like a junkie needing a fix

[just_cyd]

my house-craving is reaching a new level. i just spent the last 40 minutes searching for and printing info on houses that might be within my reach.

Now that i've got myself moved in and the place(s) decorated in my mind, it's time to figure out what it'll really cost me. 'cept i don't have a freakin' clue! the loan part is easy ~ financial calculators abound in this office. but what costs are involved in home ownership that aren't in renting?

~Property taxes.
~PMI (if i can't scrape together the 20% down).
~increased homeowners insurance (renters insurance is dirt cheap)
~water/sewage
~heat AND electric (no more $30/mo for electric and free heat)
~buying appliances if not included
~paint, carpet, curtains, etc
~lawn care

*big sigh*

but i really really really want to buy a house.

i suppose it's better to have my bubble burst now, rather than get into this and realize i can't afford it.

Comments

[queensheba.livejournal.com]

Here's a breakdown of ours, just so you can get an idea...this is a 106,000 house with 6,000 down and 100,000 borrowed at a low (I can't remember what, but it's either 5.75 or 6.75-ish) interest rate.

Each month we pay (approximately)

645 in actual mortgage payment
70 in PMI
150ish in property taxes and homeowners' insurance added together, averaged over the year, and divided by 12 months - our property taxes, which are quite low - are about 1300 a year, and 100,000 worth of insurance coverage is around 300.
about 70-80 in electricity (this is way cheaper than the previous owners)
water and sewage are neglible (as is trash) -$15 or so every couple of months.

We do spend a fair amount of money on *stuff* for the house - repairs, improvements, flowers, etc. However, when I did my little "budgeting exercise" a few weeks ago, I found that if you can live with a $50,000 mortgage loan (assuming you're okay with the kinds of houses I showed you then - I would be if it were between owning something and owning nothing, assuming I could find a passable house), your mortgage payments could be under $300, leaving you a little money each month to make small improvements/fund major ones. It's definitely possible for you to own something - the question is are you okay with a smaller house in a not-quite-so-great neighborhood or do you want to hold out for something nicer? Both are valid choices, imo.

Re: like a junkie

[just-cyd.livejournal.com]

i know there's a tax benefit to home-ownership, but i've not yet figured it out. i should dig up my 2002 tax return and re-figure it with the assumption that i have a mortgage (financial calculator abound in my office). My one boss cautions me that the tax benefit is not a good enough reason alone to buy a house, and that the cost of maintaining a house can far exceed any tax benefits. but he owns a 100-year-old house that needs lots of updates, and he hates to do that stuff...

and no worries about the hit-n-run post. i've seen you around in queensheba's journal. i'd love to hear any do's and don'ts you have encountered thus far... i'm the Queen of Doing Things The Wrong Way. ;-)