What's your basic housing expenses after retirement (excluding electric, gas. water)?

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cyber888

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To all dear retirees,

If you paid off your mortgage, you still have to pay for 1) realty taxes + 2) home insurance + 3) HOA for some. If you exclude your electric/gas/water bill, how much do you pay for very basic housing cost?

And if you decided to keep a mortgage, how much mortgage did you keep?

I was thinking of paying off my mortgage before I retire, but I could refi now at a low rate and keep like a $390/month mortgage. Like a $85,000-$90,000 mortgage could get me below $400/month at 3.25%. I would prefer this than getting a variable home equity line. My realty tax + home insurance is about $350/month. And HOA is $60/month. That will make my basic housing cost around $800/month (excluding elec, gas, water).

If I pay off my mortgage, then my tax, insurance, HOA is about $410/month.
Just wondering if you care to share your numbers.
 
We pay about $370/month for RE taxes and $67/month for homeowners insurance so total of $437.
No mortgage since 2007.
Can't complain.
 
What is the point of this question? Surely there will be so many variables as to make the question somewhat irrelevant.
 
brett said:
What is the point of this question? Surely there will be so many variables as to make the question somewhat irrelevant.
Click to expand...

The point is to compare what others spend on their basic housing cost during retirement. I know you will say there are many variables based on income, lifestyle, etc. - but that's not the point at all. Just wanted to get a comparison based on data on housing. If you don't wish to share, then you don't need to. Just wanted to get some idea for those who want to share.
 
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No mortgage.
HCOL NJ.
Small lake retirement house.
$540 month RE tax and insurance.
Very satisfied.
 
cyber888 said:
The point is to compare what others spend on their basic housing cost during retirement. I know you will say there are many variables based on income, etc. - but that's not the point. Just wanted to get a comparison based on data. If you don't wish to share, then you don't need to. But just wanted to get some idea for those who want to share.
Click to expand...

The dollar amount is almost irrelevant. The others parameters taken together are more important. How much is net worth? High cost of living area or low cost of living area?

What you can be assured, is that if you are carrying a mortgage, you are paying for it - you are paying interest for having borrowed the money.

Let me ask - how much money do you have in savings, CDs, money market, fixed income and what kind of yields are you getting?

If you want a mortgage for the access to low interest rate money, with the objective of doing something that is going to produce higher yields, then go for it. Maybe you've got a business venture you've been itching to make a go at, maybe you've got some high interest rate debt on credit cards or financed some other purchases and see the opportunity to pay it down/off with cheaper money. What are your refinance/closing costs for getting that $85,000-$90,000? How long are you planning to stay in your current home?

Do you "need" to refinance to a new mortgage to make your retirement numbers work? If not, then why do it? If you have the option of having the mortgage or being debt free, what is your reasoning for keeping the mortgage and not being debt free? We already know - 3.25% is cheap money to borrow. However, if you're sitting in savings and CDs paying under 3%, then where's the benefit?

However, I will oblige:
Mortgage free since 2010
Monthly real estate taxes = $1150
Monthly home insurance = $150

Never regretted paying off the mortgage, not even for a moment.
 
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For 2019 our property taxes were around $4700 and our homeowner's insurance was around $1400, so it was a little over $500/month for us. (We're not retired, but our house is paid off. Also, no HOA, we were very careful about that when we bought.)
 
$350 all taxes and insurance No HOA or mortgage

All utilities+ alarm, internet about $250. We could easily get by on 2500 a month living quite well. We don’t but we could!
 
We kept our mortgage when we retired late in the summer of 2017. It was a pretty low fixed interest rate at the time (2.625%). We only paid it off when we sold the house in the fall of 2018. Current house was bought with cash.

We're in Central Texas now, so the property tax bill for this year will be a whopper. That said, it (along with the HOA) will be about 1/4th of what our yearly obligation was back in California for the mortgage and property taxes (Prop 13'd) there. We would have eight years left on that loan if we were still living in that house.
 
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Washington State. No mortgage, no HOA.
Property taxes about $5000/yr.
Home Insurance almost $1000/yr.

Total housing cost: about $500/month

That doesn't include additional expenses for maintenance, repairs, improvements, etc. Those can add significantly to the total cost of housing each year. After all, you don't buy it and just let it fall apart the next 30 years.

Utilities (electric and internet) only add about $2200 per year to the housing cost.
 
Because I live in a co-op apartment complex, my situation is less clear than those who own their own house. I do own my apartment, though, so I have no mortgage. But my co-op's monthly maintenance charges include gas, heating oil, and water. That being said, I can prorate the co-op's total yearly amount based on my tiny share of the co-op's total shares, something I do for all the shares expenses. I do pay for my own homeowner's insurance policy although I also pay for a tiny share of the co-op's overall insurance policy.


Makes for a tough comparison, even if I can combine my share of the common charges to my own, distinct charges.
 
When it KC property tax was 7500/ year, insurance 1200 and HOA about 700.
Here in CO for same price house property tax 2600 and insurance 1200, no HOA.
 
$222.7 a month ($33.58 for insurance and $189.12 for taxes). No mortgage or HOA.
 
If I owned the place I live in (San Francisco) I would be paying about $1600 a month, but we rent it for $2650 and own rental property in other states instead.
 
Here you go - - here are my expenses for my "Dream Home", the house which I purchased in cash back in 2015. I chose a well maintained 1500 sf single story brick house built in 1965 in a New Orleans inner suburb. No HOA.

$245/month for homeowners, flood, and hurricane (wind and hail) insurance
$152/month property tax
$100/month for lawn mowing service (average)
$13/month other maintenance

($510/month TOTAL)

Insurance is high here because of our hurricane risk.

I could mow my own lawn but don't want to at my age. Other maintenance has been low so far.

No money has been necessary for upgrades because I finished all that I wanted to ever have done, back in 2015-2016, right after buying the house.

Also, this does not include the unusual big expenses like the $7,277 that I spent to get an entire new AC/heating system installed soon after buying the house back in 2016. It has been wonderful, BTW. I haven't had any unusual big expenses since then, but will probably need to have the roof replaced sometime in the next 10 years or so.

According to Zillow (which is not too reliable here) it would cost $1,700/month for me to rent this house.
 
WA State Zillow Estimate: $524,402
Taxes: $5,508/yr
Insurance: $541/yr
HOA: None
Mortgage: None
 
Property taxes are 70/month, insurance is 50 and mortgage is 400.
 
Our expenses for housing without utilities are as follows:

Monthly association fees for condo. $225.00
Monthly condo insurance + umbrella liability $ 78.00
Property taxes (exempt due to VA Disability). $ 0.00
No mortgage $ 0.00

Total for month. $303.00
 
Property taxes of 4000 a year on a million $ home.
Mortgage free since 2008.
Around 600 for insurance.
 
Property Tax - $2200 / yr
Insurance - $700 / yr including $100 earthquake
 
Paid cash for our home 15 years ago, property tax and insurance $135.50 a month. What do I win?
 
Property tax: $115/month
Insurance: $55/month

Mortgage free since 2018.
 
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