How much did you spend on housing last year???

[Midpack]

2270 sqft, 4bed/2½bath 2-story, 2 people

I categorize differently, but following the OP's lead:

Mortgage	$0
Prop Tax	$1510
Home Insur	$1387
Gas & Elec	$1311	thermostat 61-65°F winter, 72-76°F summer!!!
Bath Remodel	$1260	more expense in 2011
Water/Sewer	$1245	yes, we're getting ripped off
HOA	$850	Grrrrrrrr...
Other maint & repairs	$654
Trash collection	$246
Lawncare	$212	we do all we can ourselves
TOTAL	$8515

Our gas & electric would be double were it not for our aggressive thermostat settings, using setback temps when we're not home.

Next house will be smaller, more energy efficient with no HOA...

[Moemg]

I was a little nervous calculating mine since my house is 3800 sq. feet but it came to $11,490. Plus I spent $3,500 on new molding & carpeting for two rooms .
Mortgage 0
Taxes $4,750
Insurance $2300
electric $ 2760
water , sewer & garbage - $1680
View priceless

[GregLee]

$   0: Mortgage Interest (no mortgage)
$2350: Property Taxes (on 1240 sq ft 2 br house on 1/4 acre, assessed at $800,000)
$ 106: termite inspection
$ 300: roof repair
$ 464: Homeowner's Insurance
$ 153: Water ($25.57/2mo)
$3600: Electricity ($280-350/mo)
$1250: DirecTV ($104.19/mo)
$ 915: phone/internet ($76.22/month)
$9138: Total / year

[GregLee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moemg View priceless

I'll say!

[Enuff2Eat]

Housing is an emotional things. In a way, it's a bragging right just like a new car. The more money you spend on it, the more you can brag about it. We are done with bragging so our focus is to reduce the number, and do as much maintenance as we can to lower the pain. Let the Joneses do the bragging.

We would probably move to a town house if it wasn't for the kids..

enuff

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Enuff2Eat Housing is an emotional things. In a way, it's a bragging right just like a new car. The more money you spend on it, the more you can brag about it. enuff

I doubt that applies to people here. Houses just cost a lot, or you spend all your free time fixing and improving.

One of the posts above mentions keeping his house to the level at which he bought it. This makes sense; because unless you happen to sell in a very hot market it is going to be very hard to sell a house with an older style kitchen, bathroom, etc.

It is like building a house part by part sourced from Home Depot, and that is not cheap!

Ha

[golfnut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack 2270 sqft, 4bed/2½bath 2-story, 2 people I categorize differently, but following the OP's lead: Mortgage $0   Prop Tax $1510   Home Insur $1387   Gas & Elec $1311 thermostat 61-65°F winter, 72-76°F summer!!! Bath Remodel $1260 more expense in 2011 Water/Sewer $1245 yes, we're getting ripped off HOA $850 Grrrrrrrr... Other maint & repairs $654   Trash collection $246   Lawncare $212 we do all we can ourselves TOTAL $8515   Our gas & electric would be double were it not for our aggressive thermostat settings, using setback temps when we're not home. Next house will be smaller, more energy efficient with no HOA...

Midpack, how do you get away with $1,510 in property taxes in Chicagoland. We're paying approx. $9,500.

Golfnut

[Chickadee]

Rent 3660 (heat/water included)
Parking space 132
Renter's Insurance 105
Electricity 480
Telephone (landline) 205
Cable Internet 190
Total 4772

In a city in southeast Wisconsin, in a moderately priced and safe area, sharing space with another person, which keeps costs low. This helps me save almost 49% of my gross income right now.

[youbet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolfbay We're probably on the low end of the range for housing costs. mortgage 0 insurance 960 property tax on 121 acres and2520square ft under roof 560 utilities 0 ( off grid solar) propane 1200 water 0 -well garbage 120 total$ 2840

Did you have to make any upfront investment to achieve this? If so, how much do you have tied up in housing in order to achieve this low annual expense level?

[KingB]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack Gas & Elec|$1311|thermostat 61-65°F winter, 72-76°F summer!!!| Our gas & electric would be double were it not for our aggressive thermostat settings, using setback temps when we're not home. Next house will be smaller, more energy efficient with no HOA...

You set your temps to 72 - 76F on summer?

[KingB]

Cook County Property tax $8200.68
Insurance $ 751.00
Cable TV $ 598.44
Disposal Service $ 236.40
Electric $ 1201.35
Gas $ 1001.32
HOA $ 276.00
Internet $ 602.04
Lawn Service $ 825.00
Telephone $ 602.52
Water/Sewer $ 533.63
Total 2010 $14828.38

Since RE'd this year, lawn service is eliminated. Changing telephone service saves about $200/year. Property tax is expected to go up this year and home insurance already went up to $778 (3.6% increase).

I did not include maintenance and home improvement because they vary very much from year to year. Last year was $1550.

[FANOFJESUS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by golfnut Midpack, how do you get away with $1,510 in property taxes in Chicagoland. We're paying approx. $9,500. Golfnut

You will have to tell us more Midpack. I don't live in Chicagoland but hear property taxes horror stories from others I know. I usually hear 7k to 18k and every thing in between.

[JDARNELL]

I did a quick back of the envelope calculation and it seems like my cost to run the place (with OC of equity) is about $2500 a month. If the place was paid for you could make the case that its the same however the OC is higher and the out of pocket it lower. (Smoke and mirrors) However, I think there is some implied benefit here with not having to produce the income to cover part of the out of pocket costs if it was paid for. Now my tax situation changes and I no longer have to produce $18K after tax to pay each month. Translation I could make less money and retire earlier.

In all fairness if I was really trying to reduce costs I could move into one of my townhouses and in this case the total cost (including OC) would be about $750 a month. CINC house would not go for that not and it really doesn't make sense with two kids moving to our their teen years. We like the room for now. Once they move on we will see. Of course I am sure there is an extra cost here that I would have to pay to convince her.

I must admit I do get tired of having to take care of a place.

Tomcat98

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tomcat98 CINC house would not go for that not and it really doesn't make sense with two kids moving to our their teen years. We like the room for now. Once they move on we will see. Of course I am sure there is an extra cost here that I would have to pay to convince her.

It makes no empty-nester sense to have space for the kids to return to the nest... and when our kid gets "her first permanent-change-of-station orders", we're going to get rid of all her possessions left behind, too.

[frayne]

Approx $5K a year for a five year old $160K, paid for, 1800 sq. ft. house in northern Georgia. That covers, property tax, utilities, insurance, and maintenance.

[Texas Proud]

Total including mortgage payments $25,583....

I do not include cable as some have...

Add about $35K to that for the previous year (down payment on the house)...

[kcowan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Katsmeow ...Last month our total expenses were under $6000. Before we spent more than that just on housing (currently in a rental at $1500 a month until we get house plans finished to build our new, much much smaller and much more energy efficient and less expensive house).

Wow that is indeed impressive. I hope the new house works out for you.

[kcowan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords It makes no empty-nester sense to have space for the kids to return to the nest... and when our kid gets "her first permanent-change-of-station orders", we're going to get rid of all her possessions left behind, too.

Wow. We waited until they got married. I suppose that has to be a judgment call...

[walkinwood]

I think the % cost of housing (cash flow) as a percentage of total expenses is more useful.

To the end of April 2011, we spent 44% of our expenses on housing. This is high - even for us - because of the work done to prep the house for sale. It sold at the end of May!

The next 12 months are a transition time as we rent a rather expensive town home while we figure out where & what to buy.

[haha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by walkinwood I think the % cost of housing (cash flow) as a percentage of total expenses is more useful.

Maybe for some purposes, but if what you want to find out is how much it costs to provide housing, I think the raw numbers are much more useful

For example, in your case, one of the things that interest me in trying to decide whether to continue renting or to buy is what it costs to get something ready to sell in a slow or choosey market.

It looks to me like it costs a lot, either in time and effort or money or both. Would you share what it cost you to do this prep? Plus any staging if you did that?

Last Sunday I walked into a condo open house in the city, but not in the central core. Good neighborhood. Listing price was $185,000. Ca 1000 sqft, 2 bdrms, 1 bath, and rehabbed and remodeled to the nines. New cork flooring, new bathroom tile, new bedrm carpets, new appliances, enough marble and slate to start a graveyad. I don't know, but it seems impossible that this cost less than $75,000.

The owner had lived there for years and died.

His two sisters came out from the midwest and did this amazing job. I was with a friend who was looking, if I had any thought that I could be happy in this less urban environment I would grab it, since friend decided she did not want it for other reasons.

Ha