $2500
Not included are various minor repair items like gas pressure regulator, new smoke alarms, replace shower heads, rebuilt toilet works.
But, if you compare to rental for the same house would be about $1500 a month and hope the lardlord would take care of the place and at the end of the rental I have nothing.
I have rented 3 times in the last 30 years and every time the place was better when I left than when I moved in. The last time I rented, I built a handrail for a set of stairs in the front yard and brought in a load of gravel, rented a bobcat and redid the driveway.

 

[6jase5]

I'll leave my numbers alone, but IF you want your life to be easier, don't spend more than 33% of your income on your home. Many in SoCal spend 50%+ using dual income figures....so guess what happens when one of them loses their job? Many smart people could own a much larger house and live in a "wow, you live there" address, but with that comes the part of actually having to think about how many times you go out to dinner, browsing the classifieds section, etc.

Don't be a slave to your mortgage, more left for savings, vacations, kids education, acid etched filter effects you really don't need.

I won't get in the rent vs own battle, but I couldn't imagine a life in which someone had the authority to tell me that I had to move, that said, many people that own never had the financial ability to in the first place.

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

I'll leave my numbers alone, but IF you want your life to be easier, don't spend more than 33% of your income on your home. Many in SoCal spend 50%+ using dual income figures....so guess what happens when one of them loses their job? Many smart people could own a much larger house and live in a "wow, you live there" address, but with that comes the part of actually having to think about how many times you go out to dinner, browsing the classifieds section, etc.

Don't be a slave to your mortgage, more left for savings, vacations, kids education, acid etched filter effects you really don't need.

I won't get in the rent vs own battle, but I couldn't imagine a life in which someone had the authority to tell me that I had to move, that said, many people that own never had the financial ability to in the first place.

Owning does not protect you from being told to move. A few years ago when they built the new stadium for the Dallas Cowboys where a large subdivision was, they claimed imminant domain and forced hundreds of families out. I think there are still court battles going on about the values offered by the city of Arlington.

 

[6jase5]

Owning does not protect you from being told to move. A few years ago when they built the new stadium for the Dallas Cowboys where a large subdivision was, they claimed imminant domain and forced hundreds of families out. I think there are still court battles going on about the values offered by the city of Arlington.

Ok, exceptions to every rule, but very very rare that imminent domain is utilized. Rule of thumb, don't buy a house within 300 yards of a freeway.

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

Ok, exceptions to every rule, but very very rare that imminent domain is utilized. Rule of thumb, don't buy a house within 300 yards of a freeway.

I agree. I have some other rules as well. Buy as close to the center of a subdivision as possilbe. That way you won't lose value when they build a shopping center behind your house. Buy the smallest house in the nicest neighborhood you can afford to live in. Over time, the values of houses in a subdivision even out and end up about the same regardless of size.
(My grandmother was a real estate broker, my dad sold real estate for a while, I sold real estate for a while)