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I think all of your numbers are pretty close and probably average out to be right or a little high. It depends on how old the house is (for repair costs) and what type of heat you have gas/oil/electric
gas+electric for my house (2500 sqft) can hit $500/month (mostly gas for heat) in the winter, and maybe $400 in a really hot summer month (mostly electric for A/C). My water is around that in the summer when we water the lawn a lot (we have 3 adults and 2 teenagers). Insurance is around $100/month
Other things in my town, $50/month for private trash (yea) and $350/year for sewerage (just because they can)
Remember cable TV (if you have it now, it might be in your HOA fees)
Thanks for sharing. 500 winter months and 400 for summer numbers wow! So is my 250/month x 12 months 3000 a good number to work with?
I think all your numbers are high, especially electric and gas, but so much of it depends on the house. What if you have oil heat? What if there's no air conditioner? What if there's no insulation? What if there's a smaller yard than planned?
The fact that you're thinking about this puts you into being reasonably in fair shape, but all your plans could go out the window when you find the perfect Victorian that only needs "a little fixing up!" or an amazing house that has recently been moved into a flood zone. You'll also want to know if you'll be making a PMI payment as well in case you can't get the 20% downpayment together.
All I'm saying is that your numbers are a good start. Stop massaging them too hard, you don't want to dial them in too low because there will be something you'll need to fix or replace sooner than you'd like. Our dishwasher died two weeks after moving in and then it was $400 that was unplanned for.
Try and keep around 5K around for your first year for something going awry or something you didn't know you'd need. Home inspections are vital but there's some stuff they can't know. Worst case is that you can blow it on a vacation if you don't need it.
Thanks for sharing. 500 winter months and 400 for summer numbers wow! So is my 250/month x 12 months 3000 a good number to work with?
we like it hot in the winter and cold in the summer. We also have a basement unit for the father-in-law that has electric heat. The $500 in the winter is only once in a while, same with the $400 in the summer. But there are those months
Scary but not that common. You'll want to call the gas, electric, and water companies and have them mark where their lines are to make sure that you don't have any plans to dig in those areas.
The water protection plan I got includes sewer line (street to cleanout in the house), water main (shutoff at curb to meter) and I also got 'inside pipe' plan-- though I may drop that
In my old house, we had a sewer block. Cost me around $300 to get it addressed. In this house, I had a shutoff valve start leaking two weeks after the 'wait period'-- cost me nothing.
Friend of mine bought a house 3 years ago, 6 months in, there was a puddle at edge of their property. 10k later, the ruptured main was replaced. They now have the plan.
To the OP: (IMO) you also will want to have 'move in/ household setup budget' plus some money set aside--house specific--for actual 'improvements' you will want to make.
I always assume it will cost $10k for the former. Just a round number that I include things like new blinds, small furniture purchases at Ikea (to 'make it work'), etc. I also include movers in this, packing material, etc.
For the latter, you may want/need new tools... (leaf blower, lawn mower, etc), you may need to make some changes to the kitchen/bathroom (minor reno)... You may need to paint... I always recommend redoing the floors before move in--hard to do that once in. You may want to add blown in insulation (we did on each place we bought), etc.
I think all your numbers are high, especially electric and gas, but so much of it depends on the house. What if you have oil heat? What if there's no air conditioner? What if there's no insulation? What if there's a smaller yard than planned?
The fact that you're thinking about this puts you into being reasonably in fair shape, but all your plans could go out the window when you find the perfect Victorian that only needs "a little fixing up!" or an amazing house that has recently been moved into a flood zone. You'll also want to know if you'll be making a PMI payment as well in case you can't get the 20% downpayment together.
All I'm saying is that your numbers are a good start. Stop massaging them too hard, you don't want to dial them in too low because there will be something you'll need to fix or replace sooner than you'd like. Our dishwasher died two weeks after moving in and then it was $400 that was unplanned for.
Try and keep around 5K around for your first year for something going awry or something you didn't know you'd need. Home inspections are vital but there's some stuff they can't know. Worst case is that you can blow it on a vacation if you don't need it.
jaymoney, this is great advise. I've learned to be conservative on all fronts which I will thank my wife but what you mentioned here is excellent. I just want to be in a good position to support and care for my family when all hell breaks loose on a house especially when babies/kids are involved . Trying to be the best father I can be I guess.
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Scary
. Trying to be the best father I can be I guess.
