Housing questions thread

In My Humble Opinion
1

Where do you live? ** I live in the suburbs of NYC. **

If you rent, how much per month do you pay?

If you own how much is your mortgage? ** $1,320 **

How much do you pay in property taxes? ** $3,700 **

What did you pay for it? How long again? What is it worth today? ** We paid $289,000 two years ago. It’s worth about $410,000 today. **

Describe your house or apartment: ** Our house is a two story colonial on a 110 by 60 foot lot. It has three bedrooms and one full bath upstairs. Downstairs we have a full bath, half bath, kitchen, dining room, living room, office and additional bedroom. We also have an attic and basement. **

How long is your commute? ** An hour and ten minutes by bus and subway. **

:cool

2

Where do you live? **I live in the west end of Hamilton, Ontario **

If you rent, how much per month do you pay? ** My SO and I each pay half of CDN$778 (which includes parking)**

If you own how much is your mortgage? ** N/A **

How much do you pay in property taxes? ** N/A **

What did you pay for it? How long again? What is it worth today? ** We have been living here for nearly 2 years **

Describe your house or apartment: ** Two bedroom apartment, fifth floor. Hardwood flooring throughout, with the exception of the kitchen and bathroom. HUGE windows, so lots of natural light, and lots of space, though I’m afraid I don’t know the square-footage. We haven’t painted, since we are moving away next summer, so we have a plain off-white on the walls and white ceilings (which have a nice swirley pattern on them). The kitchen had been wallpapered dark blue with flowers by a previous tenant - we kept it because we didn’t want more beige. The bathroom is, unfortunately, pink, and in desperate need of a renovation, but the rest of the aparment is nice and comfortable, especially for a couple of students! We never run out of hot water, the water pressure is HIGH and the elevators are quick. We have very responsible superintendents (the landlord is a corporation) which makes living here nice because they do NOT tolerate disruptive tenants. I wish I could take this apartment with me when I move! **

How long is your commute? ** about 45 to 55 minutes to get to school, depending on time of day and construction. An hour or so to go to work in the summer. We live closer to my SOs school and job - he has 15 minutes to get to school and 30 to work, but the car is MINE and I like driving, so I don’t mind at all. **

3

I live in L.A. My apartment is approximately 600 square feet or so. Rent is $778/month. I’ve been living here since 1987, when the rent was $524/month.

The house I’m buying is in Birch Bay, Washington. The mortgage is $523.12/month including property taxes and insurance. My best fiend bought it two years ago for $60,000 and I’m buying it for the appraised value of $96,000. (Not a bad return on his investment.) It’s a 3-bedroom cabin style of about 1,090 square feet on 1/4 acre a block from the shore. (There is one lot between my lot and Birch Bay Drive.) One bedroom is 22’x14’ with a 10’x3’ closet sticking out at one end, and it has a fireplace (that is currently non-functional). One bedroom is 8’x10’ and some of the space is taken up by closet/shelves and the water heater. The other bedroom is about 11’x12’ and has a closet. Both bedrooms have exterior doors that exit onto the deck (which has a hot tub). There is a 40’x10’ travel trailer built onto one side of the house. My fiend repaired the post-and-block foundation when he moved in, and replaced the roof, plumbing, and wiring. A contractor has made further repairs in preparation of the sale including raising a main support beam, repairing dry rot, excavating the crawlspace, and adding “splashguards” to prevent water from flowing under the house when it rains. After I move into the house, and when I have sufficient funds, I want to demolish the travel trailer and erect a 40-foot-long garage in its place.

Whatcom County is the fastest-growing county in Washington. There are new houses being built a couple of miles inland from my new house, and there is talk of putting in a large market. Both of these will tend to increase the value of my property, so it will be a good investment. (I looked for nearly a year to find a decent house in the $100,000 range, and they seem to no longer exist up there.

I’ve been unemployed for the past 2-1/2 weeks. Before I was laid off, I commuted 43 miles to Orange. On four wheels it took about 70-75 minutes each way. On the motorcycle it took about 45 minutes each way. If I get the job I interviewed for, then my commute will be 48 miles. If I don’t get the job, I’ll move into the house. Bellingham, where I’d be most likely to find work, is 22 miles from the house.

4

Where do you live? A block away from Alamo Square park in San Francisco (ever see that postcard SF scene that has a row of colorful victorian homes and the SF skyline in the background? That’s the view from the middle of Alamo Square park.)

If you rent, how much per month do you pay? One bedroom for $1200. This includes one covered parking spot in a fully enclosed lot beneath the building. I share the apt. with one roommate.

If you own how much is your mortgage? n/a

How much do you pay in property taxes? n/a

What did you pay for it? How long again? What is it worth today? My ex and I first rented the place back in 1996 for $875, including parking spot. SF has rent control and newly available similar apts. in my building are reportedly renting for around $1900, at least.

Describe your house or apartment: One bedroom on the 4th floor of a six story bldg. Victorian style and very large for SF. I’m therefore able to convert it into a two bedroom to share the rent and we each still have our own walk-in closets. Very nice place with curved ceilings (unusual since I’m not on the top ffloor).

How long is your commute? By car, its about 50 minutes, but only around 20 miles, at most. I cross the SF Bay Bridge daily.

5

Where do you live? The suburbs of Atlanta, GA.

If you rent, how much per month do you pay? $592 a month, it was $602 when we moved in.

If you own how much is your mortgage? N/A

How much do you pay in property taxes? N/A

What did you pay for it? How long again? What is it worth today? N/A

Describe your house or apartment: Six hundred odd square feet, I believe. One bedroom, one bath. Packed with all our stuff. Decor is mostly Wal-Mart, Target, and Office Depot. Wall hangings include: A wall hangy thing for Final Fantasy IX, a huge Dark Age of Camelot poster, a framed copy of Keith Baker’s Playtime picture, a whiteboard. Soon to be added to the walls: A Scarface movie poster, a David Bowie poster, a poster from NeverWinter Nights, a poster from Les Mis, a cardboard hangy thing of Super Diaper Baby. We should put a sign on the door that says “Here there be geek.”

How long is your commute? My girlfriend’s drive to work is about 15-20 minutes. My ride in to school is about an hour, if you include the drive into the station and the walk to get to campus.

6

Where do you live? ** A Dayton, Ohio suburb. **

If you rent, how much per month do you pay?

If you own how much is your mortgage? ** about $600.** But the taxes and insurance are escrowed in, making the total monthly payment about $770.

How much do you pay in property taxes? ** $1,650 a year**

What did you pay for it? How long again? What is it worth today? ** We paid $107,000 four months ago. Appreciation is negligible.**

Describe your house or apartment: ** Our house is a brick ranch on a 85 by 165 foot lot. It has three bedrooms, one and a half baths, a big living room, and a kitchen/dining room which is really one big, long room. There is a built-in two car garage. I’m also on one of the main roads through town, not a side street.**

How long is your commute? ** 10-15 minutes, mostly interstate. **

7

Where do you live? ** Just outside Morgantown, West Virginia, population around 60,000 (give or take 20,000 or so college students) **

If you rent, how much per month do you pay?

If you own how much is your mortgage? ** $567 **

How much do you pay in property taxes? ** $548 **

What did you pay for it? How long again? What is it worth today? ** We built it about 10 years ago, probably only paid about $80,000, since my husband’s a contractor and we made a deal on the land. It was worth about $160,000 then and about $200,000 now. **

Describe your house or apartment: ** Our house is about 2700 sq ft with 3 bedrooms and 3 1/2 baths. There’s a living room, dining room, kitchen, powder room, and master suite on the main floor, 2 kids rooms and bathroom upstairs, and family room, guest room and bath, and unfinished work room/pool room/storage room downstairs. House with attached two car garage sits on about 1/5 acre in an established neighborhood.**

How long is your commute? ** I commute about 1/2 hour to the next town and my husband goes 2 blocks. **

8

Where do you live? Knoxville, TN

If you rent, how much per month do you pay? $455/month (it goes up to this amount for the November, so I’ll call it that now.

If you own how much is your mortgage? N/A

How much do you pay in property taxes? N/A

What did you pay for it? How long again? What is it worth today? N/a

Describe your house or apartment: It’s about 700 sq feet, one bedroom in an older brick and masonry building. Wonderful closet space, carpeted throughout, except the kitchen and entryway. I like it a lot.

How long is your commute? ten minutes, tops, by car.

9

Where do you live? Dublin, Ireland

**If you rent, how much per month do you pay? **Works out to about $820 U.S. This is on the low side of average for comparable flats in this part of the city.

**Describe your house or apartment: **It’s a one-bedroom “basement” flat (it’s actually at ground level) in a big Georgian house on a main road just outside the north inner city. Has a long hallway, combined kitchen/living room area, bedroom, closet, shower/sink/toilet room. There’s a working fireplace. There’s a big window in the living room so in the daytime I get a lot of natural light. There’s one other basement flat in the building and we share an indoor storage room which is big enough to fit my bike into. Upstairs in the house is a washer/dryer and to the back is an ENORMOUS garden.

**How long is your commute? **Depends on the traffic - anywhere from 20 to 45 minutes by bus. It would take me 40 to walk.

10

WVmom… I grew up in Fairmont, and am a WVU grad. Don’t let the Dayton location fool you, I’m West-by-God-Virginian, born and bred.

So I also know that housing and expecially tazes are very affordable back home. I still can’t believe what my parents have invested in their house, for as much house as it is. It would cost twice that much here.

11

**Where do you live? ** I live in Boston, about 4 blocks from Fenway Park, just up Beacon Street from Kenmore Square.

If you rent, how much per month do you pay? $975/ month

**Describe your house or apartment: ** My apartment is one very small room with a tiny window facing onto the alley. It has brown shag carpeting in horrifying condition (stains, no nap left in the high-traffic parts of the room). The “kitchen” has a sink, 2 burners and a keg-sized refrigerator. My heat is electric and I pay for it myself. The one window, located directly above the heater, is from ~1920 and so far from weather-tight it is laughable. The bathroom has a shower only, no tub, with a rusting metal shower-surround. Basically, it is a glorified dorm room.

**How long is your commute? ** The only upside to the apartment: location. I have about a seven minute walk to my school and a five minute walk to the grocery store. So at least that’s good.

What can I say, except that all housing in Boston proper is expensive, and when I went apartment shopping I made the foolish decision that it would be worth a little extra money (this is only $100/month more than I was paying for 1/2 of a two-bedroom out in Brookline) to live on my own? Someday I will be able to live in a sane housing market again, and I will be ever-so-grateful for it. Extra-grateful because I will not be living on a graduate student fellowship at that time, either.

12

Where do you live? ** Outer suburb of Boston, about 25 miles from downtown. **

If you rent, how much per month do you pay?

If you own how much is your mortgage? ** about $1,700/month. This includes our taxes, and it is a fifteen year mortgage. **

How much do you pay in property taxes? ** It looks like it will be about $2,100 this year. **

What did you pay for it? How long ago? What is it worth today? ** We paid $220,000 seven years ago. We believe we could get somewhere between $450,000 and $500,000 if we sold today. **

Describe your house or apartment: ** We have a 2,300 sq. ft. 4 bedroom colonial on a 10,000 sq. ft. lot. It was new when we moved in. We have a two car attached garage and installed central air this year. We have gas heat, gas oven, gas dryer and gas hot water heater. We live on a quiet dead end street in a neighborhood of older homes. We can walk to stores, restaurants and even a movie theater which is unusual for this area (most places you have to drive to get to these things). **

How long is your commute? ** A little over an hour into Cambridge by car. If I take the commuter rail and subway it is more like an hour and a half. There are lots of jobs closer, but not so many in my field, which is biotech.**

13

Where do you live? Outskirts of Brisbane, Australia.

**If you rent, how much per month do you pay? ** n/a

If you own how much is your mortgage? about $200 US

How much do you pay in property taxes?
about $600 US yearly

What did you pay for it? How long again? What is it worth today?
We paid about $40 000 US 4 years ago and about a year ago the market began to go crazy. We think it’s worth about $100 000US now but some months it’s increased in value by thousands.

**Describe your house or apartment: **

Very ordinary 1970’s box with a veranda at the front. 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1 downstairs toilet. Combined livingroom/ kitchen. My office is a closed in veranda. There’s a workroom/laundry downstairs and a large bedroom/office. Swimming pool and a large garden.
**How long is your commute? **

Work from home

14

In a couple of weeks:

Where do you live? Older inner ring suburb east of Cleveland, Ohio (University Heights/Mayfield Heights/Lyndhurst/South Euclid area). The area was developed in the 1950s, and is populated primarily by middle class families, with some high end infill development.

If you rent, how much per month do you pay? US$925/month.

If you own how much is your mortgage? n/a (previous houses I’ve owned had mortgage payments of ~$800.)

How much do you pay in property taxes? n/a

What did you pay for it? How long again? What is it worth today? The house would probably sell for ~$130,000 to $140,000.

Describe your house or apartment: Two story brick and frame colonial, built in 1955, recently rehabbed. Three bedroom, 1.5 bathroom, half finished basement, one car attached garage, and about 1,600 square feet of gross floor area, excluding the basement. The lot is about 6,000 square feet.

How long is your commute? 30-40 minutes (outcommute to a distant suburb).
Now:

Where do you live? Northeast Johnson County, Kansas, about 3 km east of the Missouri state line. and 8 km from downtown Kansas City. Most neighbors are lower middle class older couples, and young middle class professional singles and couples.

If you rent, how much per month do you pay? US$875/month

If you own how much is your mortgage? n/a

How much do you pay in property taxes? n/a

What did you pay for it? How long again? What is it worth today? The house would probably sell for $110,000 or so.

Describe your house or apartment: Two story frame ranch, built in 1950. Two bedrooms, one bathroom, half finished basement, one car attached garage, and about 1,200 square feet of gross floor area, excluding the basement. The lot is about 10,000 square feet.

How long is your commute? 20-30 minutes (outcommute).

15

Where do you live? Central Colorado Rockies, 11,200 feet in elevation. About ½ mile from the Continental divide

If you rent, how much per month do you pay?

If you own how much is your mortgage?** $1140**
How much do you pay in property taxes?** About $600 or so**

What did you pay for it? How long again? What is it worth today? **We paid $89,000 ten years ago. It’s worth about $175,000 today. **

Describe your house or apartment:** Hard to describe. My wife (a real estate appraiser) would call it ‘Mountain Contemporary’. Its a passive solar house with lots and lots of windows and high ceilings. We used to heat with wood until I put in a propane stove 2 years ago. I’m writing this from the loft over our bedroom.

We have 2 acres and fantastic views. **

How long is your commute?** About 35 minutes by SUV. It’s about 25 miles on State Highway, with a bit of gravel road mixed in. **

16
17

Where do you live? Cumberland, Maryland

If you rent, how much per month do you pay?

If you own how much is your mortgage? $360.00
How much do you pay in property taxes? $700.00

What did you pay for it? How long again? What is it worth today? We paid $32,000 6 years ago. It’s worth about $38,000 today, but a lot of improvements are being made to the neighborhood, so we expect the value to go up to maybe $45,000 in the next few years.

Describe your house or apartment: Our house is duplex (we own both sides, but really only live in one side, and keep the other for storage, visiting in-laws, etc.) About 1,200 feet of living space per side. Our side has 3 bedrooms, 1 full bath, 1 half bath, separate dining room. Best features: oak and marble gas fireplace; solid oak pocket doors, stairway; stained glass over front door and living room window. Worst feature: lack of freakin’ closets. Two of the three bedroom have one closet each, but they’re the really old, shallow kind where you can’t fit a hanger in. The other bedroom has no closet. There is also no coat closet or linen closet. Oh, and the price of the property also includes an empty lot. We call it a yard, but it also offers off-street parking when we need it.
How long is your commute? Since I’m a SAHM, my commute only involves walking downstairs. Hubby works from home about 3 days per week, commutes 2 hours to Baltimore for one overnight a week.

18

So far I’m leading in the monthly payment category. Yay for me! :rolleyes:

19

Thanks for the responses. :slight_smile:

I asked in an effort console myself. Our retirement account is down about 15% in the last two years but our housing equity is up by an equal percent. You win some, you lose some. We’ll probably have to move to retire in twenty five years but it’s better than not retiring at all.

20

I’m glad this thread is consoling you but it’s sure depressing me. If I lived in Cleveland or Kansas, I could be renting a whole house! People have mortgage payments smaller than the amount I throw down a black hole every month! Maybe I should stop clicking on this thread…