How much does your home cost???

[saluki9]

Wow, this calculation was depressing

Our 1050sq ft condo is costing us $63.28 per day or $.0603 per sq ft

 

[brewer12345]

And yes, the coasters will be a lot higher... but then again, they are high cost areas, are they not  And are you not giving up opportunity cost to live on the coast?  It is a real cost.

Hmmm, well, considering that appreciation has generally been a lot higher on the coasts, I'm not sure I would call it "opportunity cost".

For many of us, living in a particular spot on a coast provides lots of career and income opportunities. I know cost of living where I am is obnoxiously high, but I regard it as the cost of entry to a labor market that has been phenominally remunerative.

 

[farmerEd]

Hmmm, well, considering that appreciation has generally been a lot higher on the coasts, I'm not sure I would call it "opportunity cost".

For many of us, living in a particular spot on a coast provides lots of career and income opportunities.  I know cost of living where I am is obnoxiously high, but I regard it as the cost of entry to a labor market that has been phenominally remunerative.

When you say your cost of living is higher on the coast...be specific. What costs more? I know my property taxes are higher, and generally speaking healt insurance is too...but what else?

 

[brewer12345]

When you say your cost of living is higher on the coast...be specific. What costs more? I know my property taxes are higher, and generally speaking healt insurance is too...but what else?

Property taxes (whew!), income taxes, groceries, healthcare, auto insurance, entertainment, utilities... Need I say more? But this is highly variable by locale.

 

[Texas Proud]

Hmmm, well, considering that appreciation has generally been a lot higher on the coasts, I'm not sure I would call it "opportunity cost".

For many of us, living in a particular spot on a coast provides lots of career and income opportunities.  I know cost of living where I am is obnoxiously high, but I regard it as the cost of entry to a labor market that has been phenominally remunerative.

The problem is that except for real estate gains... I do not see that much advantage.... I worked in NY, living in a company apartment for awhile. It was a 750 sq. ft. place that would go for about $750K back then... plus you would have to pay the maintenance fees, property taxes etc. etc.. They were trying to get me to transfer, but the cost of living per the HR groups was only 20% higher than Houston. Well, I can tell you that half thier increase would have gone to state and city taxes... and the cost of living is a LOT more than 20% without taxes!!!

I would guess that living in NY would cost 50% more than it does in Houston, and that is downsizing your living space by at least half...

So, I still say that it is an opportunity cost to live there... expecially in you are already FIREd... you could move to a much cheaper place and then have more income with the proceeds of your sale..

 

[Scrooge]

For many of us, living in a particular spot on a coast provides lots of career and income opportunities.  I know cost of living where I am is obnoxiously high, but I regard it as the cost of entry to a labor market that has been phenominally remunerative.

Very much so. It's more expensive to live in places like NYC and the Bay Area, but in most cases you also get to make more money. Of course, if you are retired, other considerations become more important.

If you are going to stay in the same area no matter what, then the question is how much money you could make if you sold your house and either bought a smaller one or rented.

In my case, if I sold my house and got rid of non-essential possessions, then I could probably rent a decent place for $1K/mo. It would cost me $12K/y, but then I would be saving about $7K/year on taxes, maintenance, utilities, insurance, etc. So the net increase in expenses is only $5K/year and I get about $350K to invest.

Assuming the 5% return mentioned above minus inflation (2-3%) minus taxes (another 1%+), I would be netting 1-2% or $3-7K/y, roughly enough to offset the rent. Of course, this calculation makes assumptions about where the housing market in the area will be in the foreseeable future.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Yep, my property taxes are fixed to my original purchase price plus a percent or two increase per year thanks to CA's prop 13

Currently living in a house worth close to 400k and paying taxes on about 260k.

As far as advantage of living near the coast...besides the increases in real estate value, in a couple of hours I can drive to a dozen or so 'vacation destination' locales like Tahoe, SF, Napa, etc...sure saves on the travel dollars a little bit...

 

[bpp]

If I use an opportunity cost of 5%, something like $57/day, 3.8 cents/sq-ft/day.
Using a more realistic opportunity cost for me of 1% gives $34/day, 2.3 cents/sq-ft/day. No corrections for imputed rent.

 

[justin]

If I use an opportunity cost of 5%, something like $57/day, 3.8 cents/sq-ft/day.
Using a more realistic opportunity cost for me of 1% gives $34/day, 2.3 cents/sq-ft/day. No corrections for imputed rent.

That's not bad! I always assumed Japan would cost more. Can you describe what your accomodations are like (size, style)? Distance from downtown, type of neighborhood, etc.? What those type of houses cost. (I'm an idiot american who envisions all Japanese living in tiny pagodas).

 

[bpp]

That's not bad! I always assumed Japan would cost more. Can you describe what your accomodations are like (size, style)? Distance from downtown, type of neighborhood, etc.? What those type of houses cost. (I'm an idiot american who envisions all Japanese living in tiny pagodas).

The house is a fairly modern style, with one token Japanese-style tatami room (mostly used as a guest room), but other than that pretty Western in style. This is typical of most new houses these days. Two-story, 1500 sq-ft, on a 2300 sq-ft lot. The neighborhood is basically a suburb, schools close by, about a 30-minute walk from downtown, similar to an American suburb except that the houses are closer together, the streets are narrower, and only the more major streets have sidewalks.

New houses in general run around $350-500k, which is pretty much the limit that a family can afford even with the extremely low mortgage rates we have been having up to now. That price will get you less land and house the closer you get to a big city, more the farther away you go. If you buy new, the total cost will be roughly 1/2 for the house, and 1/2 for the land. The land may appreciate or depreciate depending on where you are (the bubble is still deflating in a lot of places), but the house itself will only depreciate over time. Had TaxasProud not disallowed appreciation/depreciation in the calculation, that would have raised the cost of the house somewhat.

Some typical house styles can be seen at the following web pages (these are some of the big house makers):
http://www.daiwahouse.co.jp/jutaku/shohin_top/shohin_top.html
http://www.sekisuihouse.com/products/steel2/index.html
http://www.misawa.co.jp/kodate/index.html

 

[wabmester]

http://www.daiwahouse.co.jp/jutaku/shohin_top/shohin_top.html

Cool.  I like that Japanese/Western blended architecture!

Do you still find many of the traditional timberframed homes there?

 

[bpp]

Do you still find many of the traditional timberframed homes there?

You see them, mostly out in the countryside. Very few or no new builds though, mostly restorations -- and that takes a fairly wealthy and nostalgic customer. (In fact I think I read that one of the few people who specializes in restoring traditional farm houses is an American who moved to Japan and fell in love with the style.) More common are hybrids of traditional post-and-beam carpentry plus maybe a traditional tile roof, but modern interior and exterior finishes (sheetrock and wallpaper inside, ceramic tile or fake brick/stone outside, e.g.).

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

Cool.  I like that Japanese/Western blended architecture!

good choice. only i'm not sure it's a blend. looks prairie school to me. reminds me of frank lloyd wright's designs

here's his imperial hotel built in tokyo circa 1915

edit: below that is prairie school designed house circa 1902 (take note of the massing, overhangs, setbacks, columns, the balconies and compare with the house you picked. pretty similar huh?--i just noticed even the planter bowls are similar.)

 

[bpp]

good choice. only i'm not sure it's a blend. looks prairie school to me. reminds me of frank lloyd wright's designs

Wasn't he influenced by Japanese architecture?

 

[brewer12345]

The problem is that except for real estate gains... I do not see that much advantage.... I worked in NY, living in a company apartment for awhile.  It was a 750 sq. ft. place that would go for about $750K back then... plus you would have to pay the maintenance fees, property taxes etc. etc..  They were trying to get me to transfer, but the cost of living per the HR groups was only 20% higher than Houston.  Well, I can tell you that half thier increase would have gone to state and city taxes... and the cost of living is a LOT more than 20% without taxes!!!

I would guess that living in NY would cost 50% more than it does in Houston, and that is downsizing your living space by at least half...

So, I still say that it is an opportunity cost to live there... expecially in you are already FIREd...  you could move to a much cheaper place and then have more income with the proceeds of your sale..

Like I said, it all depends. Obviously if the oppotunities presented aren't valuable to you, then the extra cost is a waste. But if you are in investment banking, corporate law, asset management, etc., being in and around NYC is VERY much worth the extra cost of living over, say, Houston.

 

[justin]

bpp,

thanks for the little insight into japanese housing/architecture! Most of those new houses look very "modern" compared to the much more "traditional" (from a US perspective) new housing coming on the mkt around the southern/midatlantic US.

 

[Non sequitur]

$36.58 / day
$0.013 / sq ft / day



Edited to correct typographical error.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

Wasn't he influenced by Japanese architecture?

wright loved japanese art, i don't know that he was influenced any more by japanese architecture than by that of the greek. while it's hard to avoid synthesis, his departure from all ancient works into a new modern architecture is what marked his deserved place in history.

above is the prairie house, here's an early 1900's japanese tea house. in regard to wab's posted house pic, you decide who influenced what (or what influenced who).

 

[REWahoo]

$36.58 / day
$0.13 / sq ft / day

Your home is 281 sq ft? An RV?

 

[Non sequitur]

Your home is 281 sq ft?  An RV?

What do I owe you?

 

[REWahoo]

What do I owe you?

Nothing. This one's on the house.

 

[Telly]

I didn't do anything with opportunity costs.

$39.18  per day
$.014  per sq. ft. per day on 2800 sq. ft.

If I drop out Cable and DSL, then those go down to:

$36.32
$.013

This includes our high 15.x cents per KWH electric rates, security lighting and 2 1/2 HP I-G pool pump, lots of A/C, in addition to the electrical loads that most of you have.

 

[bpp]

wright loved japanese art, i don't know that he was influenced any more by japanese architecture than by that of the greek. while it's hard to avoid synthesis, his departure from all ancient works into a new modern architecture is what marked his deserved place in history.

above is the prairie house, here's an early 1900's japanese tea house. in regard to wab's posted house pic, you decide who influenced what (or what influenced who).

I didn't mean to say that Wright didn't have a big influence on modern Japanese architecture -- he was acclaimed in Japan early on, perhaps even moreso than in the US for a time -- or that he wasn't a genius. I was just trying to say that he in turn had probably been influenced by Japanese traditional art and architecture (which may also help explain his early acceptance in Japan). Here are some pictures of traditional-style Japanese interiors (from Misawa Home) that show a lot of the geometrical motifs that Wright may have picked up on (linearity, horizontals):
http://www.misawa-mrd.com/wasitu/whats/ie_index_f.html

The shelves in this example, which go back in style to medieval Japan, somehow remind me of Wright's cantilevers:

Speaking of Greek influences, there is a temple in Asuka, Japan, built around 600-700 AD, with bulging, muscular columns (a departure from previous native styles), which is thought by some to have been influenced by those of the Parthenon, at the opposite end of the Silk Road. Cross-fertilization has been going on forever.

 

[lazygood4nothinbum]

I was just trying to say that he in turn had probably been influenced by Japanese traditional art and architecture (which may also help explain his early acceptance in Japan)...Cross-fertilization has been going on forever.

hi. yes. i got that. which is why i posted:

you decide who influenced what (or what influenced who).

love the interior you posted. i think i would be very comfortable in a traditional japanese house. i happen to love a lot of the asian culture (and i think it is wonderful you get to live there): its people, art, design, religions, philosophies, and especially the food. not sure i'd be crazy about a 2,500 square foot lot though, my gardens already extend onto the neighbors' properties and i'm on almost a 1/4 downtown acre.