$120,000, 3 Kids, 1 Housewife: Suicide? (to rent, house prices, neighborhood)

[ytav817]

csfraw,

I looked to move to Seattle last year. I worked with an excellent realtor, though her name escapes me now. She showed me around and I remember Woodinville being very nice, however, I don't remember how affordable it was. I do remember liking Snohomish, which was much more affordable, and not too bad of a drive into Seattle.

If you are considering buying in Seattle, now is as good as any a time to buy since prices have come down somewhat, but not as far down as in most parts of the country. I think any fair value investment in Seattle now will be prosperous for you down the road as housing is always in such tremendous demand there.

Hope this helps,

Yvonne

[redmom217]

So long as you don't carry any debt, you should be fine. And I assume you plan on renting, rather than buying?

[Topaz]

I hate the title of this thread. Every time I see it, I forget that I've read it before and I think it is some awful news story involving a housewife, three kids, a bunch of money, and someone killing themselves!

[csfraw]

Originally Posted by Topaz

I hate the title of this thread. Every time I see it, I forget that I've read it before and I think it is some awful news story involving a housewife, three kids, a bunch of money, and someone killing themselves!

That was the idea ... to make as many people read as possible
I still have two months more and then I'll be living on the eastside

[csfraw]

Originally Posted by ytav817

csfraw,

I looked to move to Seattle last year. I worked with an excellent realtor, though her name escapes me now. She showed me around and I remember Woodinville being very nice, however, I don't remember how affordable it was. I do remember liking Snohomish, which was much more affordable, and not too bad of a drive into Seattle.

If you are considering buying in Seattle, now is as good as any a time to buy since prices have come down somewhat, but not as far down as in most parts of the country. I think any fair value investment in Seattle now will be prosperous for you down the road as housing is always in such tremendous demand there.

Hope this helps,

Yvonne

how was the commute from Snohomish to redmond

[Dishiki]

Originally Posted by ElektroDragon

We plan to spend $1800 on rent.

I am new to this board and thread, but apply an 1800 rent to a mortgage that can adequately house a family of 5 in Seattle, and I am sure there are slim pickings.

Raising a family on 120k in Seattle has to be tough unless you are willing to make compromises (n
ot the best school districts, rent in stead of own, limit vacations, etc.)

My wife and I are thinking about moving from Atlanta to Seattle, but I just don't see how the economics would work unless I go back to work. She makes 116,000 a year and I assume that would go up in Seattle somewhat.

Still here is a look at a family of four's finances and how tight it can be. We have no credit card debt.

After taxes, social security, 401k, medical, dental, life insurance, etc, she clears close to 6700 a month. That is right at about 70%.

2400 month mortgage (332,000 mortgage, plus 2300 a year in property taxes, plus homeowner's insurance)
564 month student loans (100k of student loans)
429 car note (other car is paid)
100-200 electricity ( will be higher in summer months)
40-200 gas (will be higher in winter months)
100 cell phone
150 phone/internet/tv
40-80 water/sewer
23 trash
137 car insurance
100 diapers/wipes etc (2 kids under 2)
400 gas
400 food (and that is being conservative with rising food costs)
70 extra life insurance (when you have kids, you consider these things)


That leaves about 1500 left over. Sounds like a lot right? Daughter goes to emergency room, 500 dollars. Son gets ear infection 35 dollar copay, 40 dollars for drops. Heartworm and flea medicine and dog food easily is 50-60 a month averaged. \

When it's all said and done we bank about 800 a month. So we are doing fine.

We are probably a tad house poor, but that is a trade-off we made because we wanted to be in an excellent school district and we wanted to make sure we had a large enough house to accomodate visiting parents and siblings.

So say we move to Seattle, even a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house is going to cost you, what 450k at a minimum? That would require me to go back to work. So I go back to work and pull down an extra 90k a year, but our quality of life is drastically changed. Both kids now go to daycare (3,000 a month minimum), we eat out more because we don't have the time to cook as much, we don't see each other as much, family stress level increases, mortgage increases, etc, etc, etc. To me making those sacrifices makes it a wash.

When it was just my wife and I and she was in school and we were renting, we bought what we wanted, went to Italy, NYC, Vegas, Seattle, all the time. When you have kids, and mortgages, and house repairs, the ballgame changes, and until you have them you really do not know what you are in for.

[jwb123]

++ reps for such a realistic, rational view.

[WANative]

Originally Posted by Dishiki

2400 month mortgage (332,000 mortgage, plus 2300 a year in property taxes, plus homeowner's insurance)
100-200 electricity ( will be higher in summer months)

So say we move to Seattle, even a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom house is going to cost you, what 450k at a minimum? That would require me to go back to work.

I was going to say--the mortgage will be more than $332k unless you have a sizable down pmt or want to spend half your life commuting from a cheaper area. And you can ad at least $1000-$1500 on to your property tax estimate.

Why would electricity be higher during the summer? Only 10% of homes in Seattle have A/C (you only need it about 7-10 days a year so its not worth having). Summer is actually the cheapest time of the year for utilities in Seattle.

[seattlenextyear]

How do you people have such low food costs? My husband and I spend at least $120 a week at the grocery store. No kids, 1 fish.

[Dishiki]

Originally Posted by WANative

I was going to say--the mortgage will be more than $332k unless you have a sizable down pmt or want to spend half your life commuting from a cheaper area. And you can ad at least $1000-$1500 on to your property tax estimate.

Why would electricity be higher during the summer? Only 10% of homes in Seattle have A/C (you only need it about 7-10 days a year so its not worth having). Summer is actually the cheapest time of the year for utilities in Seattle.

The electricity is the current scenario in GA. AC runs nonstop from May through September.