[JViello]

Originally Posted by seymourct

He'll find some kinda home just fine... All housing is still down... We bought in 2005, and zillow says it is now worth about 45/50k less than what we paid...LOL ... And we put in AC, new appliances, new vanities & bathroom fixtures, etc etc... Stinky for us but ok for those buying now.... You'll be fine on 90k

FWIW Zillow has my house down 50K compared to what it just appraised for, and I even updated the Zillow info with the total gutting and remodel we did this year. I wouldn't rely on the "zestimate".

[Cambium]

Originally Posted by seymourct

He'll find some kinda home just fine... All housing is still down... We bought in 2005, and zillow says it is now worth about 45/50k less than what we paid...LOL ... And we put in AC, new appliances, new vanities & bathroom fixtures, etc etc... Stinky for us but ok for those buying now.... You'll be fine on 90k

yeap. I bought early 2007 - The peak. I also purchased 3 condos with no money down in 2005-6. Never got in trouble. Now just have 1 condo and Primary. At the time "household" income was less than $90k. Imagine that. Owning 4 properties, never asking for government assistance, in CT on less than 90k. Its all about managing your money.

Details on the Primary: Was a boarded up foreclosure. Paid $420k. Put $80,000(bank money) into it (new insulation,walls,kitchen,siding, roof, windows,electric,ect), got appraised when all said and done at $550,000. Today worth in upper 4's. Doesnt bother me. In 27 years mortgage will be paid off. If the home is worth less its still money in pocket when I sell. If the home is buried in the next Ice Age then I'll be happy as well.

[dazzleman]

A person can definitely live on $90k in Connecticut, but probably not in a 4-bedroom, 3,000+ square foot house. Buy what you can realistically afford. You don't want to end up as a statistic like so many people who had to have that huge house on a limited income.

[wanderintonc]

Originally Posted by Daniel_T

No kids yet, but planning on two. For a house I would like:

3+ beds (pref. 4)

2+ bath

2 car garage

decent sized backyard

minimum 3,000 SQ FT.

Where are the nice suburbs in the area?

You can live on $90,000, but it's not going to get you that kind of house here. You could probably get a cute little cape or ranch in Newington or WH or something like that. By 'little' I mean 1000sf, 1 bath, maybe a one-car garage. Remember, property taxes are very high here, tax even on this hypothetical little cape will probably be at least $5000 a year. If you're thinking of buying a house worth $350,000, easily double that figure.

[mels]

Originally Posted by wanderintonc

You can live on $90,000, but it's not going to get you that kind of house here. You could probably get a cute little cape or ranch in Newington or WH or something like that. By 'little' I mean 1000sf, 1 bath, maybe a one-car garage. Remember, property taxes are very high here, tax even on this hypothetical little cape will probably be at least $5000 a year. If you're thinking of buying a house worth $350,000, easily double that figure.

I think the taxes in your example are excessive unless you are living in a town with a very high mill rate. I pay $4,000 and change for a 3 BR house that is just under 2,000 SF on 1.5 acres.

[JViello]

Originally Posted by mels

I think the taxes in your example are excessive unless you are living in a town with a very high mill rate. I pay $4,000 and change for a 3 BR house that is just under 2,000 SF on 1.5 acres.

For the most part I agree, but it really does depend on the town. It's not just the poor cities anymore that have default high taxes. Towns like Clinton, Manchester, Bristol, Middletown, Glastonbury, Windsor etc have pretty high rates. I'm just about 5K a year on a 3br, 1600sf house in Manchester. On the flipside, we were looking at Old Saybrook along with Essex/Chester/Deep River and the taxes on a similar house would be about half.

[wanderintonc]

Originally Posted by mels

I think the taxes in your example are excessive unless you are living in a town with a very high mill rate. I pay $4,000 and change for a 3 BR house that is just under 2,000 SF on 1.5 acres.

Not excessive, all the cities and towns in this area are around that (central CT). My own home is $6600 a year (1/2 acre lot)! My folks have a house like the example I used above and the taxes are indeed $5000. Maybe they are less in the very rural areas, but for most of us, these figures are typical.

[goofy328]

Originally Posted by IDASpaceman

Hope you like Hamburger Helper.

Thanks for the laugh.