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Own condo. Taxes, insurance, condo fee, electric, phone, and internet comes to $355. We don't live in a school district so taxes are low. Rec Center Fee for 7 Rec Centers and everything you could imagine is $496 a year. Golf and bowling is extra but very reasonable. Suburban would describe it best. No mortgage.
Housing costs in retirement are the same as they are before retirement ... except many more retirees have paid-off their mortgage by then. In our case, our condo is paid for an we pay HOA fees and utilities in a HCOL area. ... but, without context, the numbers are irrelevant. What are you really trying to find out?
Own
House
Very rural
Monthly expenses
Morgtage (early retirement due to health reasons, will be paid off before I'm 50) $324
Taxes $16
Propane $25 (yearly divided by 12, 2x that budgeted for when it goes back up.)
$100 towards repairs
$40 towards appliance replacement
$30 towards solar system replacement. (Property is off grid.)
Housing costs in retirement are the same as they are before retirement ... except many more retirees have paid-off their mortgage by then. In our case, our condo is paid for an we pay HOA fees and utilities in a HCOL area. ... but, without context, the numbers are irrelevant. What are you really trying to find out?
The bolded was my exact first thought when I read the thread title, before even reading the original post. However, I suppose the exception to that would be for people who relocated from an urban area where there are good jobs to the middle of nowhere where housing is mind-bogglingly cheap and where they no longer have to worry about having a job.
People who actually like living in the middle of nowhere are the luckiest people on the planet in a financial sense because they can live like royalty even if they didn't earn an impressive salary while working.
Well, just Wednesday evening we purchased a condo in preparation to move 800 miles back north to be closer to family.
It is one of those quadplex condos with four units in a building in a community of 80 condos. We were waiting for one to come available because we really liked the way it was laid out and maintained. Lots of trees, green grass and a swimming pool for me the kind of guy that would go swimming every day if I could.
Taxes run $152
Insurance is estimated to run $36
HOA fees are $240
I have gas and electric budgeted at $400 which might be high but the last thing I will accept in retirement is to be cold in the dark. I like lots and lots of light and I want the temperature to be perfect year around.
I have cable/internet at $150. Not sure if that will be it but that is what I was told.
The HOA takes care of everything on the outside of the building such as the roof (that is a biggie if you got to replace it), garbage pick up and water. HOA fees also care for the landscape and shoving snow in winter. In a couple short years I will be in my 70's and I do not want to shovel snow. The HOA fees might appear to be higher than normal to sum but since they pick up insurance on the structure my homeowners will be extremely low so it's a wash.
Good security and very nice area.
Looks like I am right at $978 or we can call it $1,000.
90% of the family is within 30 miles and everything is very close as in hospitals, great shopping, doctors all within 15 minutes. Oh, and there is bus service if we ever get to the point we don't want to drive.
We close at the end of March, have the unit painted in April and then move back in May.
Last edited by nicet4; 02-09-2017 at 07:14 PM..
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