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buying a new house
- Thread starter TechBoyJK
- Start date
imported_Mike
Lifer
Jebus, $700 a month for mortage? That is almost my share of the monthly rent for a 2 bedroom apartment. Where do you live?
chuckywang
Lifer
Not a monthly cost, but property taxes.
giantpinkbunnyhead
Diamond Member
You'll also have to pay into escrow (in most cases) and, if you finance enough you'll also have PMI, or Property Mortgage Insurance. But the latter dwindles down to zero as you approach a point where you only owe about 80%.
If you have a homeowners association, add those fees in as well. But sometimes, those fees include water/sewage/whatever else.
So more likely you'll have...
1) Mortgage + Escrow + PMI = one big payment each month (escrow covers property tax and property insurance usually; possibly other stuff). If your Mortgage is only $700, then your monthly bill, i fyou have these other items, could be ~$1000 but that's a wild guess; variables vary too much.
2) Homeowners association fees
3) Utilities, less what might be covered by item 2
4) Dont' forget natural gas, if your house ends up having it.
5) Reserve $$$ for things that pop up (suddenly you have to pay to fix things, vs. telling a landlord)
If you have a homeowners association, add those fees in as well. But sometimes, those fees include water/sewage/whatever else.
So more likely you'll have...
1) Mortgage + Escrow + PMI = one big payment each month (escrow covers property tax and property insurance usually; possibly other stuff). If your Mortgage is only $700, then your monthly bill, i fyou have these other items, could be ~$1000 but that's a wild guess; variables vary too much.
2) Homeowners association fees
3) Utilities, less what might be covered by item 2
4) Dont' forget natural gas, if your house ends up having it.
5) Reserve $$$ for things that pop up (suddenly you have to pay to fix things, vs. telling a landlord)
giantpinkbunnyhead
Diamond Member
Hmm.. my house is a 3 bed, 2 bath... with heated garage. I also live in Alaska. so the furnace runs a LOT in the winter. My current gas bill is 205.06, and the avg temp for that billing period was 12 F. Now in the summer, the gas bill was about $25.00. If you live where it's warmer, you may see lower rates (unless your gas rates are higher than ours) but it will also be influenced by your house's energy rating. Mine is a 4-star-plus, which is almost as good as it gets. Lower energy ratings will result in higher bills.
If you have a wood-burning fireplace or electic heating (or baseboard heating, but that's usually in condos and apartments I've noticed) then your gas bill would be way less but whatever powers your heating will be higher. Just out of curiosity, where is the house? (like what state)
IntrinsicValue
Member
Here's some other expenses you could have:
- Phone bill, if you have one
- Security system, if you have one
- Furnace/Air-Conditioning Maintenance (usually about $200-$400/year, if checked twice). You MUST do this - it will save you headaches in the long run. Also, change your air filters regularly.
Also, set aside money for general home maintenance (save about 5% of your paychecks per month for this if possible). This will help you cover major expenses should they occur. For example, new roof, new siding, new sidewalk or driveway, plumbing, new furnace, new water-tank, etc...
Regarding gas price, it really depends on a lot of factors. Who is your supplier? How good is your insulation? How efficient is your furnace? There's no way of predicting this, unless you're able to get your hands on the previous gas bills from the previous owner.
- Phone bill, if you have one
- Security system, if you have one
- Furnace/Air-Conditioning Maintenance (usually about $200-$400/year, if checked twice). You MUST do this - it will save you headaches in the long run. Also, change your air filters regularly.
Also, set aside money for general home maintenance (save about 5% of your paychecks per month for this if possible). This will help you cover major expenses should they occur. For example, new roof, new siding, new sidewalk or driveway, plumbing, new furnace, new water-tank, etc...
Regarding gas price, it really depends on a lot of factors. Who is your supplier? How good is your insulation? How efficient is your furnace? There's no way of predicting this, unless you're able to get your hands on the previous gas bills from the previous owner.
imported_Shivetya
Platinum Member
From my experience...
Mortgage (roll your property taxes and insurance into it as escrow, most home loan companies do this automatically and some require it)
In order of importance
Electricity
Water
Gas
Phone
HOA
Trash
Lawn Maintenance (even if you do it yourself)
Cable/Sat/TV
Internet
Non-monthy costs
Termite/Insect Infestation protection (usually once or twice a year)
HVAC inspections (twice a year is good, many places run $49 specials)
Change heater filters (every other month)
If the home is a resale (previously owned) get a home inspection.
Regardless of condition look into getting a 1 or 2 year home owner warranty, most of these cost between 350-500 and they cover unexpected problems in many cases when you buy into a new/used home.
Also, depending on the age of the house, you need to set aside money to cover unforseen expenses. You may also need to do some fixing up as well.
Add in the fact that since you will own it that lots of things will have to be done because of pride of ownership, so set money aside for these. Like new plants/trees, painting, etc.
As for costs...
My December to January bills (Georgia, some days were in the 60s, others in 30s - hey its Georgia)
Gas, 128
Elect, 68
Water, 24
Note, I am single, almost all lights are CFLs, the upstairs goes to 62 at night and during the day when I am not home, the downstairs is 65 during the day (dogs) and 62 at night. The home is 3600sq feet but is brand new with very good heating/cooling and insualtion. I also close blinds at night.
Another note about homes, if rooms don't have cold air returns you will need to leave the doors open for it to feel warm... never buy a house where the rooms don't have individual returns.
AgaBoogaBoo
Lifer
One tip - make an Excel spreadsheet of regular maintenence you have to do like changing filters, maybe maintaining lawn equipment, etc. so that you don't forget things.
You can't roll a variable cost into the mortgage (property taxes change over the years), at least if you are saying what I think you are saying. I think you are thinking about placing money in escrow for the payment of your taxes. Typically escrow payments are handled by the same bank/lender that gave you the mortgage, so typically these two payments are lumped together. Banks typically require that money be placed in escrow for taxes, as they want to ensure the taxes are paid on the collateral for your loan (namely your house). This gives them a warm and fuzzy feeling about giving you the loan because if you ever default, they can foreclose on your house without it being encumbered by liens from the government.
You can pay the taxes friom year to year if you want, but a lot of mortgage lenders won't let you do this for the reasons I mentioned above. The biggest benefits of putting taxes in escrow are that you know they will be paid automatically and you don't have to worry about how much they will be come tax time. Considering my property tax bill has almost doubled in the last 4 years (My home's assessed value went from $230k in 2002 to 440K in 2006) not having to worry about property tax on my house is a good thing.
iamwiz82
Lifer
Your bills for Dec. are almost IDENTICAL to mine and we are in Michigan. :shocked:
To be honest, we haven't had a whole lot of "unexpected" expenses with our house. Everything that has gone bad has been things that we expected. The garage door spring, new roof, etc. How handy are you? That will save a ton of money. For example, a new water heater runs something like $250, The installation probably runs $300.
Have you checked home insurance?
What the heck are you having them do that costs $400?? 😕. You can do everything yourself.
BTW, OP, get a CO detector.
IntrinsicValue
Member
If you read the rest of that sentence, it says "if checked twice". Typical bill is about $100 per visit. But if they find something wrong, it is usually about another $100 depending on the problem and the age of the furnace.
And no, YOU can do everything yourself. Others aren't so fortunate, so therefore must pay people to check heaters, fix cars, run electrical outlets, etc...
Kyteland
Diamond Member
imported_Mike
Lifer
I need to move
GuitarDaddy
Lifer
It will be impossible for random people on the internet to tell you what ownership costs will be. Way too many variables.
You will have to do the research on any property that you look to buy, it's all public record. Call the county assesor(many places now have websites) and get the property tax values, get quotes for insurance, call all utility companies and get utility records, contact the HOA if there is one.
You will have to do the research on any property that you look to buy, it's all public record. Call the county assesor(many places now have websites) and get the property tax values, get quotes for insurance, call all utility companies and get utility records, contact the HOA if there is one.
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