Where do you live and how much do you pay? I live in a 12 year old 2500 sf house w/3 car detached garge in a nice suburban neighborhood in houston, texas, complete with a pool and rec center. My payment is:
Mortgage $650/month (30 year loan/6%/20% down)
Insurance $100/month
Taxes $300/month (including association fees)
Utilities $250/month (avg gas+elec+water+sewer+trash)
Total $1300/month
Maintenance: I would guess this averages about $150-$200 month, but I do not track this. What do you pay?
I live in San Antonio where houses are pretty cheap. I have a 3300 sf 5.7% mortgage 30yr loan that I bought with nothing down b/c I was in the middle of a divorce.
Mortgage 1650/month
Insurance 225/month
Taxes 400/month
Utilities Approx 350/month
Maintenance $ ?? guessing at around 150
Total $2775
Sounds like a lot but I’d pay most of it anyway for rent and my investment has grown in value q
I live in West Virginia. My house is 2 stories, 1.5BA, 2BR, LR, kitchen, tiny room off kitchen, utility room, and another room that I guess is a 2nd living room.
House payment: $236/month
Taxes: $300-400/year (I can’t remember)
Insurance: Dunno
Utilities: Electric runs about oh, $70 in the summer (we have lots of ceiling fans). Gas runs anywhere from 120-180 in the winter. Monthly. (I hate the gas company!) Water’s about $35-40 monthly.
My house cost $25,000 total which is a steal even for here but you can build yourself a real nice house for 120k or so. My house is an old mining camp house and the foundation is sinking. Our kitchen floor literally rests on the ground underneath the house (this sounds worse than it looks, seriously). Plus the insulation is terrible and nonexistent in some parts of the house. It’s okay for a starter home and I’m certainly thankful for it but the prospect of building a nice house someday is what motivates me to get through college.
I live in an odd little duplex in central Houston (Montrose/Museum District). My rent’s $450 (raised a year ago from $350), and my utilities run around $140; so, ~$590 total.
I shopped for a home for a few months last year and realized $300K is the bottom end for what I’d be willing to move into in this area. You can buy a mansion for that if you’re willing to live in the 'burbs - I’m not. So, I’ll be saving for another year.
3 bedroom, 1.5 bath, 1900 square feet plus full unfinished basement, with a nice half-acre yard, well-located in a nice neighborhood in Greensboro, NC.
Total mortgage/tax/insurance payment is just over $1000/month. That’s with a 7% interest rate with nothing down, aka the “Recent Medical School Graduate Loan”.
Utilities: ~$250/month
Maintenance: ~$100/month (average)
I’ve got a nice-sized one-bedroom apartment in Chicago (east Wicker Park). I don’t know the square footage, but it has a decent sized living room, bathroom, bedroom, and a huge kitchen. It was re-habbed sometime in the past two years.
Rent: $725/mo. (a good deal for the 'hood)
Gas (heat not included in rent): ~$120/mo. in the winter and much, much less in the summer
Electric: Don’t know yet, as the power company still hasn’t straightened out my billing (7 months into the lease!).
Broadband: $45/mo.
I don’t have a phone line here, since I use my cell for everything.
3rd floor 2 bedroom 1 bath ~1000 sq ft apartment in a 100+ yr old house in Woonsocket, RI, a former mill city:
Rent: $725 ($700 for rent, $25 for my garage)
Utilities: $120 cable/internet/phone package (cheaper than doing it all individually), ~$30 electric, ~$20 gas (heat/hot water included so the only thing that uses gas is the stove)
Total: about $900… well above my means. I had 2 roommates but they moved back home so it’s all me. I budget by one paycheck being earmarked all for rent, and pay the bills out of the second one. (Paid bimonthly.) It ain’t pretty, but I ain’t leaving. Many people have it much worse, I could find a cheaper, smaller place but I’m tired of moving.
I seem to have a problem with spending money. I own a condo in Austin outright (which has gone up in value about $10K since I bought it 3 years ago)
Monthly costs
Property Tax: $100
HOA pmt: $75
Utilities: $100
Total monthly housing payment: $275.
Sadly, I’m only spending about 10% of what I earn on living expenses (housing, car, food, utilities, etc.) and about 25% seems to disappear to the gubbamint. I am hoping to move to a big fancy new place next year, so with any luck, I can spend more. (crosses fingers)
Two bedroom house with a 1/2 basement that’s only usable for storage. Two car garage.
Principal+Insurance+Taxes = $580
(15 year note at 7.25% refinance on 55K)
Utilities = $100 per month
So, $680 a month.
It’s a small house, but it was built in 1905 and has hardwood floor, new everything and is on a deadend street with good neighbors. The best part is, I can walk out my front door, head south and go 28 miles on public land before I hit a paved road. The malamutt loves this place.
I live in a single story house in Sydney’s western suburbs which I bought about 6 years ago. I haggled the price down by $10K (because it needed a lot of work) and ended up paying only $90K for it. It was recently valued at 3 times that price. The house is probably 30 years old and sits on a 1,000 sqm block. It originally had 4 bedrooms but I knocked a wall out of the first bedroom and extended the family and dining room, so now it’s a 3 bedda. It also has a 1.5 car garage with an attached carport.
Mortgage: $0.00 (house is payed off)
Electricity: $90 (approx.)
Water: $100 (approx.)
Cable TV/Cable Internet: $115
Total: $305
My SO pays the yearly house insurance, rates and any other bills that arise.