Housing Cost Revisit- What's your expense to keep your house afloat?

[Major Tom]

Given the title of the thread, I'm waiting for the first boat-dweller to chime in

 

[NW-Bound]

This boat?

 

[Major Tom]

That's a level of minimalism I wouldn't even expect from the most ardent frugal types here

 

[NW-Bound]

More than minimalism, this guy exhibited heroism coupled with unabated optimism!

 

[FANOFJESUS]

1300 SF House
Taxes: $2000
Ins: $850
Utilities: $3000 (with phone and internet also)
Yard work: $80
Upkeep: $150

Total $6080

 

[bld999]

"unabated optimism!"

Not sure he's doing much dwelling, but he sure is trying hard!

 

[HappyOutsourced]

House is rural/suburban in Tennessee on 5 acres
insurance for house, 30x40 detached garage $1368
taxes $1560
electricity $3288
water $144
trash $180
deck sealers/exterior paint/wood filler $40
cable/internet/phone $1500
---------
$8080

***additional cost for mowing 4 acres -gas and equipment maintenance $$$$$$$!!!

 

[stepford]

Small 1200 sqft house in Southern California:

Per month.

Property Tax: $270

Insurance: $110

Basic Utilities (Gas, Electric, Water, Sewer, Trash): ~$220
(a bit more in summer, bit less in winter, but seasonal variation in heating cost roughly cancels variation in water and electricity)

Telecom (Cable TV, Internet, Family Cell plan): $160

Yard Guys + Housekeeper: $300
(This cost will go away in retirement. We did without these services for years, but they're awfully convenient when both spouses work)

Maintenance + Home Improvement: ~$200
(highly variable, but this figure is about the average over the last 20 years)

Total: $1250/mo = $15k/yr the price of suburban splendor.

 

[Tom52]

Chicago suburb, 2770 sq. ft. half acre lot with well/septic
.....................2012..YTD 2013
Property taxes $6184 $6644
utilities gas, elec $2104 $1785
garbage $328 $353
house ins $485 $556
yard maint/landscaping $1108 $1058
house maint/repairs $2446 $6145

2012 total = $12,655
2013 YTD total = $16,541

I have not included cable, phone, internet as I believe this is discretionary spending

 

[aaronc879]

860 sqft condo in small city(25,000 pop) Wisconsin

Taxes:870/yr
Insurance:180/yr
condo fees:1980/yr
utilities:1080/yr
maint.:140/yr(could use updating but this is average over 6 years)

Total:4250/yr

 

[seraphim]

Two story four bedroom, about 2700 sq ft, not including full finished basement in Ohio suburb



Property taxes: $2400
Insurance: $1200
Utilities: $2400 average
Yard work: $650

So about $6500 - $7000 a year

No mortgage.

 

[Katsmeow]

House about 2900 SF, Texas, suburban county.

Taxes - $5075
Insurance - $1836
Utilities - $4785 (about 3/4 of this is electricity)
Repairs/Maintenance - $2600
HOA - $650

$14946 a year


Things that I didn't include - major built in appliance replaced this year (dishwasher), and work that I see as basically one time (we have been in this house a little under 2 years so still doing some stuff that we will only do one time - example was clearing out some trash trees and making some landscaping changes). I also didn't include accruals for things that we don't spend routinely such as new roof, etc.

While the above is a big number it is about half of what we paid for the same things at the house we downsized from.

 

[Meadbh]

Utilities $25/month? Our fuel cost adjustments on power use are more that that per month. How do you do this? Is cable/TV/Internet included?

I live in a newish condo building with a sophisticated central heating and cooling system, the operation, maintenance and fueling of which is included in my condo fees. The only part of it in my suite is a heat exchanger with no moving parts. I do have to put a new filter in it every 3 months (sorry, I forgot that, so add $50/year). Therefore, my electricity bill (called "hydro" here) reflects my use of lights, appliances and computers.

I did also forget the municipal water and waste charges, which are $72 per quarter ($288/year)/ With those corrections, my revised total is $6230+$50+$288 = $6568.

TV, cable and internet is not included in this. I currently pay ~$70 including taxes for high speed internet and phone. No cable.

 

[Singletrack]

Hmm...looking at some of the property tax numbers, it is perhaps relevant to disclose whether there is a state income tax (i.e., in some states, the lack of a state income tax is compensated for by higher real property taxes).

In Colorado, we have a state income tax of 4.63%.

Our home: 3,200 SF finished; 1,600 SF unfinished basement; $380K assessed value.

Taxes................................$1,900 per annum
Insurance..........................$2,800
Utilities (water, elec, gas)....$3,600
Garbage..............................$250
Cable, internet...................$2,200
Maint reserve.....................$3,000
Lawn / landscaping care........$750

Total.................................$14,500

 

[project2501]

Our budget for 2012, but 2013 is looking very similar.

House in western NC
2688 sq ft
3.27 Acres

No mortgage
No cable tv; OTA HD and Internet streaming
No car payments on 5 cars(2DD, 3toys) we maintain ourselves from oil changes to engine rebuilds (the wife works on her own too). DIY is just how we both grew up.
House maintenance is done ourselves except the AC heat pump cause it's under warranty, and the gas is maintained by the gas company for home insurance purposes.

About 15min from town. House is modern, energy efficient, has a well, and sewer. CFL/LED lighting; majority of appliances runs off propane gas like the AC heat pump, on demand water heater, stove, gas log fireplace (backup), and clothes dryer. In the near future we're putting in solar panels to cut even further and run the refrigerators, lighting, and ceiling fans.
Cell phone is pay as you go(burner) through Verizon. We keep 100/6mo on it to keep it active and don't use it very much.

monthly debts 2012
phone + DSL internet 70
power 78
gas, propane 58
gas vehicles 100
food, and supplies 450
health ins 114
cell phone 16
trash pickup 10


sub totals = 896/mo

Annual home ins = 800
Annual land tax = 585
Annual vehicle tax = 180

Total $12,317/yr

 

[Katsmeow]

Hmm...looking at some of the property tax numbers, it is perhaps relevant to disclose whether there is a state income tax (i.e., in some states, the lack of a state income tax is compensated for by higher real property taxes).

A very valid point. Our property taxes are $5075 a year, but we are in Texas with no state income tax.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

$12,863.81 directly from budget SS. No Mortgage, 3,500sqft, Florida (No State IT). Largest bill RE Taxes ($5606), followed by Insurance, HOA, Electricity.

 

[Ronstar]

3800 sf on 5 acres in far sw suburbs of chicago

taxes 7571
maint, etc 2932
utils 4200
ins 2386
Total 17089

I need to downsize

 

[tuixiu]

Paid off 2 BR townhome near Phoenix AZ.

HOA: $170 (includes water, trash, external maintenance)
Electricity: $105 (level payment plan)
Internet & landline: $80
Cable: $80
Contents insurance: $30

So $465x12 = $5,580 + Property taxes approx $650 =

Total $6,230

No idea on the home repairs, although since roof/structure/landscaping is handled from HOA the big ticket expenditures would probably be AC unit, hot water heater, internal plumbing, and regular wear & tear on flooring.

 

[Gumby]

Annual figures:

$11,551 Property tax
$ 3,160 Homeowner's Insurance plus umbrella
$ 1,225 Electric
$ 1,700 Natural gas (heat, hot water, stove and dryer)
$ 425 Water
$ 5,000 Home repairs, maintenance, garden and lawn

$23,061 Subtotal

$ 1,428 Cable
$ 325 Landline phone

$24,814 Total (including what are arguably discretionary items)

I live in a 160 year old, 2505 sq.ft. house in coastal CT, where the top personal income tax rate is 6.5% We also pay property tax on our cars at the same rate as our house (currently, the tax on the cars totals $785 per year).

 

[Enuff2Eat]

these number are frighteningly high. Just imaging adding says $14,000.00 for a mortgage, young people will work the first two week just to pay for housing only.

Welcome to America. I wonder why don't we just adapt Japanese or Europe's life style where housing are much smaller and doesn't really "eating" them alive.

 

[Meadbh]

Welcome to America. I wonder why don't we just adapt Japanese or Europe's life style where housing are much smaller and doesn't really "eating" them alive.

Smaller homes are common in Vancouver where purchase prices are insane.

Vancouver 'micro-lofts' billed as smallest in Canada - British Columbia - CBC News

I think many homebuyers focus on the purchase price and not on the operating costs.

 

[RetiredAndFree]

California homeowner -

HOA Dues: $1788
Property Taxes: $4785
HO Insurance: $681
Earthquake Insurance: $1466
Water/Trash/Gas/Electric: $2150
Internet: $460
Gardening Service: $720
Termite Tenting (surprise!): $2000
Tree trimming: $250
Pest control service: $320
TOTAL: $14,620/12 = $1,218 per month

(No cable, no landline)

 

[tuixiu]

Welcome to America. I wonder why don't we just adapt Japanese or Europe's life style where housing are much smaller and doesn't really "eating" them alive.

Is the average person in Japan or Europe really paying less of their income for housing than the average American? According to Property Prices Index by Country 2013 the United States looks very favorable in both home price to income ratio and mortgage to income.

If I had to guess I'd say a cultural acceptance of multi-generational housing (especially among young adults) would have more to do with what many are spending on housing in Japan/Europe vs. United States than actual home cost.

 

[HFWR]

1650sf "ranch" in sub-urbia...

Prop tax: $2700 (no state income tax)
HOI: $920
Elec: $1000
NatGas: $400
Water/Sewer/Trash: $677
Lawn: ~$600

Total: $5397

Lots of incidentals, like fertilizer, water/air filters, etc., though I don't track them individually...