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.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2003-04-22 12:44 pm (UTC)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.